England’s Win Over Japan To End A Dreadful Run In The Autumn Series
By Phoebe Awiti
It was a sweet victory for England as the Autumn series ended. England ran in nine tries as they beat Japan in a 59-14 victory at , ending their Autumn Nations Series with at least one win.
This victory was so important given that England lost their opening three games after close defeats by New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The Sunday victory ended this miserable streak this season with a smile. It was Borthwick's side's first win since June when they comfortably beat Japan 52-17.
In their games against the All Blacks and South Africa, England had failed to score well into the second half. This season they were beaten by small margins every time.
During this match, England faced old head coach Eddie Jones' new outfit: Japan.
Former England head coach Eddie Jones, was sacked in 2022 and later replaced by Borthwick, having been in charge during England's joint-worst run since 2018 of five straight defeats. His successor ends the year with five wins from 12 games.
The Fulltime.
Tries from Ben Earl, Sam Underhill, Ollie Sleightholme plus a double from captain Jamie George gave England a big lead at half-time, Marcus Smith's perfection with the boot helping them notch 35 points in total.
Captain Jamie George scored twice in a clinical opening period, which saw Ben Earl, Sam Underhill and Ollie Sleightholme also grab tries. England went in with a healthy 35-7 lead at half-time and in control of the match.
The Brave Blossoms managed one eye-catching score in the first half through captain Naoto Saito
The second half then unfolded in a similar fashion as tries from George Furbank, Tom Roebuck and two from Luke Cowan-Dickie was only matched with one converted effort by Japan's Kazuki Himeno.
With the Autumn Nations Series now finished for Steve Borthwick's side, who picked up one win and three losses, their attention will next turn to the Six Nations at the beginning of 2025. England will face Ireland in Dublin in their Six Nations opener.
England (35) 59
Tries: Earl, Underhill, George 2, Sleightholme, Furbank, Cowan-Dickie 2, Roebuck Cons: M Smith 7
Japan (7) 14
Tries: Saito, Himeno Cons: Saito, Matsunaga
“This coaching team and I feel very positive about going forward, we made some changes, and I feel we have done well in a short space of time. We are disappointed with some of the results, but we are moving in the right direction. The average age (of the team) is 25, we have come close on a number of occasions, and I sense the players are wanting to convert that. Steve Borthwick speaking post-match to the press.
“We get one thing right and another thing breaks down. Today, our line-out was not right and our scrum was poor. We are a young team, and we have got to accept that is part of the process. It has been up and down”. Eddie Jones said in a post match press conference.
Line-ups
England: Furbank; Freeman, Lawrence, Slade, Sleightholme; M Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George (capt), Stuart, Itoje, Martin, T Curry, Underhill, Earl.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Baxter, Opoku-Fordjour, Isiekwe, Cunningham-South, Randall, F Smith, Roebuck.
Japan: Matsunaga; Osada, Riley, Fifita, Naikabula; McCurran, Saito; Okabe, Lee, Takeuchi, Waqa, Uluiviti, Shimokawa, Himeno, Makisi.
Replacements: Matsuoka, Morikawa, Tamefusa, Akiyama, Tatafu, Gunter, Fujiwara, Kajimura.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant Referee 1: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referee 2: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)