Five tries in one Test equals the England men’s record, and Will Joseph did it on his first Test start. That is why he tops our England player ratings after the 78–15 win over Japan at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday 14 November, in round 5 of the Nations Championship. England scored 13 tries and led 49–10 at half-time.
It is England‘s biggest win over Japan. The old mark was 60–7 at the 1987 World Cup. Joseph has the shirt now, so the question for Saturday is simple: does he keep the 14 jersey against the All Blacks, or does Steve Borthwick go back to his first-choice wings?
Five tries, one bench cap, four years
Joseph’s only previous England cap came off the bench against Australia in July 2022, as a teenager, under Eddie Jones. Jones was in the opposite coaching box on Saturday as Japan head coach.
Joseph scored inside 60 seconds, had a hat-trick by the 20th minute and four tries by the 25th. The fifth came in the second half, when he picked off a Japan pass and walked in. That put him alongside Douglas Lambert (1907), Rory Underwood (1989), Josh Lewsey (2003) and Henry Arundell (2023) as the only England men to score five in a Test, according to the RFU.
He is also the second Joseph to score an England hat-trick. His brother Jonathan scored three against Scotland in 2017.
“I am pretty speechless, it was an almost perfect day,” Joseph told ITV, as reported by the RFU. “I’m just very grateful for the team, and the unseen bits that everyone’s doing.”
Captain Maro Itoje was just as lost for numbers. “I don’t even know how many tries he scored!” he told ITV, according to Sky Sports.
Borthwick said: “His point of difference is in the carry and he did it really well. His pace and footwork is a real strength.”
Why 78 should have been 94
Japan lock Harry Hockings was shown a yellow card in the first minute for a high tackle on Ellis Genge. After review it became a 20-minute red card, which means the player is off for good but his side can bring on a replacement after 20 minutes. England scored four tries in that spell, two of them Joseph’s.
England converted five of their 13 tries. George Ford missed six conversions and Henry Slade missed two, which is 16 points left on the tee. Japan scored through lock Warner Dearns before half-time and replacement prop Opeti Helu after it, with Naoto Saito kicking a penalty and a conversion.
Our view: keep it in proportion. Japan were poor and a man down early, so nobody should read too much into the margin. The ratings below reward what England did with the space, not the scoreline.
England player ratings
15 Freddie Steward – 8.5
Scored England’s third try and set up three more. His grubber made Joseph’s second, he caught Ford’s high kick and released Joseph for the hat-trick, and he gave Cadan Murley the scoring pass.
14 Will Joseph – 10 (player of the match)
Five tries on his first Test start, the first inside a minute and the last from an interception. A record-equalling day in his first England game for four years. Nothing to mark down.
13 Henry Slade – 6.5
Took over the kicking in the second half and landed two conversions from four. He also chased back with Henry Pollock to stop Japan’s best break of the game.
12 Max Ojomoh – 8
The RFU credits him with assists on two of Joseph’s tries, including the acrobatic fourth. He also came close to scoring himself before setting the ball back for Ben Curry’s try.
11 Cadan Murley – 7
Scored just before the half-hour from Steward’s pass. Most of the ball went to the other wing, and he finished the chance he got.
10 George Ford – 7
His high kick made Joseph’s third try, and his 50:22 early in the second half led to George Martin’s try. A 50:22 is a kick from inside your own half that bounces into touch inside the opposition 22, which gives your side the lineout. He kicked a penalty and three conversions but missed six, which keeps him off an 8.
9 Jack van Poortvliet – 6.5
Kept the ball moving behind a pack that was on top from the first minute. Quick, tidy service rather than anything eye-catching, and he gave way for the debutant with half an hour left.
1 Ellis Genge – 8
Took the high hit that got Hockings sent off and then scored before the 20-minute mark, handing off several defenders on the way. The kind of carry Borthwick picks him for.
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie – 6
Made the best defensive play of the first half, holding Shuhei Takeuchi up over the line after a tap penalty. Then he was sin-binned in the 53rd minute for playing the ball from an offside position after a Japan break.
3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour – 6.5
England’s scrum won the eighth-minute penalty Ford kicked for three. Not much else to single out, which is a pass mark for a tighthead in a 13-try win.
4 Maro Itoje – 7
Led the side and ripped the ball off a Japan carrier just after half-time, according to TNT Sports’ commentary. Arthur Clark replaced him on 61 minutes.
5 George Martin – 8
Scored England’s ninth try from a five-metre lineout just after the break and made the surge that set up Steward’s try. The lock who did most to give England front-foot ball.
6 Alex Coles – 6.5
Moved from lock to blindside for this match. England scored at least four tries off lineouts and mauls, but he had no standout moment of his own.
7 Ben Earl – 7.5
Finished the driving maul that gave England their eighth try on the stroke of half-time and a 39-point lead.
8 Henry Pollock – 7
Didn’t score this time. His best moment was in defence, chasing down Japan replacement Michael Stolberg after his break up the middle.
READ MORE: Eddie Jones Sets Henry Pollock ‘Big Challenge’ As Jonny May Says ‘No Chance’ He Starts On The Wing
Replacements
16 Theo Dan, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Joe Heyes – Not rated – The front-row replacements. We could not confirm their minutes, so we have not marked them.
19 Arthur Clark – 6 – Replaced Itoje on 61 minutes and helped see the game out.
20 Ben Curry – 7.5 – Scored his first England try with a pick and go just after the hour.
21 Greg Fisilau – 7.5 – Brought power off the bench and scored the last try, his first in Tests, after a TMO check.
22 Archie McParland – 6.5 – Made his Test debut at 21 with half an hour left, behind a pack that was going forwards. Borthwick called him “an outstanding young talent” when he named him.
23 Marcus Smith – 7 – Drifted onto a wide pass for England’s 12th try.
England v Japan: key numbers
| Stat | England | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78 | 15 |
| Half-time | 49 | 10 |
| Tries | 13 | 2 |
| Conversions | 5 of 13 | 1 of 2 |
| Penalty goals | 1 | 1 |
| Cards | 1 yellow | 1 20-minute red |
England made 716 metres, 16 clean breaks, 30 defenders beaten and seven offloads, according to the RFU.
What happens next?
England, now second in their Nations Championship table and a point behind France after Saturday’s games, play New Zealand at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 21 November (2.10pm GMT). Japan go to Murrayfield to play Scotland the same day.
FAQ
Who scored five tries for England against Japan?
Will Joseph, the Gloucester wing, scored five tries in England’s 78–15 win on 14 November 2026. It was his first Test start.
Is five tries an England record?
It equals the England men’s record for tries in one match, shared with Douglas Lambert, Rory Underwood, Josh Lewsey and Henry Arundell.
Why did Japan play with 14 men?
Lock Harry Hockings got a 20-minute red card for a high tackle on Ellis Genge in the first minute.
Sources: RFU team announcement (12 Nov 2026), RFU match report and reaction (14 Nov 2026), Sky Sports match report, TNT Sports live commentary. Quotes from ITV, as published by the RFU and Sky Sports.
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