Rugby Union
England v Japan preview: Red Roses a thorn in Japan’s side
After an impressive win against Argentina in their first pool game, England return to action this weekend as they take on Japan.
England will be looking to take top spot in Pool D from their opponents, whilst Japan will hope to strengthen their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages in what is sure to be an exciting matchup.
We take a look at both sides’ chances below.
England to grind out another victory
Given how low expectations were before England’s opener against Argentina, when Borthwick’s men went down to 14 in the opening minutes all was looking very bleak. Not many would have foreseen England going on to win so convincingly, but they might have predicted them to win so… boringly.
One of the main criticisms of international rugby union is the sheer amount of kicking, and lack of actual ball-in-hand rugby and their last game certainly wasn’t going against that trend. However, credit has to be given to George Ford who executed his kicking duties to perfection as he scored all 27 of England’s points on their way to victory.
With doubts still looming over this England side it would be foolish to expect them to open up and start playing expansive rugby in their next game, and to be fair that probably wouldn’t be wise.
England are the overwhelming favourites for this game at 1/20, and if they continue with their simple but effective kicking game then we can’t see any way Japan can manage to pull off a shock result, although that has been said at World Cups before.
Japan to give England something to think about
Japan were not at their open, flair-filled best against Chile last week, but the Cherry Blossoms did enough to rack up a 30-point gap as they utilised their organised forward pack to drive over the line on multiple occasions.
Against this more organised and generally bigger England side they will unlikely be able to look to the pack again, and the open and expansive side of their game could be their most effective weapon against Borthwick’s side who have looked rather lethargic over the past months.
Japan don’t look as formidable a side as four years ago and it seem unlikely that they will overturn England at 9/1, but we’re looking to the handicap market to provide the real value in this game.
Japan might not have the tools to gain victory here but they will certainly provide a tough test for an England side still finding its feet, and we can see their odds of 10/11 to win with a +23-point handicap offering some value.
Japan went over the line six times against Chile and showed that they are not going to settle for a kicking game, they want to entertain. Amato Fakatava dotted over twice against the Chileans and the centre, who stands at six feet five inches, and possesses immense pace and power is always a try threat. Topping the charts for Japan he is now 11/8 to be their top scorer at the World Cup and he will certainly fancy his chances at breaking through England’s defensive line on Sunday.
