England learned very little from Sunday’s rout of Japan. In fact, you could argue they learned absolutely nothing.
This should have been a fixture for an England A side, not the full national team.
Rugby has to be very careful with these sorts of games because it was a total mismatch, one England were never, ever going to lose.
There is something missing from international sport when there is no jeopardy in terms of the result. It doesn’t do rugby’s image any good.
I’ll come on to England in a bit but the big story of the game for me was Japan. While they scored a couple of nice tries, the Brave Blossoms are at nowhere near the level of the side which impressed on home soil in the 2019 World Cup. It’s sad to see.
Japan have had problems since then and through the Covid-19 pandemic, due to a lack of meaningful action. It showed.
England beat Japan with ease but would have learned very little from the contest at Twickenham
Steve Borthwick has to sort out England’s defensive issues before the Six Nations
This was not a Test match, it was a foregone conclusion. Eddie Jones was smiling at the final whistle, which was bizarre. He has lost the plot in so many ways and it is not helping the image of international rugby.
I really hope Japan can get back on track, because the global game needs countries like them to be strong and competitive. Unfortunately, they weren’t at Twickenham.
The match didn’t do much for England and I don’t think it did much for Japan, either.
England have got their A team back on track with a series of regular fixtures and that is to be applauded. If England A had played Japan, it would have been a far more meaningful match. Japan just did not have the set piece to compete.
The RFU should have ensured England’s fourth autumn international was against Argentina. Yes, there would have been the risk of another defeat, but who cares? International rugby should be full-on, competitive games, not one-sided action. It would have been far more competitive against the Pumas.
That said, even Japan managed to expose England’s defensive system, which is still all over the place. Steve Borthwick has to get that right for the Six Nations.
Defence is about attitude and basic organisation and England are not scaring anyone at the moment, which is a real worry.
In the first half, it was not a contest in the forward exchanges. England used that dominance to score five tries, Jamie George benefiting from the rolling maul with a brace. At 35-7 at the break, the game was over.
Japan managed to expose England’s defensive system, which is still all over the place
England cruised to victory at Twickenham and ended their run of five straight defeats
In the second 40, there was a bit of genius from Tommy Freeman to set up George Furbank and I thought another Northampton player, Fin Smith, showed some nice touches off the bench on his first autumn appearance.
Smith missed touch on one occasion with the sort of mistake that you can make against teams like Japan, but not the best sides on the planet.
But he moved the ball well to make space and created some nice moments with Tom Roebuck. Marcus Smith remains England’s first-choice No 10, but his namesake showed he has plenty of talent, too, with his good second-half cameo.
England ended with nine tries to finish their autumn campaign on a high. But on the whole, it has been a disappointing month, with three defeats against the southern hemisphere’s big three. They still have significant strides to make.
The defence remains an issue. There just doesn’t seem to be any trust when they fly up to make tackles. One goes, one stays.
In the back division, Henry Slade is the man who sets the tone for the blitz. He is routinely leading the defensive line.
The problem is that the men alongside him aren’t doing likewise. That creates dog legs in defence, which can be easily exposed by the opposition.
Japan’s first try was a nice score, but England should never be conceding like that on home soil against any team, let alone one of Japan’s quality.
As I’ve consistently maintained, I’d pick Freeman at outside centre, with Ollie Sleightholme, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Furbank as the back three, which is where England need pace.
Hopefully, England will go down that route for the Six Nations and show far more adventure in the back division.
