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Key events
26 minutes: Cunningham-South breaks down Lee and forces a turnover. Big hit. This is already his eighth game. Japan is struggling to find dominant contacts and it is starting to hurt them.
I’M TRYING! Japan 3-14 England (Smith, 25)
What an experience! This is fantastic rugby straight from the training ground. George threw over the line and found Lawrence at full tilt. He was passing to Mitchell, who fed Smith against the grain. There was nothing but fresh air in front of the fly half and he moved away to slide under the posts before making his own attempt. Great rugby from England.
23 minutes: Penalty to England as Siege fails to convert. It was from a hard carry by Earle who brought up the back of the scrum. He fed Lawrence, who rushed forward to set up the move.
21 minutes: Another contact spill from a Japanese player. Naikabula, with his low center of gravity and quick feet, curled through the half gap after Sato slipped and fell down the blind. But a solid hit from Smith forced the error.
20 minutes: Fairbank receives the ball after a Japanese knock-on and kicks forward but overshoots it. The ball is tipped over the dead ball line. England do not receive the pass as “they chose to kick”, according to the referee. I’m not sure that counts as an advantage, but either way Japan with the ball in midfield about 35 meters out.
Drinks break. Mitchell gets an ice pack on the back of his head, others suck on water bottles. It’s sweltering outside. Japan will want to maintain their frenetic pace. England will know that if they can stay in the fight, their big forwards can prove the difference late on. It’s been a cracking game so far.
19 minutes: Earl knocked, it was off a counter caused by Fairbank connecting with Mitchell. Just as it began to open, Earl, despite the grain, couldn’t hold back.
18 minutes: Japan are passing forward, throwing a quick ball as soon as it is caught, they are desperate to keep moving the point of contact. Fayi-Woboso is in quick defense but Japan keep moving. Then they kick, then Smith kicks, now Japan comes again. It’s ruthless, but not as effective. England are starting to dominate the touchline.
16 minutes: It was direct and loud from England. Their extra weight in nearby exchangers was the difference there. Japan will want to avoid this kind of competition.
There is some kick tennis after the restart. It ends with Japan exiting the middle line.
I’M TRYING! Japan 3-7 England (Cunningham-South, 14)
He took it down! England is on board. It started with Itoje pulling the ball down off the line and then leading the rolling kick. Some big carriers hit him closer to the line before Cunningham-South ran wild over two players to get the ball over the line. It was England’s first attack and they came away with the goods. Smith turns around.
14 minutes: Cunningham-South celebrates, I think he scores a try…
13 minutes: Scrum penalty for England. Slade with the ball as he lines up a touch kick. England’s forwards are winning their battle. It’s two defensive strikes and now a scrum that eased the tension.
12 minutes: Japan finds half-holes in the line with ease. They poke holes in the midfield and around the edge of almost every defender. There’s a spill in contact around halfway, so England will have a rare chance to attack on their own, but it’s all been Japan so far. England just hang on.
10 minutes: Another five meter line for Japan. This time they go to Leitch from behind. They set up the shot to lose it again, spilling on contact and Mitchell is able to clear it.
9 minutes: Free kick for England from a scrum. Japan went early. But the clearance misses the touch, so Japan counters. There is another penalty that goes their way. I think Cunningham-Smith had his hands on the deck.
7 minutes: England get the ball back with their heels on their own line. Japan chose to kick from the line and this played into England’s hands. They suffocate the ball carrier and force the turnover.
6 minutes: Beautiful hands from Japan. Up to 10 phases which were challenged with rough defending through England’s speedy defence. Tua with some soft carry, bumping Fayi-Waboso on contact. The delivery is delicious, like the ball is a hot potato. Sensational pace, there is a penalty advantage, they are five meters away. But there is a spill, so they will have the penalty about seven meters. Wonderful stuff. They kick in the corner five out.
4 minutes: Scrum penalty for Japan. Rod is to blame for the collapse. It was not a smart start for England. But Japan doesn’t kick for a touch, instead kicking it aimlessly up.
3 minutes: Underhill starts from the restart for England. Japan tries to counter with a huge miss, but fails to hold it. Scrum to Japan just over the 22nd.
Penalty! Japan 3-0 England (Lee, 2)
Lee gets a lot of lift on this shot, but it’s between the sticks. Japan on the board.
1 minute: Cunningham-South fumbles the kick-off and shortly afterwards England fail to clear the kick. So Lee will take a shot on goal. Not a good start for the visitors.
I’m about to leave. England all in black (or is that navy?). Japan in their classic red and white horizontal stripes. Will Eddie get his revenge or will Steve provide the much-needed spark to a team full of potential? We’re about to find out.
England have never lost to Japan in eight previous meetings between the two nations.
They last played each other in Nice in the World Cup stages in September. England secured a 34-12 bonus point victory but were booed as they gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “victory ugly”.
Will it be a brave new era for Borthwick, starting with a win over Brave Blossoms?
That word “brave” does a lot of heavy lifting this week. Henry Slade, the team’s vice-captain – of four if you can believe it – urged his teammates to show some courage in Tokyo:
Team Japan
Eddie Jones selected a largely inexperienced squad for his first test as Brave Blossoms head coach, with a freshman yet to make his senior debut at fullback.
Yoshitaka Yazaki showed plenty of promise in Japan XV’s recent World Rugby Pacific Challenge-winning campaign as well as last year’s U20 Rugby World Cup, but it is difficult for the 20-year-old to make such a huge leap to the elite level.
Michael Leitch is still there though. In his 16th year as a professional, he will captain the team for the first time from July 2021.
Japan: Languages; Naikabula, Riley, Osada, Nezuka; Lee, Sato; Mohara, Harada, Takeuchi, Waka, Durns, Leitch (capt), Costley, Makisi.
Subs: Sacate, Miura, Tamefusa, Saumaki, Yamamoto, Fujiwara, Matsuda, Tua.
England team
Borthwick were rewarded by players who showed form for the home side and will field a group full of attacking promise.
Northampton’s George Fairbank and Tommy Freeman earn their place in the starting XV with Immanuel Fay-Waboso manning the wing. Henry Slade in midfield provides a try and Marcus Smith gets the nod at 10.
It’s a powerful package with Sam Underhill and Ben Earle united in a mobile band. Charlie Ewells is back in the squad and is one of four Bath players selected.
England: Furbank; Fahey-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman; M Smith, Mitchell; Rhode, George (c), Cole, Itoje, Martin, Cunningham-Smith, Underhill, Earl.
Subs: Dunn, Marler, Stewart, Ewells, Currie, Randall, F Smith, Roebuck.
Your England team will face Japan 🌹
Watch live on RugbyPass TV 📺
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 21, 2024
Preamble
Daniel Galan
It’s “a little strange” that England and Eddie Jones’ paths crossed so soon after theirs messy divorce in 2022
oh these are not my words but the sentiment expressed by England captain Jamie Georgewho went so far as to suggest that some England players would need to re-examine whether they were getting instructions from the wrong coach’s box.
He was joking, of course, but there is a strange twist of fate here. Jones remains England’s most successful manager in terms of win percentage with 72.8%, well ahead of Steve Borthwick’s record of 57.1%.
And as a former player who leaves an emotional imprint for life, Jones’ mark on this England team is still evident. Five of today’s matchday 23 were part of perhaps Jones’ most famous win – 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.
It’s a new dawn for both teams and their coaches. Borthwick will be eager to build on unexpected success at last year’s World Cup proving he can add an attacking mind to his pragmatic game plan.
As for Jones, he will want to place disastrous Australian tenure behind him and Japan will be looking to up their game after falling behind for the past eight years.
It’s a compelling race, full of meaning and steeped in narrative. I can not wait!
If you have a thought you’d like to share, shoot me an email.
Kick-off 6:50am BST/2:50pm Tokyo.
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