Blossoming Smith catches the eye in Tokyo try-fest

From golden wings to red cards, Harry Latham-Coyle picks out five talking points from England's 52-17 win over Japan

- Harry Latham-Coyle

England geared up for Tests against the All Blacks in fine fashion as they secured a sizeable win over Japan in Tokyo.

Encountering Eddie Jones for the first time since the former head coach’s defenestration at the end of 2022, England would have feared a sticky afternoon in the heat and humidity of the Japanese capital and struggled to get going with Japan firing out of the blocks.

But Marcus Smith and Henry Slade soon warmed to their work, showing off the ample attacking options at their disposal to accelerate up through the gears and eventually hit 50.

Eight tries in all would have pleased Steve Borthwick but the head coach was given a headache by the late sending off of replacement lock Charlie Ewels for a dangerous clearout.

Here are five things we learnt from England’s tour opener against the Brave Blossoms.

Smith seizes his chance at fly-half

Entering this game, Smith had started three times with the No 10 shirt on his back under Borthwick and been on the losing side in each of them. However, with George Ford absent due to an achilles issue and Owen Farrell on his way to France, this summer offers an opportunity for a princely talent to establish himself at Test level.

With Fin Smith pushing hard for selection after an outstanding season for Northampton, a misfire from his namesake would have left the Harlequin vulnerable ahead of the New Zealand leg of the tour. But Smith was excellent in Tokyo, picking his runners nicely and showing off his extra turn of pace to score a brilliantly constructed first-half try. He kicked well from hand and tee, too, and looks likely to retain the starting shirt for the first Test in Dunedin in a fortnight.

Wings continue to impress