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England 78-15 Japan: Will Joseph scores five as hosts rout Brave Blossoms


England have targeted fast starts this autumn and they tore into Japan with relish, launching into a pummelling that only let up long after victory was secure.

Joseph, tasked with bringing the pace and power lost with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s injury, delivered almost immediately.

Feyi-Waboso had a second-minute try chalked off by the Television Match Official in last weekend’s win over Australia and when referee Damian Schneider went upstairs after Joseph crossed in similar swift fashion, it looked ominous for the Gloucester man.

He didn’t have to worry.

There was nothing wrong in England’s build-up before he scorched Riku Kitahara and Warner Dearns for the score. Indeed, there was a lot right for the hosts with Pollock making yards and Ojomoh’s slick mis-pass opening up space.

Instead Japan second row Harry Hockings had caught Ellis Genge with a shoulder to the head.

Hockings, upright into the collision, was shown a 20-minute red card on review.

His team, who could not cope with England with a full complement, crumbled.

England scored another four tries in the powerplay, as Eddie Jones, who coached England for nearly seven years from 2016, looking increasingly grim-faced in the coaches box.

England’s forward power was an obvious edge to exploit.

Genge splattered number eight Jack Cornelsen on a fearsome charge to the line.

Big carries from George Martin and Asher Opoku-Fordjour set up a prime platform for Freddie Steward to bowl over Kitahara for a try.

Ben Earl was at the back of a stampeding driving maul with brought up a 49-10 scoreline by the break, and Martin barged over from short range early in the second half.

Joseph snaffled an interception to grab his record-equalling fifth try, trotting in while his brother and former England centre Jonathan Joseph looked on from his pitchside role as an in-stadium presenter.

Marcus Smith was given a rare chance to run at fly-half after replacing Ford on 57 minutes.

With the game breaking up and replacements disrupting rhythm, it was hard for the Harlequin to impose much of a pattern on proceedings, but he drifted nicely outside an onrushing tackler to get on the scoresheet.

Last year’s victory over New Zealand was one of the high points of head coach Steve Borthwick’s regime.

England came into the autumn as underdogs for this year’s rematch, but the teams’ performances this weekend suggest those odds are narrowing, and perhaps flipping in the hosts’ favour.

England: Steward; Joseph, Slade, Ojomoh, Murley; Ford, Van Poortvliet; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Itoje (c), Martin, Coles, Earl, Pollock

Replacements: Dan, Iyogun, Heyes, Clark, B Curry, Fisilau, McParland, M Smith

Japan: Ueda; Ishida, Riley, Tua, Tokito; Kitahara, Saito (co-c); Kamimori, Harada, Takeuchi, Hockings, Dearns (co-c), Gunter, Shimokawa, Cornelsen

Replacements: Sato, Otsuka, Helu, Stolberg, Costley, Fujiwara, Komura, Lee


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