Japan Fall to Dominant England at Twickenham
The Brave Blossoms endured a difficult afternoon at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on Saturday, going down 78–15 to a dominant England side in the fifth round of the Nations Championship. While Japan showed glimpses of their attacking potential, particularly on either side of half-time, the hosts were firmly in control throughout, running in 13 tries in a comprehensive victory.
Japan’s challenge was made significantly harder from the opening moments when lock Harry Hockings was shown a yellow card following a dangerous tackle. The decision was subsequently upgraded to a 20-minute red card, leaving the Brave Blossoms a player short during the crucial early period of the match as England established their dominance.
The hosts were relentless in attack, combining physicality, pace and precision to repeatedly breach Japan’s defensive line. England winger Will Joseph had a day to remember, scoring five tries to equal the national record for tries in a test match.
Despite the early setbacks, Japan continued to look for opportunities to play their attacking game. Co-Captain Naoto Saito put the Brave Blossoms on the scoreboard with a penalty in the 14th minute, although sustained possession and territory remained difficult to establish against England’s powerful defence.
Japan suffered another setback midway through the first half when debutant winger Riku Tokito was forced from the field through injury. His replacement, Tiennan Costley, brought fresh energy and attacking intent and was one of Japan’s best on a challenging afternoon.
Costley’s direct running and ability to generate forward momentum helped the Brave Blossoms gain valuable ground on the occasions when they were able to retain possession and build attacking pressure. He played a key role towards the end of the first half, when Japan enjoyed one of their most promising passages of play.
With the Brave Blossoms finally able to string together multiple phases and put the England defence under pressure, Co-Captain Warner Dearns took a smart and sneaky quick tap off a penalty to power across for Japan’s opening try in the 37th minute. Saito added the conversion, offering a welcome reward for Japan’s persistence and taking the score to 49–10 at half-time.
Japan emerged from the sheds with renewed purpose, enjoying a more positive opening to the second half. Showing greater control in possession, the Brave Blossoms began to build sustained attacking phases, moving the ball with greater confidence and testing England’s defence.
They were rewarded on the 48th minute when replacement prop Opeti Helu crossed for Japan’s second try. The score provided another encouraging moment for the visitors and demonstrated what the Brave Blossoms could achieve when able to establish a platform and maintain possession.
However, such opportunities proved limited as England continued to dominate across the park. The hosts’ physicality, attacking accuracy and ability to capitalise on Japan’s defensive vulnerabilities ensured the Brave Blossoms were unable to build further momentum.
Commenting after the match, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“We needed to get out early in the first 20 minutes to put ourselves in the game. We got the red card which made it difficult and we never really managed to establish a foothold. England were powerful and precise, so it was a very difficult day for us.
“Physically, we got beaten up badly and emotionally, we went in with good intentions, thought we’d had a good preparation, but when you get knocked around early in the game, sometimes it’s hard to recover and we weren’t able to do that today.”
The Brave Blossoms now travel to Edinburgh to face Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday, November 21, before returning to Twickenham for the Nations Championship Finals Weekend on November 27–29.