Sunday evening, England, without being conquerors, beat Japan 34-12 by scoring four tries and with the offensive bonus point, in Nice. The XV de la Rose takes a step towards the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup after two days.
Published on: 09/17/2023 – 23:39
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England, arriving at the World Cup in full doubt, took a big step towards the quarter-finals with a second victory in two matches, Sunday September 17 in Nice against Japan (34-12), without completely reassuring his offensive capabilities despite the bonus.
Who would have thought, when they concluded their laborious summer preparation three weeks ago with a historic defeat against Fiji at Twickenham (30-22), that the English would be the first to smell so clearly the sweet scent of the final stages? They still have two matches to play in Group D, of which they took control with nine points, but the Chilean neophytes and Samoa seem within their reach.
The inaugural success over Argentina (27-10), built on an iron defense and the success at the foot of George Ford, helped to relax the atmosphere around the finalists of the 2019 edition. However, it did not enough to sweep away all the doubts that have accompanied this team for months and their evening in Nice did not provide much more guarantees, other than that of a defense that was still impervious.
Winners of the Pumas without having scored a single try and almost never having been in a position to do so, Steve Borthwick’s men were flattened this time four times, but fate did doubly help them.
Charge by Courtney Lawes, England captain, against Japan in the World Cup on September 17, 2023 in Nice © NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
A stereotypical game
The third row Lewis Ludlam, preferred in the starting XV to Billy Vunipola, returning from suspension, first scored in force after a gift from the Japanese touchline (24th). And captain Courtney Lawes was very happy to recover a ball that bounced on the head of his pillar Joe Marler (56th).
After being penalized with three red cards in their previous four matches, England, who will once again be able to count on their opener and usual captain Owen Farrel from the next match, have at least finally finished a match at 15.
The XV de la Rose, which snatched the bonus from the siren thanks to Joe Marchant, should meet in the quarterfinals one of the three contenders for the first two places in group C – Wales, Fiji or Australia – in half of the table the lowest of the tournament.
But his almost caricatured propensity to play on the foot – even if it ended up paying off on Freddie Steward’s try (66th), well served by Ford – does not necessarily make him a candidate for final victory after the demonstrations of force from Ireland or South Africa.
The Japanese, who have not lost a World Cup group match since 2015, already have no room for error before successively facing Samoa and Argentina. Their victorious entry into contention against Chile (42-12) was not completely convincing before moving on to the English revealer and today we know a little more about their level: that of a willing but limited team, incapable of beat a “big one” from Ireland and Scotland during the 2019 World Cup on home soil.
With AFP
