Nothing better summed up this convincing win than the 22nd-minute try from the captain, Jamie George. It was old-time England, going back to the Eddie Jones era and beyond. The constituent parts that failed to function at crucial times in that troika of defeats at the hands of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa all clicked into place.
England were awarded a penalty. Not for the first time this autumn, Marcus Smith kicked for the corner. But whereas too many previous dead-ball kicks have been conservative, this one arrowed to within five metres of the Japanese tryline.
George threw to the towering Maro Itoje. The ball was sealed off from the opposing pack. The captain muscled his way to the back of what appeared an inevitable try from the moment the throw left the hooker’s hand. No, make that the moment the ball left the boot of the fly half. This is the staple diet on which Steve Borthwick has flourished throughout his career as second row and head coach. Borthwick’s basics.
George had been substituted by the time Marcus Smith, now doubling up as a full back/fly half with Fin Smith on the field, stroked a second-half penalty kick into the Japanese corner. Again Itoje won uncontested possession, again England surged over; again the hooker scored. In this instance, Luke Cowan-Dickie.
Yes, the forward opposition were overwhelmed in a way the teams they have played this month and will play in the Six Nations will not be. But it was encouraging for England’s fans and management to see the basics being done well. More pertinent perhaps is why the kicking was so much more precise compared with what has come before. The answer is pressure. The only pressure England were under on Sunday was self-induced.
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When they travel to Dublin for their next match against the world’s second-ranked team, things like the quality of kicks to the corner count. There will not be as many opportunities as against Jones’s overpowered team. They have to be taken.
One man who took his chance in the swirling wind and rain was the other Smith, Fin. The Northampton Saints player passed the ball off both hands with a supreme disdain for the chilly conditions. One pass from left to right which sent Tom Roebuck galloping over, oozed class. From right to left he whizzed Smith into a gap which the Harlequin rather wasted by kicking away.
There was also a cross-kick for Roebuck to feed on. It too ended in a try, in this instance Cowan-Dickie’s second. As cameos went, it was classy. Fin Smith looked every inch the Test No10, but this was little more than a training run with the doors (and the inexperienced Japanese defence) opened to the general public. Just as the lack of pressure made it so much easier for Marcus Smith and his pack to bash their way over from close range, so a shattered Japanese defence were easy pickings for Fin Smith.
The second half does offer up the options of the Smiths in tandem. If that is to be the case, Marcus as a freewheeling full back would be the English version of playing Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie together in the All Black shirt. England would be vulnerable beneath the high ball but they would be deadly in terms of the counterattack.
Another option would be to ease the Saintly Smith into the No12 jersey and give England a new age George Ford and Owen Farrell footballing partnership at the decision-making hub. Fin Smith is one of the best tackling tens in England. It may be a speculation too far with Ireland on the horizon but the manner in which Ben Earl scythed through Japan’s defence from the midfield is a reminder that rugby players numbers add up to nothing.
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England’s first try was a gem, wasted on such a walkover. The entire England midfield were involved. Smith looped around Slade and Lawrence delivered the pass to Earl who hit the line at an unstoppable angle. But it was the deceptive glance of Slade, looking one way and passing another, who picked the admittedly flimsy lock that was the Japanese midfield defence.
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There was another, even more direct tryscoring intervention on the part of the Exeter Chiefs player with a beautifully weighted kick behind a naive visiting defence. Tommy Freeman gathered and flicked the ball behind his back to send George Furbank in for the flashiest of finishes.
That’s the positives but there remained one huge weakness in England’s game. Slade has been named as England’s defensive linchpin. If so, he will be concerned at the ease with which Japan created acres of space when they managed to win sufficient quality of ball to launch their backs.
England’s inability to defend the wider channels has persisted throughout November. The flaw was apparent yet again. Borthwick’s team have to reconsider their strategy without the ball in hand. Too often they are a jagged shambles — one man, normally Slade, rushing, another delaying. Andy Farrell and Ireland will be watching England’s defensive deficiencies with relish.
The manner in which the rush defence was again picked apart makes one think England would be better embracing the more lateral drift many a New Zealand side have employed over the years. It is an easier way to maintain shape and force opposition wide rather than allow them to surge through gaping holes. But as Borthwick said post-match: “We want to put opposition [in possession] under pressure.” It’s high risk. Get it wrong and they will be struggling to keep Ireland in check.
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If England can reassess their defence, work out how to utilise two Smiths and retain their kicking accuracy when it really matters, this may just prove to have been a more interesting game than many expected.
