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Four talking points from England's awkward win over Japan
By Josh Raisey
England were able to end their five-match losing run with a resounding 59-14 win over an inexperienced Japan on Sunday, but it was a result that in no way glossed over the month that had passed.
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The damage was already done by the time England arrived at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium- three losses on the bounce leaving spirits low.
An Autumn Nations Series that offered so much hope and promise descended into a nightmarish three weeks, where the side’s weaknesses were exposed in devastating fashion.
But this was a positive note to finish the year on before the side reconvene in January ahead of their opening match of the Six Nations against Ireland in Dublin on February 1 2025.
Even then, it was not a performance that was not devoid of concerns, so here are four talking points from the victory over Japan:
A glimpse of how England want to play
England will come up against far more sturdy defences, and indeed did this autumn, but the attacking shape they showed at the Allianz Stadium was a sign of things to come.
The way the playmaking responsibilities were shared between Marcus Smith, Henry Slade and George Furbank, and latterly Fin Smith, was a real positive. All three stood at first-receiver on plenty of occasions and linked with one another well, with the opening try of the match being a prime example of that.
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Steve Borthwick highlighted that this was the “identity” the team is trying to build after the match- a team that is “brave” on the ball.
“You can see the identity they’re trying to build as a team,” he said after the win. “One that moves the ball and can score in different ways. Some of the tries were exceptional. Over the past four weeks, we’ve scored some really outstanding tries. With the skill level that’s in the group, I’m really pleased they took it onto the grass today.”
“I want them to be brave with the ball, I want them to play fast. I think we’ve seen growth in that area over the last four weeks.”
If that is the blueprint of how England want to play, the challenge now is transposing that shape and intent onto games where the defence is a little less porous.
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It all means very little though if they do not replicate it on the big stage.
FINal regret
The fact that Fin Smith was only granted 26 minutes all autumn, and that came in the last match in a game that England had already won, will leave many England fans scratching their heads.
Had the 22-year-old put in a fairly forgettable performance, there would still have been questions as to why a severely undercooked George Ford was chosen ahead of him on the bench. As it happens, the Northampton Saints fly-half had a cameo that would have filled Borthwick with at least a modicum of regret.
The Saint’s passing was crisp, flat and had plenty of width. Throw in a crossfield kick for Tom Roebuck’s try and this was as good a cameo as he could have produced against a lesser-ranked side.
What’s more, this was another chance to trial the Smiths in tandem, with Marcus moving to full-back late on. This freed up the Harlequin to attack the wider channels, where he remained a threat.
It seems highly unlikely Fin Smith will only get 26 minutes in the Six Nations, but one can’t help but wonder what might have been if he was given more in November.
Damned if you do
Had England won two, or maybe even three, of their matches prior to the Brave Blossoms’ visit, the contest would have been the cherry on the cake of what had been a promising month.
Instead, the match served as an awkward opportunity for England to put an end to their embarrassment and snap a five-match losing run which dates back to a victory against none other than Japan in June.
This was not a lose-lose situation for the England players, in many ways it was actually worse. Any impressive performances – and there were many – would leave some questioning where those performances were against the All Blacks, Australia and South Africa.
That is not to say that there was a total absence of high-performing players in the three defeats, as, after all, they were all close. But a barnstorming display against Japan following a quiet November would always lead to accusations of being a flat track bully.
Defensive deficiencies
When addressing his side’s defence after the match, Borthwick said: “We will always want to put the opposition’s skillset under pressure. That’s something that’s fundamental, it’s part of our game. When you look at the make-up of our team and the athleticism we’re trying to develop within it, you see that pressure is good for us.”
Pressure in defence is good, the part where England came undone was the “always” part. It does not take much, but any lapse in this pressure can leave any team looking very fragile.
The way the Brave Blossoms picked apart England’s defence for Naoto Saito’s first half try was not a one-off in the match, nor the month as a whole.
The bare bones of how England want to defend is there for all to see, but at times they looked disjointed, hesitant and slow, allowing Japan the time to shift the ball wide where they often had space that is seldom seen in Test rugby.
Maybe the most generous of onlookers could regard the past month as a grace period for defence coach Joe El-Abd, who took the job on short notice, but it is unlikely that he will be granted that sympathy going forward. Borthwick is aware of this, stating that he was “really pleased” with how the team came together, but they must kick on.
England have doubled down on their system and reiterated that it is here to stay. If so, there is plenty of work to be done before February.
Go behind the scenes of both camps during the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021. Binge watch exclusively on RugbyPass TV now
What's notable is that this time they were pushing the point a minute barrier for the first halve. In Tokyo it was in the 70th+ minute they broke 50, it was 20 just before halftime.
Japan has at least a couple of good try's in them, against England previously, NZ and France. NZ and France really did pump them for 40+ minutes though, England is quite at that level.
I think England obviously need to train alot more to fix their defense. Time together working to ensure each defender takes the right man is paramount or we're going to see the same amount of tries and losses. Then what? Sack the coach? What a joke that would be. The other fix is being accurate with your basics. England were sloppy to excess, dropped balls in the midfield. Charged down boxkicks, failed restarts. They need to carry out their basic skills accurately. This is a domestic club training responsibility. England should not be teaching their players catching skills. If the clubs are not spending time with skills training then the players need to step up and do it on their own time. There is no excuse for sloppy play at Test match level. They won't win squat if they don't aspire to be the best. Lastly we have the scrum which should be a strength of England but its flakey as. Okay its year one of the world cup cycle and you'd rather have these issues now that 2026 / 27 but we have alot to fix and we also have a media who won't give Borthwick the time he needs to fix them. That paragon of rugby Ugo Monye is already screaming for Borthwick's head. 14 caps and two tries and apparently he's the rugby media mesiah... ...This is where you say he's not the mesiah, he's a very naughty boy.
I see better gains on offence, their defence is already up there with the best, but the attack isn't quite there, a bit like the All Blacks and just not clicking?
England a good scrum? That's going back a few year! Actually you probably just need to credit Japan, I remember them also being very staunch then until the subs came on. Really good tackle% and turnover count, don't think you need to worry about Ugo's bleating you're doing a good enough job yourlself 😜