Marcus Smith can get his feet firmly under the table as England’s pivot with Owen Farrell unavailable for England selection. How will he fare against England’s former mentor Eddie Jones who is enjoying a second stint in charge of Japan? Darry Worthington previews.
The international rugby season gets underway this coming weekend and we start things off with a rather intriguing fixture which sees former England coach, Eddie Jones, start his second stint as the man at the helm of Japanese rugby against his former side.
Darry Worthington runs the rule over this weekend’s clash and gives his pick for the fixture, below.
Japan v England
Saturday 22 June 2024 – 07:50
Japan National Stadium, Tokyo
To Win Match
Japan 9/1 | Draw 33/1 | England 1/25
Handicap
Japan (+19.5) 9/10 | England (-19.5) 9/10
There have been some rather interesting photos floating around the internet this week, and one of the most, for want of a better term, eye-catching had to be Eddie Jones standing in front of a projector screen with text along the lines of “this is how we’ll beat England for the first time” or “we have more heart than them”. To be honest, I’ve just had a quick search for the image and can’t find it anywhere. I am now second-guessing myself wondering if this image does exist or if its something I dreamt up.
While it seems this writer needs to be wary of playing mind games with himself, the English squad are well aware of Eddie Jones’ penchant for a spot of psychological torment against opposing teams with the former England mentor only 18 months on from leaving the English hot seat.
Veteran hooker Jamie George alluded to this in a recent press conference stating ““I’m not sure that we can distract ourselves or be worried about too much of any of that kind of thing. We’ve got a huge amount of respect for Eddie, he did great things for English rugby.”
One of the great, or not-so-great things he did depending on which English fans you ask, is bringing Steve Borthwick into the national fold. The current England head coach was given his shot as a forwards coach by Jones – originally with Japan and then with England – and then replaced his Aussie mentor following Jones’ ill-fated move to the Wallaby helm.
Anyway, enough about coach and player relationships and over to some more relevant stuff. England have obviously already gone through a Six Nations campaign while Japan are yet to kick a ball in anger with this set to be their first international of 2024. The English did alright in the Six Nations winning three of their five fixtures with their two losses coming to France and Scotland. Their best result of the Championship came as they beat a fired-up Ireland 23-22 at Twickenham.
The two sides have met eight times with the European outfit winning each fixture. England’s biggest winning margin was by 53 points while the closest fixture ended 19-21 but was played more than 50 years ago. The most recent clash between the sides was at last year’s World Cup where England registered a 34-12 victory.
The English have taken a rather large squad for this tour as they travel to New Zealand for a series following this. Borthwick’s most eye-catching selection – outside of Smith at 10 – is a first start fo Chandler Cunninham-Sout in the back row.
Jones meanwhile named an inexperienced side for the weekend’s clash with four uncapped players in his starting line-up including full-back (and university student) Yoshitaka Tazaki. The side will be captained by veteran Michael Leitch.
Verdict: Japan (+19.5) 9/10
I hate to admit this but I reckon Jones will be the difference maker here. He knows the vast majority of this English squad and their mentor very well and will be prepared for what the English will throw at them this Saturday. While I can’t foresee a Japanese win, I can see them keeping things within the 19.5-point handicap. The weather – which has been pretty horrific in Tokyo lately – could also be a factor.
