PUT TO THE SWORD
Improved Red Roses hammer Japan ahead of New Zealand clash
OWEN FARRELL paraded around the pitch with a giant samurai sword after the final whistle. It was presented to him by the opposition and it was symbolic of England’s victory, as they cut an underwhelming Japan team to shreds.
Perhaps it will come in handy for Eddie Jones next week. Before England beat the All Blacks in 2019, the coach pulled out a sword and symbolically slashed a kiwi fruit in half in front of his players. This was a convincing warm-up but Jones knows his players will need to be even sharper to beat New Zealand.
England’s attack was more like a butter knife against Argentina but yesterday they offered precision. They played with their heads up, delivering flashes of movement and innovation as they ran in seven tries.
Farrell at inside centre and Marcus Smith at fly-half went looking for openings, although Jones made a conservative appraisal that they should have scored at least 20 more points. The English pack dominated at the scrum, winning penalties to give them easy entries into the Japanese 22.
This was not a day where the hosts went out looking for three-pointers. Farrell kicked one early on, but after that they trampled the Cherry Blossoms into the ground. Ellis Genge flew out of the line like a kamizake to stunt the tourists’ attack and most of the time it was one-way traffic.
Fixing their ill-discipline, England conceded just two penalties in the opening half-hour. They stormed to a 17-point lead, with authoritative full-back Freddie Steward playing a key role. He swooped off Smith’s shoulder to manoeuvre around Japan’s rush defence for the opening try, before running the ball from his own 22 to lay the foundations for Smith to score the second.
‘When you consider that’s Freddie’s 15th test, he’s got a good head on him,’ said Jones. ‘Others take longer to mature. The only flashiness we’ve seen is that ridiculous little moustache he’s got!’
Farrell’s ingenuity initiated the try for Guy Porter that left Japan reeling before the break. Asked for a progress report on Farrell’s partnership with Smith, Jones said: ‘We think Marcus and Owen can be really good together. Like any strategy, it’s got to keep having results but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t continue.’
Farrell was faultless from the kicking tee, converting all of
England’s tries. There was a momentary blip when Naoto Saito darted over for Japan’s only try, finishing off a 13-phase attack on the stroke of the hour, by which time many people in the ground were already talking about the All Blacks.
‘Next week’s an opportunity to play against one of the giants of world rugby,’ said Jones. ‘There’s a narrative that says England can’t beat New Zealand but in 2019 we showed that if you’ve got the right attitude and the right game plan, then history can be broken.
‘Their team has changed and they’ve got a different coach. They’re playing a slightly different style of game to what they used to. If we go after them then they’re there for the taking — and we’re going to go after them.’