mens
nations-championship
Japan coach Eddie Jones described the 78-15 loss England as “a very tough day” for the Brave Blossoms, who conceded 13 tackles and had a player sent off Nations Championship Test at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.
Australian-born Harry Hockings was red-carded for a high shot in the first minute as England made the most of their one-man advantage. The hosts kicked almost 50 points during the first half as outside back Will Joseph ran in four tries.
Warner Dearns crossed for Japan’s first try in the 36thth minute, but England still had the final say before the break, with Ben Earl rounding off an almost flawless first half. England led 49-10 as they made their way off the hallowed turf of the stadium and down the half-time tunnel.
Substitute Opeti Helu crashed over for another Japan try during the second half, but the second 40 was otherwise the same as England’s. The hosts added another 29 points to their tally, and nine players finished with at least one try to their name.
“We never really established any foothold in the game. England, they were quite powerful today, relatively accurate. It was a very difficult day for us,” Jones said after the game.
“Physically, we were badly beaten, and secondly, emotionally, I think that we went in with good intentions, thought that we had prepared well.
“When you get knocked down early in the game, sometimes it’s hard to recover, and we weren’t able to do that today.”
Japan had a fair share of possession throughout the game, but were well beaten in the battle for territory and in some other key areas. England dominated with 63 percent of the territory, had ten more breakthroughs on the line, carried the ball more and made only six fewer tricks than the visitors.
The Brave Blossoms turned the ball over 19 times, took seven penalties and shot less than 75 percent of the time. They attempted more than 180 tackles, but missed 35, and the English succeeded in both running and footwork.
“We just have to fix a few things on our defense,” Jones mused.
“Then offensively, when we had the ball, we’re good, but we just gave the ball back too easy. We’re just sorting things out, man.”
Japan is fifth in the Southern Hemisphere Series standings after five rounds of the Nations Championship, with Fiji in last place with a score of 0-5. As things stand, the Brave Blossoms will face off Scotland in the final weekend of the Nations Championship in two weeks.
But there is one more round to go, and Japan will face Scotland next weekend anyway. Scotland would progress Wales top of the Northern Hemisphere if they beat the Wallabies at Murrayfield on Sunday.
“Not much since today, mate, unfortunately, but sometimes you have those days,” he added.
“The learnings will come as we think about the game.”