England need to extend control

CAN Japan produce another “Brighton Miracle”, mirroring their incredible win over South Africa in RWC 2015 by beating England in RWC 2023, or will it be a “Nice Nightmare” instead? 

- NICK CAIN

The likelihood is nothing quite as dramatic as those extremes when the teams meet at the 36,000 capacity Allianz Riviera Nice Stadium this evening.

Japan have not beaten England in their 10 previous meetings at international level dating back to 1971, and when the teams met ten months ago at Twickenham they were blasted 52-13, despite England being in the last throes of the Eddie Jones regime.

The chances of a convincing England win over Japan, who now face a Red Rose team under the aegis of Steve Borthwick – the “Brave Blossoms” forwards coach from the Brighton epic – were not good a week ago, after a dire run of only three wins in nine Tests coming in to the tournament.

However, England have been boosted significantly by the control and efficiency they showed when a 27-point goal-kicking masterclass from fly-half George Ford, including a rat-tat-tat of three dropgoals, steered them to a 27-10 win over Argentina in their Pool D opener in Marseille last weekend.

The other factor in this forecast of another England win is the possibility they might just have found their feet again after three years drifting in the doldrums following the 2019 World Cup final defeat in Yokohama.

By contrast, Japan’s hopes of another giant-killing result appears to have receded, because the anticipated boom from their success in hosting the 2019 tournament has not materialised.

Coach Jamie Joseph’s outfit are no longer riding the wave of public and media adulation after the pyrotechnics in which Japan ran Ireland, Scotland, Samoa, and Russia ragged to win all four pool games.