Steve Borthwick is ringing the changes and George Ford, despite his 108 caps, also knows he needs to perform
In Tokyo this week the police have been seeking to help newly arrived visitors from overseas. Several local bar and restaurant managers have been arrested for targeting and ripping off unwary tourists who had walked into their establishments in good faith. Unfortunately for Japan’s rugby players, as they prepare to enter England’s chilly lair, there is no such reciprocal deal to protect them from a collective south-west London mugging on Saturday afternoon.
Instead they will be required to fend for themselves, with the odds heavily stacked in the home team’s favour. England have racked up a half-century of points against the Brave Blossoms in both their two most recent meetings – and that was before rugby’s try-scoring rates began ratcheting upwards. Japan’s arrival also neatly intersects with their hosts’ desire to build on the momentum of last Sunday’s 45-22 win over Australia.
Even the possible impact of a six-day turnaround has been negated by Steve Borthwick’s entirely sensible decision to whistle up some fresh blood for this fixture. There are, in addition, several seriously motivated individuals in his matchday squad, keenly aware that now is their moment to stake their claim for involvement in bigger games down the track, notably at next year’s World Cup in Australia.
All concerned have been stressing the need for the team to be placed ahead of personal ambition but in this case the two will essentially be hand in glove. If Max Ojomoh, for example, can dazzle in England’s midfield, as he did for the A team in Bath last weekend, then Japan will definitely be under the cosh. Likewise, Henry Pollock at No 8 – or whatever role he ends up performing. As the Wallabies found out, the latter’s number means increasingly little these days.
Will Joseph and the uncapped Archie McParland also have potentially bright international futures but it is Ojomoh’s reappearance that best reflects this fixture’s “use-it-or-lose-it” vibe. The 26-year-old has not featured for England since being voted player of the match against Argentina this time last year and probably wouldn’t be back at 12 without injuries to Seb Atkinson and Benhard van Rensburg. As he said in April, he has had to learn to be philosophical: “I’ve been in and out of the England squad since I was 21. So, on the one hand how long are you going to be hurt by something before you’re just like: ‘Whatever.’”
Now, at last, he has been invited to show what he can do, albeit with one or two small caveats. As well as bringing a creative spark, the England management also want to see him make an impact without the ball, both in terms of first-up defence and making a nuisance of himself around the breakdown. Do that and his previously stalled England career may be gloriously resurrected.
It is also a significant day for the man inside him. George Ford already has 108 caps but, with positional flexibility increasingly highly prized, is there definitely room for three specialist outside-halves in a 33-man World Cup squad if, in addition to Fin and Marcus Smith, George Furbank, Henry Slade and maybe Ojomoh as well can all potentially slot in at 10 against Zimbabwe in the pool stages?
Then again, Borthwick has never made any secret of his enduring respect for the 33-year-old Ford and every team needs playmakers capable of driving them forward via their kicking games. It is all very well cooing at Pollock’s pace and elan out wide but picking the right passes in a congested midfield under intense pressure remains a vitally important element as well.
Up front, Borthwick will also be looking at how England fare without Jamie George and Ollie Chessum, with the outstanding Warner Dearns and friends set to examine the lineout accuracy of Luke Cowan-Dickie and Theo Dan. If any scrum issues surface the comforting presence of Joe Heyes is available to restore order from the bench but, again, there is an opportunity for Ellis Genge, Cowan-Dickie and Asher Opoku-Fordjour to restress their credentials.
And then there is the driving maul, everyone’s current try-scoring weapon of choice. Do not be remotely surprised if England roll it out at the first opportunity to remind their audience that flashy line breaks are not, ultimately, what they are all about. Why take on Brave Blossoms in a breathless open contest that suits the away side perfectly when the game can be put to bed before half-time by other means?
That said, there is still a wider debate to be had in this area. No one disputes the importance of rugby union retaining its distinctive variety but the volume of maul tries is getting out of hand. Four of South Africa’s six first-half tries against Italy were prefaced by a maul while there were also four maul tries before half-time in the game between Scotland and New Zealand. England, armed with a sizeable pack themselves, are not currently complaining and a fiver on Cowan-Dickie to score at least two close-range tries could be a wise investment.
In a perfect world, even so, England should be looking to show their all-court capabilities. Gone are the days when merely sticking it up the jumper guaranteed victory against the world’s best sides. And much as Japan will be energetic and feisty, England need to have one eye on what is coming next week. Beating the All Blacks will require them to be strong in all departments and, crucially, to take most of their chances. Putting seven tries past a below-par Wallaby side was undeniably cathartic but England should have been even more ruthless given they made 22 visits to the Australian 22.
To judge from last week’s narrow defeat in Cardiff, Japan’s best hope will be to play fast and smart and to try to stop their opponents, where possible, from settling into any prolonged rhythm. Eddie Jones is hardly a stranger to how England operate and the classic 2015 World Cup heist he helped to engineer – with Borthwick as his forwards coach – in Brighton at South Africa’s expense remains the ultimate underdog blueprint.
England, though, are now looking purposefully ahead to the next World Cup, not backwards. And this is the last opportunity for fringe candidates to declare themselves as essential items. With the temperature dropping and England’s heavy mob intent on dishing out further punishment, their latest London callers – to quote the Clash – could be about to feel the ring of that truncheon thing.
