Record-equalling Will Joseph dazzles – but what did England actually learn in rout of Japan?

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It had already been a Nations Championship weekend of tectonic collision and seismic shock; this was an earth-shattering encounter of an altogether different kind. England did not merely beat Japan but crumple and crush them in a mismatch of mountainous proportion that seldom even threatened to become a contest. Not that Will Joseph will much mind. On a dream Twickenham debut, the 24-year-old became just the fifth Englishman to score five tries in a single Test – the opposition may have been meek but one can only beat what it is in front of you, and Joseph ran round and over plenty in this one-sided rout.

It had been termed a World Cup audition but Steve Borthwick may require at least a couple of call-backs to truly ascertain those who are destined for featured roles. Joseph dazzled, Max Ojomoh sparkled and Freddie Steward impressed, too, in an English team reading from the same script – though the paucity of the opposition meant that few truly forced the head coach’s hand ahead of what promises to be a far tougher outing against a stunned, shellshocked All Blacks in a week’s time.

“It will be a huge step up. New Zealand are a world class team,” captain Maro Itoje said. “We’ve had some great battles with them over the years. They’re right up there in the toughest teams to play. So it’s going to be a huge step up, but I think it’s a step up this team is ready for.”

There were 12 tries in all, and frankly there could have been more. Eddie Jones had promised that his side would do something different to unsettle England; their tricky tactics seemed to consist of not turning up at all. From the moment that Harry Hockings’ shoulder made contact with the head of Ellis Genge’s shoulder in the build-up to the first of Joseph’s four scores, Japan were up against it. If the introduction of the 20-minute red card at least spared them the ignominy of playing 79 minutes with 14 men, they were not much more England’s equal with 15. “Clearly, we weren’t good enough today,” head coach Jones admitted. “We are not good enough at recovering from disappointments, which was clearly the case today.”

Wales had upset the odds against New Zealand in Cardiff earlier on Saturday, though there was never any prospect of that here. It was inside 60 seconds that Joseph registered his first, connecting with Ojomoh’s flashed miss pass and then using his strength and speed to do the rest. Hockings was the one member of the visiting side to make his presence known; a high tackle on Genge was a rather rude introduction, and rightly punished with a sending off on review.

England sensed blood. A decision to take three from a penalty was not universally popular but the supporters did not have to wait long for more pleasing points. Ojomoh was once more the initial architect, bursting through a flimsy tackle and offloading to Steward. It could be fairly said that the full-back lacks the natural playmaking ability of a George Furbank, yet his bendy banana of a grubber kick was beautifully measured, allowing Joseph to help himself to a second.

Provider soon turned scorer, Steward bashing in after more lively phase play, before Genge provided an equally telling punch of his own. With Japan struggling mightily in the air, each and every high hoist seemed to end up in English hands, and one such tap-back created the position from which Joseph could zoom into the corner to complete a 20-minute hat-trick.

Elder brother Jonathan had twice managed that feat in English white, but never quite so quickly. Joseph the younger wasn’t done, either, leaping to the corner. “He’s got the bragging rights now,” Joseph Sr, working inside the stadium bowl, admitted at the interval. With his dot down of Steward’s kick not considered a carry, the wing statistically had fewer charges than tries.

On the opposite wing, Cadan Murley had looked a little lonely until Steward’s pass sent him in. Not even half-an-hour had yet elapsed and England already had a magnificent seven. Only George Ford’s errant boot kept them from a half-century. Warner Dearns provided a rare moment of Japanese joy as he ploughed over from a quick tap, though it was instantly cancelled out with Ben Earl the buried beneficiary of an England maul.

One wondered what Borthwick, typically deadpan in the coaches’ box, was actually taking from a total mismatch. England will face Zimbabwe and Tonga during the pool stages of the World Cup – perhaps, then, he will be pleased that his second-string can tear overmatched opposition apart. The ruthlessness shown was a positive, though.

George Martin got the scoring started once they resumed and an intercepting Joseph broke free to tie the record of Douglas Lambert, Rory Underwood, Josh Lewsey and Henry Arundell. His former London Irish teammate perhaps serves as something of a cautionary tale: Arundell registered those five tries in a World Cup win over Chile but found himself out of the side a week after. Joseph’s capacity to play at centre and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s injury could well earn him a role against the All Blacks, yet there can be no guarantee. “He took those opportunities really, really well,” Borthwick stressed. “I wanted the ball in his hands as much as possible and that’s exactly what happened.”

Marcus Smith added the 12th try and Greg Fisilau, who had stomped about with frankly frightening ferocity, a 13th. Could Joseph take the record outright? The ball never quite fell his way in the final minutes but the damage had long since been decisively done.