England vs Japan finished 78–15 at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday 14 November in round 5 of the Nations Championship. England scored 13 tries to two and led 49–10 at half-time. Will Joseph scored five of the tries on his first Test start, which equals the England men’s record.
Japan lock Harry Hockings was sent off with a 20-minute red card in the first minute. A 20-minute red means the player is gone for good, but his side can send on a replacement after 20 minutes. Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie was England’s only card, a yellow in the 53rd minute. Damian Schneider (Argentina) refereed.
So how much of the 78 was down to the red card? Less than you might think, and the numbers below show why. Was this the best England attack you have seen under Steve Borthwick?
Joseph Had Three Before Japan Were Back To 15
Joseph scored inside the first minute, accelerating past the defence on his own. Hockings’ high hit on Ellis Genge had come in the build-up, and the card that followed was quickly upgraded from yellow to red.
George Ford kicked a penalty, and Joseph collected a grubber kick from full-back Freddie Steward for his second. Naoto Saito kicked a penalty for Japan. Steward finished after a surge from lock George Martin, Genge stormed over three minutes later, and Joseph finished Steward’s catch of a high Ford kick for a hat-trick inside 20 minutes. Japan were still a man down.
From the card to the moment replacement Mike Stolberg came on at 22:19, England outscored Japan 27–3.
49–10 At The Break
Joseph’s fourth try came in the 24th minute, an acrobatic finish out wide after a slick move and a final pass from centre Max Ojomoh. Wing Cadan Murley slid in on the other side from Steward’s pass.
Japan’s best spell came late in the half. Cowan-Dickie held up prop Shuhei Takeuchi over the line after a tap penalty, and lock Warner Dearns scored from close range in the 36th minute, with Saito converting. England replied with a driving maul for Ben Earl just before the break.
Five More After Half-Time
Ford’s 50:22 early in the second half set up a five-metre lineout, and Martin powered over. A 50:22 is a kick from your own half that bounces out inside the opposition 22, and it gives the kicking side the lineout. Replacement prop Opeti Helu scored Japan’s second try three minutes later.
Joseph’s fifth came from an interception, two minutes after Cowan-Dickie was sent to the sin-bin. Japan scored nothing in the ten minutes England were a man short. Replacements Ben Curry, Marcus Smith and Greg Fisilau added the last three tries.
“There were a few changes this week, and it was a short turnaround but we got together really quickly and the performance we put out today, I think you could see how hard we’ve been working behind the scenes,” Joseph said, in quotes published by the RFU.
Did The Red Card Decide England vs Japan? The Numbers Say No
Once Japan were back to 15 at 22:19, England won the rest of the match 46–12 and scored eight tries to two. That includes the ten minutes when England were the side with 14.
Japan coach Eddie Jones said his side never recovered from the early red card, according to Sky Sports. The scoreline after 22:19 says England would have won comfortably anyway, and the full-match numbers, red-card spell included, point the same way. England made 716 metres to 357 from a similar number of carries, 139 to 128. That is 5.2 metres a carry against 2.8. They made 16 line breaks to four and beat 32 defenders to 21.
Japan were not short of the ball. They had 45% of possession and made more passes than England, 134 to 131. But they turned it over 19 times, missed 32 tackles and made only four line breaks. Our view: the card made the first 20 minutes ugly, but England were too quick and too accurate for this Japan side at 15 v 15 as well.
Joseph’s 226 Metres
Joseph carried eight times and made 226 metres, an average of 28.3 a carry. That is 32% of England’s metres, and seven of their 16 line breaks. The whole Japan team made 357.
He also beat eight defenders, the most in the match.
Scoring Timeline
| Min | Event | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Try: Will Joseph (ENG) | 5–0 |
| 1 | 20-minute red card: Harry Hockings (JPN) | 5–0 |
| 7 | Pen: George Ford (ENG) | 8–0 |
| 9 | Try: Joseph (ENG) | 13–0 |
| 13 | Pen: Naoto Saito (JPN) | 13–3 |
| 14 | Try: Freddie Steward (ENG), Con: Ford | 20–3 |
| 17 | Try: Ellis Genge (ENG), Con: Ford | 27–3 |
| 19 | Try: Joseph (ENG) | 32–3 |
| 22 | Japan back to 15: Mike Stolberg replaces Hockings | 32–3 |
| 24 | Try: Joseph (ENG) | 37–3 |
| 28 | Try: Cadan Murley (ENG) | 42–3 |
| 36 | Try: Warner Dearns (JPN), Con: Saito | 42–10 |
| 39 | Try: Ben Earl (ENG), Con: Ford | 49–10 |
| HT | Half-time | 49–10 |
| 44 | Try: George Martin (ENG) | 54–10 |
| 47 | Try: Opeti Helu (JPN) | 54–15 |
| 53 | Yellow card: Luke Cowan-Dickie (ENG) | 54–15 |
| 55 | Try: Joseph (ENG), Con: Henry Slade | 61–15 |
| 63 | Try: Ben Curry (ENG) | 66–15 |
| 67 | Try: Marcus Smith (ENG), Con: Slade | 73–15 |
| 72 | Try: Greg Fisilau (ENG) | 78–15 |
Minutes are as printed in the official post-match report, so some are one earlier than in live commentary.
Match Stats
| Stat | England | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 54.8% | 45.2% |
| Tries | 13 | 2 |
| Metres made | 716 | 357 |
| Carries | 139 | 128 |
| Passes | 131 | 134 |
| Kicks from hand | 25 | 12 |
| Line breaks | 16 | 4 |
| Offloads | 7 | 4 |
| Defenders beaten | 32 | 21 |
| Tackles | 142 | 147 |
| Missed tackles | 21 | 32 |
| Turnovers won | 11 | 5 |
| Turnovers conceded | 12 | 19 |
| Penalties conceded | 8 | 7 |
| Scrum success | 100% | 100% |
| Lineout success | 83.3% | 87.5% |
| Cards | Yellow: Cowan-Dickie (53) | 20-minute red: Hockings (1) |
All numbers are from the official Six Nations Rugby post-match report. They differ from some figures the RFU has published: the RFU gives England 765 metres, 11 clean breaks and 30 defenders beaten.
Standout Numbers
| Category | England | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Most tackles | George Martin, 17 | Kanji Shimokawa and Jack Cornelsen, 17 |
| Most metres | Will Joseph, 226 | Mike Stolberg, 78 |
| Most carries | George Martin, 14 | Warner Dearns, 13 |
| Most line breaks | Will Joseph, 7 | Four players, 1 each |
| Most defenders beaten | Will Joseph, 8 | Kenji Sato, 5 |
| Most turnovers won | Maro Itoje, 4 | Warner Dearns, 2 |
| Most lineouts won | Alex Coles, 4 | Warner Dearns, 3 |
| Most passes | Jack van Poortvliet, 37 | Naoto Saito, 61 |
| Most kicks from hand | Jack van Poortvliet, 9 | Naoto Saito, 4 |
Discipline
England conceded 8 penalties and Japan 7. The report credits only seven of England’s eight to a player, and it doesn’t split them by type.
| Team | Penalties conceded by player |
|---|---|
| England (8) | Coles 2, Joseph 2, Cowan-Dickie 1, Ford 1, Slade 1, one not attributed |
| Japan (7) | Takeuchi 1, Dearns 1, Cornelsen 1, Kitahara 1, Tua 1, Helu 1, Costley 1 |
Hockings’ card was for a high tackle, Cowan-Dickie’s for playing the ball from an offside position after a Japan line break, according to Sky Sports.
Attack In Numbers
| Attack | England | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Line breaks | Joseph 7, van Poortvliet 2, Steward 2, Genge 1, Pollock 1, Murley 1, Ojomoh 1, M Smith 1 | Shimokawa 1, Cornelsen 1, Sato 1, Stolberg 1 |
| Offloads | Ojomoh 2, Coles 1, Pollock 1, Joseph 1, Heyes 1, McParland 1 | Dearns 2, Gunter 1, Cornelsen 1 |
| Most passes | van Poortvliet 37, McParland 29, Ford 16 | Saito 61, Kitahara 13, Fujiwara 9 |
| Defenders beaten (top five) | Joseph 8, van Poortvliet 4, Martin 3, Ojomoh 2, M Smith 2 | Sato 5, Ueda 4, Kitahara 3, Costley 2, Tua 2 |
| Best metres per carry (4+ carries) | Joseph 28.3, Steward 7.8, Murley 7.6 | Stolberg 13.0, Sato 5.2, Costley 4.5 |
Scrum-halves Jack van Poortvliet and Archie McParland, on debut, made 66 of England’s 131 passes (50%). Saito and Shinobu Fujiwara made 70 of Japan’s 134.
Defence And Breakdown
England made 142 tackles and missed 21, a success rate of 87%. Japan made 147 and missed 32, a rate of 82%.
| Defence | England | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Top tacklers (ties included) | Martin 17, Itoje 16, Pollock 12, Coles 11, Genge 10, Cowan-Dickie 10 | Shimokawa 17, Cornelsen 17, Costley 13, Dearns 11, Stolberg 11 |
| Turnovers won (11 / 5) | Itoje 4, Cowan-Dickie 2, Fisilau 2, Genge 1, Murley 1, Joseph 1 | Dearns 2, Gunter 1, Stolberg 1, Costley 1 |
Captain Maro Itoje won four turnovers, the most in the match, in 63 minutes. Martin made 17 tackles and 14 carries, England’s most in both.
Set Piece And Kicking
| Set piece and kicking | England | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Scrum success | 100% | 100% |
| Lineout success | 83.3% | 87.5% |
| Lineouts won by player | Coles 4, Itoje 2, Clark 2, Martin 1, Fisilau 1 | Dearns 3, Cornelsen 2, Shimokawa 1, Stolberg 1 |
| Kicks from hand (top five) | van Poortvliet 9, McParland 7, Ford 5, Slade 2, Joseph 1 | Saito 4, Fujiwara 2, Kitahara 2, Riley 2, Ishida 1 |
| Goal kicking | 5 conversions from 13 tries (Ford 3, Slade 2); 1 penalty (Ford) | 1 conversion from 2 tries (Saito); 1 penalty (Saito) |
England kicked from hand 25 times to Japan’s 12.
England Player Stats
| Player | Min | Pts | Carries | Metres | Passes | Offloads | Line breaks | Tackles | Turnovers won | Lineouts won | Pens conceded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freddie Steward | 80 | 5 | 10 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Joseph | 80 | 25 | 8 | 226 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Henry Slade | 80 | 4 | 10 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Max Ojomoh | 75 | 0 | 8 | 48 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cadan Murley | 80 | 5 | 5 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| George Ford | 57 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack van Poortvliet | 48 | 0 | 8 | 47 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ellis Genge | 52 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Cowan-Dickie | 53 | 0 | 10 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Asher Opoku-Fordjour | 59 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maro Itoje | 63 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| George Martin | 80 | 5 | 14 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alex Coles | 80 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Ben Earl | 52 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Henry Pollock | 57 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theo Dan | 21 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emmanuel Iyogun | 28 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Heyes | 21 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arthur Clark | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ben Curry | 23 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Fisilau | 28 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Archie McParland | 32 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Smith | 23 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Japan Player Stats
| Player | Min | Pts | Carries | Metres | Passes | Offloads | Line breaks | Tackles | Turnovers won | Lineouts won | Pens conceded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kazuma Ueda | 80 | 0 | 12 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kippei Ishida | 80 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dylan Riley | 80 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Samisoni Tua | 71 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Riku Tokito | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Riku Kitahara | 57 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Naoto Saito | 65 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yota Kamimori | 52 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mamoru Harada | 47 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shuhei Takeuchi | 41 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Harry Hockings | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Warner Dearns | 80 | 5 | 13 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Ben Gunter | 57 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kanji Shimokawa | 80 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jack Cornelsen | 80 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Kenji Sato | 33 | 0 | 9 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sojiro Otsuka | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Opeti Helu | 39 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Stolberg | 58 | 0 | 6 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Tiennan Costley | 53 | 0 | 6 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Shinobu Fujiwara | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shinya Komura | 32 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jisu Lee | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What Happens Next?
England host New Zealand at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 21 November (2.10pm GMT). After round 5 they are second in the Northern Hemisphere Nations Championship table on 20 points, one behind France and level with Ireland, with one round left. Only the side that finishes top plays in the final at Twickenham on 29 November. Japan play Scotland at Murrayfield the same afternoon.
The All Blacks arrive after losing 35–28 to Wales in Cardiff. Our Wales v New Zealand match report has their full numbers.
The Teams
England: Freddie Steward; Will Joseph, Henry Slade, Max Ojomoh, Cadan Murley; George Ford, Jack van Poortvliet; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Alex Coles, Ben Earl, Henry Pollock. Replacements: Theo Dan, Emmanuel Iyogun, Joe Heyes, Arthur Clark, Ben Curry, Greg Fisilau, Archie McParland, Marcus Smith.
Japan: Kazuma Ueda; Kippei Ishida, Dylan Riley, Samisoni Tua, Riku Tokito; Riku Kitahara, Naoto Saito; Yota Kamimori, Mamoru Harada, Shuhei Takeuchi, Harry Hockings, Warner Dearns, Ben Gunter, Kanji Shimokawa, Jack Cornelsen. Replacements: Kenji Sato, Sojiro Otsuka, Opeti Helu, Mike Stolberg, Tiennan Costley, Shinobu Fujiwara, Shinya Komura, Jisu Lee.
Referee: Damian Schneider (Argentina)
FAQ
What was the score in England v Japan?
England won 78–15 at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on 14 November 2026. They led 49–10 at half-time and scored 13 tries to two.
Who made the most metres in England v Japan?
Will Joseph made 226 metres from eight carries, according to the official Six Nations Rugby post-match report. Mike Stolberg made the most for Japan, 78.
Did Japan play most of the match with 14 men?
No. Harry Hockings got a 20-minute red card in the first minute, and Mike Stolberg replaced him at 22:19. England won the remaining 58 minutes 46–12.
Sources: Six Nations Rugby official post-match report (all stats, scoring times, replacements, referee); RFU match report (try descriptions, Joseph quote, table position); Sky Sports match report (card details, goal-kickers, next fixtures).
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