Marcus Smith stars as England thrash Japan 52-17 in Tokyo

TOKYO – Eddie Jones experienced a chastening start to his second stint in charge of Japan’s rugby team on June 22, after handing starts to four debutants including university student Yoshitaka Yazaki at full-back.

The result was a 52-17 thrashing by England in Tokyo, as Marcus Smith gave an all-action first-half performance that led to the win and a boost ahead of two Tests against the All Blacks.

The Brave Blossoms salvaged a measure of pride with late tries from winger Koga Nezuka and Takuya Yamasawa.

“It was a pretty tough game for us today,” said Jones, who took England to the 2019 World Cup final and was appointed Japan coach in December.

“England are a strong, powerful team, but I was really pleased with our set-piece work, which kept us in the game for a long period of time.

“We’ve been working on little things in our attack which created opportunities, but we weren’t able to finish them. But for those new players to play in front of a fantastic crowd, it shows really strong potential for Japanese rugby.”

Jones was previously Japan coach from 2012 to 2015, before he took charge of England.

His 23-man squad averaged just 11 caps each, while Jamie George and Dan Cole in England’s front row alone have more than 200 caps collectively.

Preferred at fly-half to Fin Smith, England’s Smith scored a try and set up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Henry Slade for two more before the break against their inexperienced hosts.

Chandler Cunningham-South also scored on his first Test start, while Alex Mitchell, Ben Earl, Harry Randall and Sam Underhill crossed the line in the second half.

Charlie Ewels was red-carded at the death for the visitors.

“I’m really pleased with the result, I thought the application of the players was really excellent,” said England coach Steve Borthwick, who was Jones’ assistant in 2019.

“Clearly, late in the game our cohesion broke up a little against a very fast, skillful Japanese team who took their chances at the end of the game really well.

“I thought the (ball retention) of the Japanese was excellent. We had to defend really well to keep them out.”

England’s Marcus Smith (centre) gave an all-action first-half performance that led to the win. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

The English will next face the All Blacks in Dunedin on July 6 and Auckland on July 13.

England’s No. 10 shirt is up for grabs on this tour, with Owen Farrell ineligible after deciding to continue his club career in France and George Ford injured.

After the team had started slowly, Smith staked his claim in impressive fashion, gliding through the Japan defence after a line-out midway through the first half for a stylish try.

The 25-year-old then turned provider, picking out Feyi-Waboso for a try with a long pass before kicking into space to set up Slade after the half-time hooter.

But he was quieter after the interval and blotted his copybook with a yellow card for a badly timed tackle. AFP, REUTERS