by 
After a November full of worries and frustration, England had the opportunity to have fun and frolic. Few questions may have been answered about this England team in this thrashing at Twickenham, but at least we know Steve Borthwick’s side can beat Japan: a 59-14 victory over their visitors has ended a streak of five successive defeats since the last time they rendered their opponents numb. to the edge of the sword in June.
There was no need for thrills or chicanery in the final quarter after the sort of ruthless, exhilarating performance that Steve Borthwick would have demanded. The England head coach had risked nothing in the pursuit of long-term gain, naming a first-choice team and charging them with unleashing their autumnal angst and anger against an outmatched Japan. They duly obliged, piling points and pain on Eddie Jones, a polarizing preacher incapable of causing further upheaval in his old parish.
It was a professional performance that the hosts simply had to deliver given the strength of the side Borthwick named. In doing so, the England head coach missed an opportunity to further assess the depth of his squad. While Borthwick pointed out this week that exciting 20-year-old prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour, who made his debut off the bench here, was his ninth Test debut of the year, it seemed like a missed opportunity for a additional experimentation. .
It certainly didn’t seem necessary for Tom Curry to appear two weeks after another concussion, when England have spent an entire calendar year with Jamie George as their sole stand-in captain. Would the opportunity for Maro Itoje to take the lead from the start have been beneficial all round? I felt like not much was taken from this last release of the year.
England would no doubt, rightly, say that a win was a must at this point and they still have new combinations to build on. Another game in Joe El-Abd’s tweaked defensive system will help alleviate some of the more obvious teething problems. , while continued improvements in offensive connection and confidence were rewarded in a free-flowing performance.
There’s no doubt it’s been a tough few weeks, but Borthwick and his team, as they like to say, will learn from them. If Marcus Smith seized the starting half-shirt with flash and dazzle, it was courage, grunt and a no insignificant degree of guile that left Will Stuart seemingly safe in the problematic tighthead position.
It’s those sorts of positives that Borthwick will cling to after a year that brought just five wins in 12 games, including two against Japan and old pal Eddie Jones. Ireland away, France at home is a hell of a start to the Six Nations – perhaps any degree of confidence restored here will end up being the key.
It was quite a bright start from the visitors, who caused England problems early on with complex and fast-paced phase play. But it didn’t take long for the nerves of the crowd and the England team to be calmed. Virtually their first attacking opportunity ended in a try, Smith’s piercing pass sending Ollie Lawrence through a gap and a freeing Ben Earl applying the finishing touch.
England was in his work, confidence growing. Five minutes later a second try arrived courtesy of Sam Underhill, who broke away from the back of a maul and landed with authority. On the next occasion the ball didn’t even need to be removed from the roaring mass – George had England’s third goal and a heavy scoreline began to present itself.
The latest injury to Underhill – a flanker with miserable fitness luck – was the only fly in the much-needed ointment to soothe recent scarring. When George was buried for the second time as England’s forwards flexed their muscles again, 28 points had arrived in just over half an hour and England were beginning to strut their stuff.
A delightful try from Naoto Saito put the visitors on board, with red-hot center Dylan Riley continuing an outstanding individual year with a dynamite break to set up his scrum-half. Another English try arrived before half-time. Borthwick had challenged his team to be more courageous in their offload and several people responded to his call. Taking advantage of the freedom afforded to him, Lawrence bumped and worked brilliantly, but it was his Bath team-mate Stuart who was an unlikely architect of Ollie Sleightolme’s try. Stuart’s 15-yard pass put the wing in space, and a neat dab and dive defeated the last defender.
England had already equaled the total they managed to achieve in the so-called “black hole” match against Japan in 2018, which put several international careers on indefinite pause. On that November day, Jones was forced to call on Owen Farrell to sort out his affairs at halftime; Borthwick would have been quite pleased with his England team’s efforts.
Indeed, it was Jones and Japan making half-time changes, swapping a few new front rowers in search of some semblance of salvation. However, Japan’s thirteen minutes of toil ended without Saito’s score being added, and England struck almost instantly coming out of their own half. After latching on to a through kick, an obscene offload from Freeman to free George Furbank probably shouldn’t have been shown before the turn. Luke Cowan-Dickie then struck twice either side of a Kazuki Himeno consolation, before replacement winger Tom Roebuck showed his final prowess.
Thus ended an autumn and a year of missed opportunities. England will be anguished by the moments they went missing: George Ford’s goal against the All Blacks; Itoje’s overhand recovery against Australia; the last quarter collapses in New Zealand; Earl’s unarmed tackle in Lyon. These are significant marks on the face of a team emerging from their adolescence – Borthwick has often highlighted his team’s inexperience in the tough times following recent defeats, but it’s an excuse that probably won’t hold up next year.
The return of Ollie Chessum should better balance a pack which has at times lacked a grafter and a third lineout break, while a role may need to be found for Saracens number 8 Tom Willis, to add close carry thrust. But Borthwick believes the elements are largely in place for this England team to grow together. The Twickenham faithful who have shown great patience finally have a victory to celebrate.
