Joseph scores record-equalling five tries as England rout Japan

Will Joseph scored five tries as England beat Japan 78-15 in the Nations Championship at Twickenham on Saturday 14 November. Joseph (five), Freddie Steward, Ellis Genge, Cadan Murley, Ben Earl, George Martin, Ben Curry, Marcus Smith and Greg Fisilau each scored tries for England.

Japan scored tries through lock Warner Dearns and replacement prop Opeti Helu. England led 49-7 at half-time. The match was England’s second home Nations Championship fixture and finished as a 13-try victory over Japan.

Joseph’s record-equalling performance

Will Joseph marked his comeback after four years out of the Test game with a record-equalling five tries. A teenage Joseph made his debut as a late replacement in a game against Australia four years ago.

Since then he has endured his boyhood club London Irish going bust, an underwhelming spell at Harlequins and the loss of hearing in his left ear after an auto-immune reaction. His superb early season form for Gloucester thrust him back into the international picture.

Four other players - Douglas Lambert, Rory Underwood, Josh Lewsey and Henry Arundell - have scored five tries in a single match for England.

Japan reduced to 14 men early

The Test could hardly have started worse for Japan.

Joseph sprinted and powered clear down the right in acres of space to score inside a minute, and the TMO brought lock Harry Hockings’ high tackle on Genge to the referee’s attention before Ford even took the conversion.

That left Japan down to 14, and by the sixth minute news came from the bunker that Hockings’ yellow had been upgraded to a 20-minute red.

Japan were vastly over-matched, unable to rev up the ball movement and quickfire rucks that have made them a threat to the game’s major powers in the past.

It was a sombre return for former England head coach Eddie Jones to Twickenham, with his side falling well short of professional standards.

England’s scoring and missed kicks

England raced out to a 32-3 lead inside 20 minutes. Joseph completed his hat-trick inside 20 minutes, flying over in the corner again.

The Gloucester wing continued to show off his pace and power, bamboozling Japan to score his fourth in the 24th minute, before opposite wing Murley slid over for a try in the corner for England’s seventh inside half an hour.

England’s points total would even have been 16 greater had eight conversions not been missed off the kicking tee - George Ford missing six, Henry Slade two. Ford produced a stunning 50:22 to earn England a five-metre lineout chance in the second half.

Individual cases and what happens next

With the outcome clear as England raced out to a 32-3 lead inside 20 minutes, the focus sharpened on a number of individuals attempting to press their case alongside Joseph.

Centre Max Ojomoh, making his first appearance since an excellent performance against Argentina 12 months ago, was smart and sharp in midfield.

Henry Pollock, afforded only his second start in his eye-catching England career, carried gamely but didn’t have the impact he has shown so often off the bench. Replacement Greg Fisilau’s pair of wince-inducing hits and burrowing try added more intrigue to the back-row equation.

And while George Ford sewed together England’s backline neatly enough, his failure to convert more of England’s early tries won’t help his hopes of regaining the 10 shirt on a more permanent basis. Northampton scrum-half Archie McParland made his debut as a replacement.

A host of front-line names will return next Saturday as England attempt to take down an All Blacks side smarting from defeat by Wales.

Scorers and conversions from Sky Sports

England try scorers and times from Sky Sports

Sources

• BBC Sport

• The Independent