Japan head coach Eddie Jones has joked that Will Joseph was “not being very loyal” after the wing he handed an England debut in 2022 scored five tries in a 78-15 win at Twickenham.
Jones was speaking at his post-match press conference at Allianz Stadium Twickenham on Saturday, as reported by Sky Sports. England ran in 13 tries against Japan in the Nations Championship and led 49-10 at half-time.
Joseph, now with Gloucester, was winning only his second cap and his first in more than four years. The first came under Jones in July 2022, as a late replacement in England’s second Test win over Australia in Brisbane.
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‘It kills me’
“I thought England were very good. It kills me that Will Joseph – I gave him his first cap – scores five tries against me! That’s not being very loyal, is it?” Jones said.
“He’s a great kid, mate. He always was going to be a good player.”
Joseph had four tries inside 25 minutes and completed his five after 56, the last from an intercept. That equalled the England record for tries in a Test, held by Douglas Lambert, Rory Underwood, Josh Lewsey and Henry Arundell.
Arundell, like Joseph a London Irish teenager at the time, was also capped by Jones on that 2022 tour.
‘Not good enough’
Japan were down to 14 men almost from the start. Lock Harry Hockings was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Ellis Genge in the opening minutes, and by the sixth minute it had been upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
“I have to take full responsibility for our [Japan] performance. Clearly we weren’t good enough today,” Jones said.
“We thought we had a good preparation for the game, but obviously it wasn’t good. Without making any excuses, getting the red card early in the game put us on the back foot, and we really never recovered from that, which good teams are able to do.
“We’re not good enough in being able to recover from disappointments. That’s clearly the case.”
‘Violent’ All Blacks
The former England boss also praised his old side and warned them about New Zealand, who lost 35-28 to Wales in Cardiff on Saturday and visit Twickenham next.
“England were impressive against Australia, they beat them quite easily,” Jones said.
“They played powerfully, they played direct, and when they had the ability to shift the ball, they moved the ball accurately and quickly to space. We saw that again today.
“Well, they’re [New Zealand] violent after a defeat.
“They’re usually violent, very physical. They’ll be massively disappointed with that performance [in Cardiff] today.
“New Zealand next week, they’ll be back to the old New Zealand. They’ll be hard and tough, and physical around the breakdown.”
Steve Borthwick had not picked Joseph since taking charge of England in 2023, and the wing was the main topic at the hosts’ press conference.
“He took those opportunities really, really well,” Borthwick said. “Talking about the point of difference he has in his carry – we wanted the ball in his hands as much as possible, and that’s exactly what happened.”
He added: “His pace, acceleration and footwork is a real asset.”
The England head coach admitted the display had given him a decision to make: “There’s some thinking to do around selection ahead of next week, and I’m still waiting for the medical report, which hopefully all the players come through pretty well tonight.”
England host New Zealand at Allianz Stadium Twickenham on Saturday 21 November, while Japan face Scotland at Murrayfield the same afternoon.
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