Match report: England 35-15 Japan
Paul Rees was at Twickenham for the Guardian here’s how he saw the action unfold.
And in Scotland
Updated
And in Italy ...
England’s next opponents, Australia, survived an early scare before easing past Italy 26-7 in Padu on Saturday.
Meanwhile in Cardiff ...
Wales survived the relinquishment of an 18-point lead against Tonga to canter to victory against their visitors at the Principality Stadium.
Post-match reaction ....
George Ford speaks: “It was obviously very disappointing in the first half,” said England’s captain. “Our attitude wasn’t there, but we were much more ourselves in the second period. We had no life about us in the first half, which isn’t good when you’re playing for England. We turned it around in the second half.”
On the impact of England’s substitutes: “They’re there to give us some energy and impact. Owen Farrell made a massive difference and that’s what he’s there for. I’m disappointed that it had to come to that, but that’s why replacements are there.”
And on his place-kicking: “I just try to keep on top of that stuff anyway. I do my work.”
Full-time: England 35-15 Japan
It’s all over. England avoid embarrassment, putting a hideously bad first-half effort behind them to show their class and dominate Japan in the second. Their bench helped them overcome a game and often dazzling Japan side, with Owen Farrell’s class and experience helping calm his side after Eddie Jones rang the changes.
80+2 min: England 35-15 Japan A penalty for England, which Ford puts out down by the try-line. They fail to score from the ensuing line-out.
80 min: England 35-15 Japan The clock goes into the red as Stuart Barnes gives Maro Itoje his man of the match award. Personally, I’d have gone for Japan skipper and flanker Michael Leitch, or their centre Ryoto Nakamura, who were outstanding in a game Japan side.
79 min: England 35-15 Japan Jack Nowell loses his balance as he plays a game of kick and rush (towards the Japanese tryline) and loses his footing as the ball skids out of play.
Try! England 35-15 Japan (Hartley 77)
A rolling maul drives towards the Japan tryline and England ground the ball in the corner. Dylan Hartley is the man at the bottom of the pile of bodies. George Ford slices his conversion.
Updated
75 min: England 30-15 Japan England win another penalty on the back of the otherwise excellent Michael Leitch’s failure to release. Ted Hill comes off the England bench to win his first cap at the age of 19 during his first season of Premiership rugby.
Updated
Converted try! England 30-15 Japan (Cokanasiga)
A Wigglesworth box-kick up the inside left pops up nicely for Jamie George. He finds Wigglesworth up in support following his kick, who makes ground, draws the tackle and passes inside to Joe Cokanasiga. The big winger powers through Japan’s defence to go over. George Ford adds the extras. It’s 20-0 to England in this second half, which is a huge, huge improvement on their disastrous opening 40 minutes.
Updated
69 min: England 23-15 Japan Japan go forward, going through 14 phases to find themselves under the English posts. They concede a penalty after Will Tupou refuses to release in the tackle. He waves a hand to his team-mates by way of apology. a great try-scoring opportunity goes begging.
67 min: England 23-15 Japan Jack Nowell tackles Fukuoka well to put a stop to another Japan gallop down the touchline. Again - Japan’s speedy hands and uncanny ability to operate in tight spaces threatens to derail England.
Penalty! England 23-15 Japan (Ford 65)
George Ford bisects the posts from the tee once again after England win after Japan are penalised for a knock-on by Tupou.
62 min: England 20-15 Japan A rare handling error from Nakamura in the Japanese ranks gives England the put-in just outside the Japan 22. The ball’s kicked towards the goal-line by Farrell, with Henry Slade, on as a substitute, chasing it. Full-back Will Tupou to the rescue for Japan.
61 min: England 20-15 Japan Further changes on both sides, as Richard Wigglesworth replaces Danny Care at scrum-half for England. Hendrik Tui comes on for – I think – Japan’s Masaikatsu Nishikawa.
Converted try! England 20-15 Japan (Wilson)
Quick ball out the left from Danny Care and a quick pop-pass from Sinckler finds George Ford. He plays the ball inside to Mark Wilson and the flanker can see daylight as he goes over. George Ford adds the two points.
Updated
58 min: England 13-15 Japan Is the tide on the turn? England are beginning to dominate and it’s Japan who are giving away penalties. Danny Care and Henry Slade plough through the centre.
Penalty! England 13-15 Japan (Ford 56)
England trail by two after George Ford puts the ball between the posts. He takes the kick despite the presence of England’s first choice kicker Owen Farrell’s presence on the pitch.
55 min: England 10-15 Japan Now it’s Japan’s turn to concede a penalty and from about 40 metres out, George Ford calls for the tee.
54 min: England 10-15 Japan England go through the phases trying to find an opening, only to concede a penalty under the posts when Danny Care fails to release in the tackle. Hideously undisciplined play from England.
51 min: England 10-15 Japan Having pinned Japan back on their own line and won the line-out, Maro Itoje is penalised for a daft offside which gives the men in red and white the chance to clear their lines. More England replacements, as Ben Moon, Kyle Sinckler and Sam Underhill come on. Zach Mercer and Alec Hepburn are among those to make way.
48 min: England 10-15 Japan Courtney Lawes goes into battering ram mode and the ball is played back to Elliot Daly. He tries a long kick in behind for Owen Farrell to chase, but his effort is too weighty and Will Tupou gets back to clean up for Japan.
47 min: England 10-15 Japan On Sky Sports, Stuart Barnes makes the point that Japan’s centres are repeatedly running into the midfield area, drawing two or three Englishmen into tackles and offloading the ball with lightning speed, allowing the recipients to run into the spaces left by those committed to the tackle.
46 min: England 10-15 Japan More fast hands from Japan as Michael Leitch and two team-mates exchange passes in tight space down the right, making 20 metres in the process.
44 min: England 10-15 Japan England try to impose their game plan on Japan, that plan appearing to be the “enlightened” idea of bludgeoning their way through the centre. I prefer Japan’s plan, to be honest. It makes for way more exciting viewing and far more entertaining, swashbuckling rugby.
43 min: England 10-15 Japan Ryoto Nakamura, a revelation in the centre for Japan, drives England prop Harry Williams backwards as he marauds through the centre.
42 min: England 10-15 Japan: A good kick for touch from Owen Farrell gives England possession just inside the Japan 22.
Second half: England 10-15 Japan
41 min: Japan come out for the second half five minutes early and do some line-out drills and backs moves. Owen Farrell is on for England, with Alex Kozowski making way. For Japan, Sauela Anise, Shunsuke Nunomaki and Yutaka Nagare are on.
First half penalties conceded: England 7-1 Japan. That’s quite a damning statistic, with England failing utterly to dominate at the breakdown, as they’d been expected to do.
“England are looking down the barrel here unless they can sort things out quickly,” says Clive Woodward in his role as Sky pundit. He suggests Eddie Jones will be furious with his side, but the manager looks reasonably relaxed if the dressing room footage is anything to go by.
Half-time: England 10-15 Japan
It’s half-time at Twickenham and England will go into a roasting from Eddie Jones. They’ve been taken to school in their own stadium by a Japan side that could and should be more than five points clear at the interval.
Updated
40 min: England 10-15 Japan The clock goes into the red as Japan have a five metre scrum. They go through the phases until England win the turnover. Danny Care kicks the ball out of play to give his field some much needed respite.
39 min: England 10-15 Japan Brilliant from Japan, whose capacity to operate in tiny pockets of space almost leads to them scoring a third try. With three men working in a five yard strip of grass out by the right touchline, quick hands and nimble footwork almost leads to a second try for Michael Leitch, who is unable to stretch to get the touchdown after the intervention of Courtney Lawes.
The speed, the offloads, the invention of this Japan team ... England are really rattled here and the Twickenham crowd has been stunned silenced.
36 min: England 10-15 Japan Japan make yards up the centre, with England failing to tackle again. Good work at the breakdown from Japan, but Charlie Ewels intervenes to drive Jiwon Koo backwards with a long overdue crunching challenge.
34 min: England 10-15 Japan England are being stretched all over the pitch here, playing into their opponents’ hands as the nimble, fleet-of-foot Japanese give them the run-around. The build-up to Japan’s second try was like something you’d see in a sevens match.
Try! England 10-15 Japan (Leitch)
Atrocious defence from England, as an excellent reverse pass from Nakamura begins a move which sees the ball out to Leitch on the right touchline. He bursts through missed tackles from Danny Care and Dylan Hartley to go over for Japan. That’s excellent play from the Japanese, but woeful defending from England. Yu Tamura misses the conversion.
Updated
Penalty! England 10-10 Japan
28 min: England 10-10 Japan. Elliot Daly unleashes a monster kick which drops just over the crossbar. It’s all square at Twickenham.
Updated
26 min: England 7-10 Japan: A scrum on the halfway line and England have the put-in. Japan are penalised and England win a penalty. Elliot Daly is going to kick for goal from just inside his own half.
Try! England 7-10 Japan (Nakamura)
22 min: England 7-10 Japan Japan score a converted try and it’s no more than they deserve. From a five-metre scrum, scrum-half Tanaka shows lightning quick hands to play the ball out to centre Ryoto Nakamura. He skips through two tackles to touch down under the post. George Ford really should have done more to stop the Japanese attacker, who ran right through him. England are in all sorts of bother here and Japan are causing them all sorts of problems as they control the game.
Updated
21 min England 7-3 Japan: More excellent attacking play from Japan results in England being reduced to 14 men, as Jamie George is sent to the sin bin for playing the ball off his feet. In need of a hooker, England send on Dylan Hartley. I’m not sure who made way for the replacement.
19 min: England 7-3 Japan. Fantastic! Japan work the ball out their back line and a wonderful through-the-legs pass from Ryoto Nakamura sends Kenki Kukuoaka on his way. The winger leaves George Ford in his dust.
18 min: England 7-3 Japan. Play is restricted to the middle third as England dominate possession. The massive winger Joe Cokanasiga gets ball in hand in the loose to make 10 or 15 yards, as a number of Japanese players bounce off him.
Penalty! England 7-3 Japan (Tamura)
16 min: England 7-3 Japan. Japan win the scrum but lose possession as Maro Itoje steals the ball and advances up the pitch. England concede another penalty, with Alex Lozowski the guilty party on this occasion. Japan opt to kick one for the first time, with Tamura calling for the tee from about 40 metres out, to the left of the posts. He nails it.
Updated
13 min: England 7-0 Japan. Japan continue to dominate and have a scrum just under the England posts. England have conceded three penalties in quick succession under the first sign of pressure from their visitors, who have yet to score.
9 min: England 7-0 Japan. Japan enjoy a series of sustained territory deep in England territory and win a penalty which is put out for a line-out. George Ford is penalised for not releasing and Japan have the advantage. Jamie George makes a try-saving tackle in the corner after Leitch had fed a team-mate.
Updated
7 min: England 7-0 Japan. Japan win the put-in at a scrum but match referee Paul Williams orders a re-set, ordering England’s front row to settle properly. Interestingly, Japan winger Kenki Kukuoka puts the ball in, rather than scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka.
Updated
Try! England 7-0 Japan (Care)
4 min: England 7-0 Japan. Japan turn over possession and Yu Tamura kicks for touch, but doesn’t make it. England immediately take advantage, counter-attacking down the left flank after a good pass inside from Elliot Daly. A rampaging run down the touchline from Joe Cokanasiga follows and he passes inside to Danny Care, who goes over for the try. George Ford adds the extras.
Updated
2 min: England 0-0 Japan. England run the ball through seven phases of early possession just inside the Japan half. Maro Itoje makes some hard yards towards the 22, putting his head down and charging, prompting a roar of approval from the crowd.
1 min: England 0-0 Japan. George Ford kicks off for England on a day where conditions could scarcely be more perfect for rugby.
The Nationals anthems are played: With the pre-match formalities almost completed, kick-off is just moments away. England line up in black shirts, shorts and socks, while Japan’s players wear red and white striped shirts, white shorts and white socks.
George Ford runs out alone. The out-half becomes the 50th player in history to win 50 caps this afternoon and is applauded accordingly. He’s followed out by both sets of players, with Michael Leitch leading out Japan.
Not too long now: Japan make their return to Twickenham for the first time in 32 years and like their hosts, are going through the final preparations in their dressing-room as Twickenham fills up. The red carpet is in place, as are the giant English and Japanese flags on the Twickenham sward. All we need now are some rugby players ...
Steve Brown leaves the RFU
From the Guardian’s Rob Kitson: Increasing disquiet about the Rugby Football Union’s financial position has triggered the abrupt departure of Steve Brown as chief executive. Brown will leave the world’s wealthiest union next month after less than 15 months in the role amid claims by one of his predecessors, Francis Baron, of financial mismanagement at Twickenham. Read on ...
Paul Rees on Japan
In the build-up to today’s Test, the Guardian’s Paul Rees had this to say about the chances of the Japan team visiting Twickenham.
Victory may look beyond a Japan team whose only previous visit to Twickenham was in 1986 when England did not award caps: the visitors led 12-6 at half-time that afternoon before being overpowered in the second period and losing 39-12. Under the guidance of their assistant coach Tony Brown, the former New Zealand outside-half, they have the capacity to embarrass opponents and earlier this month became the first tier-two nation to score five tries against New Zealand.
“It is not the same old boring rugby with a lot of set pieces,” said Brown, the head coach of Japan’s Super Rugby team, Sunwolves. “It is innovative. It is about attacking space at speed, using counterattacks and turnovers and kicking a lot to produce rugby that is exciting to play and watch.”
Updated
Today’s match officials
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Nigel Owens (Wales) & Dan Jones (Wales)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Updated
England team news
Joe Cokanasiga, the 18 stone Bath winger, makes his England debut on a day when Eddie Jones gives a run-out to many of his squad’s fringe players and makes 11 changes to the team that lost so narrowly against New Zealand last weekend. Out-half George Ford takes the captaincy, while Bath’s Zach Mercer makes his first start at No8. Jack Nowell and Alex Lozowski line up for the first time together in the centre.
Japan team news
Japan make six changes from the side that lost, but certainly didn’t disgrace themselves against the All Blacks earlier this month. Flanker Maskatsu Nishikawa makes his first start for his country at the ripe old age of 31.
Updated
England v Japan line-ups
England: 15-Daly, 14-Cokanasiga, 13-Nowell, 12-Lozowski, 11-Ashton, 10-Ford (capt), 9-Care; 1-Hepburn, 2-George, 3-Williams, 4-Ewels, 5-Itoje, 6-Lawes, 7-Wilson, 8-Mercer.
Replacements: 16-Hartley, 17-Moon, 18-Sinckler, 19-Hill, 20-Underhill, 21-Wigglesworth, 22-Farrell, 23-Slade.
Japan: 15-Tupou, 14-Yamada, 13-Lafaele, 12-Nakamura, 11-Fukuoka, 10-Tamura, 9-Tanaka; 1-Inagaki, 2-Sakate, 3-Koo, 4-Van der Walt, 5-Helu, 6-Leitch (capt), 7-Nishikawa, 8-Himeno.
Replacements: 16-Niwai, 17-Yamamoto, 18-Ai Valu, 19-Anise, 20-Tui, 21-Nunomaki, 22-Nagare, 23-Matsuda.
Autumn Test: England v Japan
Follow a narrow, contentious victory over South Africa and a similarly narrow, contentious defeat at the hands of New Zealand, England entertain Japan at Rugby HQ this afternoon. A comfortable victory is expected against the Brave Blossoms, but England cannot afford to take them too lightly. Eddie Jones is all too aware of what Japan can do, having masterminded their famous victory over South Africa at the last World Cup. Jamie Joseph’s will be hoping to cause similar waves when they host the tournament next year.
“We are expecting plenty of energy, aggression and fast ball movement,” said Jones. “They [Japan] will be full of surprises, quick taps, lineouts and plays. They’re going to have a bag of magic.” Kick-off is at 3pm, but stay tuned for all the build-up.
