Steve Borthwick defends England’s performance during their 34-12 Rugby World Cup victory against Japan, as his side are accused of playing ‘boring’ and ‘repulsive rugby’

Steve Borthwick’s England side were criticized for playing ‘boring’ and ‘disgusting rugby’ after their 34-12 Rugby World Cup victory against Japan on Sunday evening.

It was England’s second win in the tournament, taking England top of Pool D. After the match, the head coach came out to defend his side’s performance, claiming that ‘finding a way to win was the most important thing.’

England took the lead early in the match, with George Ford again shining with the boot to lead them to victory.

Japan proved difficult opponents for England and raised questions about their defense throughout the match, while England were held at 13-12 until 55 minutes into the match.

What followed next was a bizarre moment when George Ford’s faint bounced wide off Joe Marler’s head.

England’s performance was branded ‘abhorrent rugby’ by former France winger Olivier Magne (pictured)

It was England’s second win at the Rugby World Cup and sent them to the top of Pool D

Courtney Lawes was the only player to respond. The Japanese team stopped and thought he had knocked, while the second row took the ball to score England’s second try and give them the breakthrough they needed after Lewis Ludlam scored earlier in the match. first half.

Marler even poked fun at Manchester United after the match, claiming he had taken ‘great inspiration from Roberto De Zerbi’s mighty Seagulls who did a demolition job at United yesterday’ after Erik ten Hag’s side were beaten 3-1 .

It was a bizarre turn of events, which was followed by a moment of magic from George Ford, using his weaker foot to tap a pinpoint cross-kick to Freddie Steward, who collected and smashed it down, before Joe Marchant completed the quartet of tries. to give England a valuable bonus point victory.

However, England were criticized by some for the way they won the match, with the Borthwick side opting to kick more in the first half rather than opting to pass the ball through their hands.

During the match, England and Japan occasionally kicked the ball back and forth to each other, with Lawes and co kicking 42 times, while their opponents connected with the ball 37 times.

Former England and British and Irish Lions star Jeremy Guscott branded the performance as ‘pretty boring’ in his half-time analysis.

Former London Irish and France back row Olivier Magne launched a scathing attack on England’s performance on Twitter.

He wrote: ‘This England team is ugly! No desire, no joy, no consistency… It’s disgusting rugby.’

But Borthwick was in a defiant mood after the match, admitting that while it was a challenging match, he added that he was happy with the way his side achieved victory.

“I think in the end players find a way and that’s the most important thing,” Borthwick said. ‘Under these circumstances it was a challenge.

A bizarre second-half try saw Courtney Lawes go down after George Ford’s pass bounced off Joe Marler’s head (below left)

Freddie Steward (right) Scored a superb try after an excellent field kick from George Ford, with Joe Marchant rounding off the bonus point with the final try

Former England and British and Irish Lions player Jeremy Guscott (pictured) called England’s first half performance ‘boring’

But Borthwick (left) came to his players’ defense and insisted he was happy with the way they achieved the victory

‘Japan kicked the ball 37 times today. I’m not sure when you’ve seen a Japanese team kick 37 times.

Speaking about the improvements on his side, he said: “We are seeing progress in some of the fundamental aspects of the game, and now growth in our attack.

‘The attack always lasts the longest because cohesion is needed. Some teams have been together for four or even eight years. We had three months with our coaching team.”

Ben Earle, who was a standout player during the match, added on the nature of the victory: “It’s a sign of a team that is growing and improving.

“We are going to get better and hopefully next week we can take a step forward as a team.”