England vs Japan LIVE: Rugby result, latest updates and reaction after Will Joseph stars in rout

England vs Japan LIVE: Rugby result, latest updates and reaction after Will Joseph stars in rout

No danger of a Nations Championship upset at Twickenham after Wales stun New Zealand
Man of the match: Will Joseph scored five tries as England thrashed Japan

England vs Japan LIVE!

Will Joseph was the star of the show as England demolished Japan in rugby’s Nations Championship. After Wales had stunned New Zealand in a historic upset in Cardiff earlier on Saturday, there was never any threat whatsoever of another major shock at Twickenham, where the rampant hosts ran in 13 total tries in a 78-15 thrashing. Five of those went to Joseph, including four in the first 24 minutes as he equalled an England record that is jointly held by Henry Arundell, Josh Lewsey, Rory Underwood and Douglas Lambert.

It was a dream return to international duty for Joseph, younger brother of ex-England centre Jonathan Joseph, having not previously started a game for England and earned his only senior cap off the bench four years ago. Freddie Steward, Ellis Genge, Cadan Murley, Ben Earl, George Martin, Ben Curry, Marcus Smith and Greg Fisilau were also on the scoresheet for Steve Borthwick’s side, who led 49-10 at half-time, with the only concern being an errant day off the tee for George Ford that saw only five of the 13 tries converted.

Japan simply never recovered from Joseph’s early effort and the yellow card for Harry Hockings for a high hit on Genge that was quickly upgraded to a 20-minute red, with Eddie Jones enduring a nightmare return to Twickenham. Follow England vs Japan reaction live below!

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Will Joseph scores record-equalling five England tries as Japan thrashed

Well, how do you even begin to sum up that one?

A complete and utter mismatch - one of the most one-sided Test matches you will ever encounter.

The game was effectively over inside the first 60 seconds, when Will Joseph scored the first of a record-equalling five tries on his first-ever England start and second cap - four years after his first.

Japan’s misery was quickly compounded by the 20-minute red card to Harry Hockings for a high shot on Ellis Genge and it just kept getting worse from there as Eddie Jones endured a horrifying return to Twickenham.

THIRTEEN tries in total from rampant England in their highest-scoring performance for some 25 years, with Freddie Steward, Genge, Cadan Murley, Ben Earl, George Martin, Ben Curry, Marcus Smith and Greg Fisilau - superb off the bench - also crossing the whitewash.

Japan’s two scores came from co-captain Warner Dearns and Opeti Helu.

The only negative for England was their very rough day from the tee, with just five of those 13 tries converted.

They would have had 94 points if they had converted all of them.

England 78-15 Japan

Try-scoring prop Opeti Helu limps off late on to compound a truly harrowing afternoon for Japan at Twickenham.

They are asking questions as the final seconds tick down, but will run out of time.

It’s all over.

Will Joseph named man of the match after five-try haul

England 78-15 Japan

Will Joseph’s older brother - and former England international - Jonathan Joseph beams from the stands as his sibling is unsurprisingly named as the man of the match after his stunning five-try haul.

There is still time for a record sixth.

We neglected to mention that Arthur Clark also came on for only his second England cap a little earlier, in place of captain Maro Itoje.

TRY! England 78-15 Japan | Greg Fisilau 73'

73 mins: He deserves that.

The try is awarded after a long TMO check on the grounding.

Henry Slade can’t put through the conversion from wide on the left.

The kicking from the tee has been the only downside on an otherwise remarkable afternoon for England, who would have more than 90 points if they had made all their conversion attempts.

Greg Fisilau making monster tackles

England 73-15 Japan

Greg Fisilau is not interested in the slightest in taking things easy on battered Japan here.

He continues to deliver some bone-shuddering hits and is carrying with formidable power.

A serious cameo on his second cap for the Exeter back row.

TRY! England 73-15 Japan | Marcus Smith 67'

67 mins: England’s players are queuing up to score even more tries here after dominant work at scrum time.

Archie McParland goes close to a debut try and Will Joseph looks likely to break the record with a sixth, but it’s Marcus Smith who is eventually sent through.

Henry Slade converts.

TRY! England 66-15 Japan | Ben Curry 66'

66 mins: There is still no end to the misery for Japan.

That is try number for England, scored by replacement flanker Ben Curry from close range after the hosts kick for a lineout following a breakdown infringement.

That is Curry’s first Test score.

Henry Slade misses the conversion.

Marcus Smith on at fly-half for England

England 61-15 Japan

There has been no let up in the relentless physicality from England here, despite their enormous lead.

They are still putting in some monster tackles.

For the record, England’s highest-ever score was 134-0 against Romania at Twickenham in November 2001 under Sir Clive Woodward.

Marcus Smith is on at fly-half for England, while Theo Dan replaces Max Ojomoh with starting hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie in the sin bin for a cheap yellow card.

Joe Heyes and Ben Curry are also on. Henry Pollock off.

TRY! England 61-15 Japan | Will Joseph 55'

55 mins: A fifth score for Will Joseph as he races through following an intercept.

He’s equalled the all-time England record for tries in a single game on a fairytale afternoon.

Henry Slade has taken over kicking duties and nails his first attempt.

Try-saving tackle by Henry Pollock

England 54-15 Japan

52 mins: Archie McParland is quickly into the thick of the action as he aims a clever kick in behind for the run of Joseph, but there’s too much on it.

The towering figure of Japan lock Michael Stolberg then tries to race away after an intercept, but he doesn’t quite have the legs to make it and he’s eventually dragged down by a combination of Henry Pollock and Henry Slade.

Original source England vs Japan LIVE: Rugby result, latest updates and reaction after Will Joseph stars in rout

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