By Nick Powell, Online Editor at Stade de Nice
England found their form in the last 25 minutes to beat Japan in Nice on Sunday night.
It was a second straight win for the men in white, following a run of only one victory in six; their form leading into the tournament.
With several places in the team for the knockout still to be decided, who shone through and staked their claim to start? And where did it go wrong for a Japan side that won their pool four years ago?
England
Joe Marler – 7
Crucial and brilliant turnover prevented first good Japanese chance, scrummaged excellently throughout and got through a lot of work. Missed tackle with England leading 20-12 was not good to see however.
Jamie George – 6
One disappointing lineout throw was part of a pretty flat showing at times, but he still remains England’s best man at hooker.
Kyle Sinckler – 6
Couldn’t get expected dominance of his loosehead opponents, took contact a little bit too easily in attack but by no means a bad display.
Ollie Chessum – 5
Looking more and more comfortable at international level and has formed a decent partnership with Itoje, but gave away a key penalty in the second half to narrow the gap to one and needs to be busier.
Maro Itoje – 7
Strong in the lineout, other than one he dropped in the second period. Good yards in the carry and another great performance around the ruck. Discipline has improved dramatically in recent weeks.
Courtney Lawes – 8
Another industrious showing with some crucial defensive work, threatening carries and showed composed leadership amidst a tightly contested second half. Played to the whistle for his try.
Ben Earl – 7
Becoming a more important cog in the England team every time he plays, great metres in every carry and topped tackle stats in first half. Needless offload spoiled a good opportunity in the second though.
Lewis Ludlam – 7
Powerful finish for England’s first try was reward for another lively display. Looks increasingly like he will be a first-teamer for the rest of the tournament.
Alex Mitchell – 6
Delivery from the base generally good again, bailed out Ford for early Japan chance but kicks were not always on point and too frequent.
George Ford – 7
A very different performance to last time out but executed well. Decision making was not always right but it is the system – more so than the individual – that may be to blame for that.
Elliot Daly – 6
Very solid underneath the high-ball and put some great defensive work in but fluffed some good chances through a combination of handling errors and him simply not being quick enough.
Manu Tuilagi – 7
Some solid carries put England on the front foot and made many key tackles in defence.
Joe Marchant – 7
Offensively sloppy but a brilliant defensive showing an increasing understanding with his new centre partner
Jonny May – 6
Stupidly impeded Lemeki off the ball in his one first-half contribution, but came alive after the break and helped attack fire better.
Freddie Steward – 7
Knocked on when England had an excellent chance to score in the opening three minutes, but typically solid under the high ball and showed some moments in attack after half-time capped off by fine finish for England’s third.
Replacements.
Theo Dan – Not enough time to get a rating, but no obvious errors.
Ellis Genge – 5, Some decent carries, but knock-on towards the end was disappointing.
Will Stuart – 5, One very good carry but knocked on twice.
George Martin – Only given a few minutes at the end with second rows operating well.
Billy Vunipola – 5, Very little impact despite a good amount of time on the bench.
Ben Youngs – 7, Helped lift his side in final quarter.
Marcus Smith – 7, An impressive cameo out of position at full-back.
Ollie Lawrence – 7, Threatening in possession when he came on.
Japan
Keita Inagaki – 6
Solid showing. Fronted up well to Sinckler at scrum time and got through a good amount of work in defence.
Shota Horie – 6
Not a perfect performance at the set piece, but made ten tackles like the loosehead next to him and was certainly not the reason for his team’s loss.
Jiwon Gu – 5
Conceded scrum penalty to Marler and probably didn’t get through as much work as he would’ve liked to have done.
Jack Cornelsen – 7
Massive defensive shift but found himself under pressure at the lineout in the second half, along with his partner at lock.
Amato Fakatava – 4
Poor first-half knock on gifted England their opening try, was surrounded by forwards who made much bigger contributions than he did.
Michael Leitch – 7
A hugely courageous performance from the Brave Blossoms veteran, all over the park.
Pieter Labuschagne – 8
More metres than any other Japanese forward and more tackles than any other player across the two teams. Gutsy.
Kazuki Himeno – 7
Made a couple of errors and while his personal stats were as solid as his fellow backrowers, he couldn’t lead his team to turn the ship around. Nonetheless deserves credit for the tenacity he showed.
Yutaka Nagare – 6
Quality service and a threat around the fringes, caught in possession once though and missed a tackle as England went up the gears.
Rikiya Matsuda – 7
Managed the game the best he could with a pack going back, drove Japan’s attack and charge down almost gave his side an early try. Did his job off the tee as well.
Jone Naikabula – 7
A quality first half showing, a bit more quiet in a second half where his side struggled to string together the phases but looking dangerous for upcoming games.
Ryoto Nakamura – 5
Not effective enough in attack, was desperately needed going forward with his pack struggling to gain a foothold. Missed two tackles as well.
Tomoki Osada – 6
Looked dangerous offensively but failed to look after possession and was all at sea on the other side of the ball.
Kotaro Matsushima – 8
Such a threat every time he got hold of the ball, had his side had the better of play and given him more opportunities it could’ve been another special night for the winger.
Seimis Masirewa – N/A
Poor early knock-on set up platform for England’s first points before he hobbled off early.
Replacements:
Atushi Sakate 6, Brought some solidity to the lineout.
Craig Millar 7, Amazing amount of work for a 30-minute cap.
Asaeli Ai Valu 6, Kept things going well at scrum.
Warner Deans 6, Made sure he got around plenty.
Kanji Shimokawa, Kept up Labuschagne’s busy work in final six minutes.
Naoto Saito 5, Struggled to deal with England’s threat as they came alive late on.
Dalton Riley 5, Another victim of England’s improved offensive play.
Lomano Lemeki 6, Will bring more in attack when he replaces Masirewa in the starting side, a tad weak defensively.
For exclusive stories and all the detailed rugby news you need, subscribe to The Rugby Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day.
