Forget the scoreline, and the fact that Charlie Ewels created some unfortunate history by becoming the first England player in history to be sent off twice when his yellow card for a dangerous clear-out tackle on Michael Leitch, the Japan captain, was upgraded to red, which will surely bring his tour to a premature end.
The main takeaway from this contest was all about England attempting to harness the momentum generated by the second half of their Six Nations campaign and in that respect, this victory will have given Steve Borthwick a valuable insight into what ground still needs to be made up before they depart for New Zealand for two Tests against the All Blacks.
Encouragingly, there seems to already be a significant amount in the credit column with this eight-try victory, even if the quality of this inexperienced Japan side must be taken into context.
Top of that list is the way Marcus Smith grabbed hold of the game, in a manner that would have pleased Borthwick, after England had spent the majority of the first quarter chasing shadows in challenging conditions.
Japan’s high-tempo ‘ruck and run’ game was at times breath-taking, and their accuracy such that England’s defence was severely tested. Japan deserved more than a sole penalty by Seungsin Lee, the Kobe Steelers fly-half, in the opening quarter and at least their relentless efforts were rewarded with two late tries by Samisoni Tua and Koga Nezuka.
But it was an impressive purple patch by Smith in the second quarter that changed the course of the contest decisively in England’s favour. After Chandler Cunningham-South, another who delivered a stand-out carrying performance along with George Martin, had powered over for England’s first try, Smith burst into life, using his speed and change of direction to break open the Japanese defence for a stunning finish. He also had a hand in further tries by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Henry Slade.Â
There is more to come from him in terms of game control, and even though he received a yellow card in the second half that brought his game to an end in the 54th minute – he was replaced by Fin Smith having appeared to suffer cramp moments before – it was a positive first step having been backed by Borthwick to shape England’s attack for a run of games.
England know that they will not be able to score with such ease off first-phase possession against the All Blacks, but there was greater fluidity after the break, with further tries by Alex Mitchell, Ben Earl, Harry Randall and Sam Underhill. Underhill picked up where he left off from his staggering performance in the Premiership final, while Cunningham-South and Martin also caught the eye.
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