England begin summer tour with 52-17 win over Eddie Jones' Japan in Tokyo; Charlie Ewels handed two-game ban for red card, Nick Isiekwe called up for New Zealand Tests; Watch England's tour of New Zealand on Sky Sports
Monday 24 June 2024 09:17, UK
England opened their summer tour in style with an eight-try rout of Japan but Steve Borthwick says significant improvement is required if they are to trouble New Zealand next month.
Head coach Borthwick watched his side overcome a sticky start in the Tokyo heat to showcase their power and attacking qualities as they ran in four tries in each half, with half-backs Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell among the players to impress in the 52-17 victory.
The big negatives came on the discipline front. England conceded 15 penalties, had Smith sin-binned for an off-the-ball tackle which should arguably have resulted in a penalty try, while Charlie Ewels has been suspended and replaced by Nick Isiekwe for the two-match series against New Zealand after he was sent off for a reckless clear-out on Michael Leitch that could have easily ended the Japan captain's afternoon.
"Firstly, the performance level will need to rise as we face New Zealand in two weeks' time," said Borthwick. "I'll say about the discipline - you can't give that number of penalties away. We know that. You also can't give New Zealand the space that we gave Japan today.
"At the same time I expect our performance to go up a level. We had one session in England before we flew and we've had one proper session in Japan since we arrived, getting over the jet lag.
"To produce that off a couple of sessions together has been very impressive from the players' point of view, but we will need to go up several levels, and I expect us to go up several levels for New Zealand."
Ewels was only on the pitch for four minutes as a second-half replacement when he recklessly entered a ruck from a low position, taking out Leitch by angling into his legs.
It was his first Test since his last sending-off for a dangerous tackle against Ireland at Twickenham in the 2022 Six Nations, his international career interrupted by a serious knee injury sustained that same year.
Isiekwe made his England debut when replacing Ewels against Argentina in 2017 and now the Saracens forward, who can cover back as well as second row, now has the opportunity to add to his 11 caps.
Borthwick refused to comment on Ewels' dismissal, his second in successive Tests for England having seen red against Ireland during the 2022 Six Nations, but Japan captain Leitch felt there was no malice by the Bath lock.
"He came in with intent to clean out and luckily I got my knee out of the way, but that's the game," said Leitch.
It was an unhappy reunion for former England coach Eddie Jones as his second stint with Japan got off to an inauspicious start.
Jones named four debutants in his starting line-up, including two in a front row that contained only three caps, with a further four uncapped players on the bench.
"When you play against a team you've coached, it's always a bit of fun," said Jones. "It makes it a bit more interesting. You know the players, and some of the young players you bring through, you want them to do well, but you just don't want them to do too well against you."
Jones instructed his side to play with a fast tempo and they had England on the ropes during the opening quarter, but Japan's handling let them down at crucial moments before England began to dominate up front and in the set-piece.
"The first 15 minutes of the game, we had England under pressure," he said. "We took the game to England and that was one of the major aims to get today.
"How long we could do it for? Well, the only way to improve that is through practice. There's no magic solution. It's just practice and practice, and we'll get there.
"We've got eight new caps today that have all had a fantastic learning experience. Sometimes you get the lesson before you get anything else, and they got that today.
"All in all, disappointed with the result but super pleased with the effort of the players and their intent to play how we wanted to play.
"We are 10 days into a four-year project. I'm really pleased with the young players today, and the player led by example the most was Michael Leitch who was absolutely fantastic today. What a player for Japan."