Yahoo Sports Smith stars as England cruise past Japan in Tokyo
Japan (3) 17
Pen: Lee Try: Nezuka, Yamasawa Con: Matsuda 2
England (26) 52
Tries: Cunningham-South, M Smith, Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Mitchell, Earl, Randall, Underhill Cons: M Smith 4, Slade 2
Marcus Smith boosted his chances of retaining England's number 10 jersey for their upcoming series with New Zealand after starring in a comfortable win over Japan.
The Harlequins fly-half scored 13 points, including a slick try from a well-executed set-play move, as England began their summer tour by overcoming Eddie Jones' side in Tokyo.
Japan started brightly in humid conditions as Seungsin Lee's penalty handed them the lead, but England soaked up the early pressure and hit back through a powerful finish by Chandler Cunningham-South on his first Test start.
Smith then came to the fore as he finished off a smart line-out routine to carve through the Japanese midfield, before two moments of brilliance set up tries for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Henry Slade.
A slight delay in his pass over the top for Feyi-Waboso caused enough doubt in the Japan defence for the wing to score unopposed, before Slade crossed from the same wide channel as Smith changed England's direction of attack to land a pin-point crossfield kick for his centre to claim.
Smith's half-back partner Alex Mitchell inflicted further damage on the hosts after the break with a snipe from close range before then turning provider for Ben Earl to power over after another clever break.
The one negative for Smith was his yellow card for an early tackle as the Brave Blossoms threatened to score their first try, but England quickly regained momentum when Harry Randall replaced Mitchell to exploit the same Japanese frailties at the fringes.
Japan's spirited performance was rewarded with a couple of late consolation tries by Koga Nezuka and Takuya Yamasawa, but England had the final say as Sam Underhill's try took them to a half century of points.
England ended the game with 14 players as replacement lock Charlie Ewels was sent off for a cynical clear-out attempt on Japan captain Michael Leitch.
Job done in preparation for New Zealand
England have achieved their first objective of the summer but they will ultimately be judged on their two-game series with the All Blacks.
Steve Borthwick's side overpowered their hosts but also showed some moments of evasion in the face of a committed Japanese defence.
England started slowly, something typified by Cunningham-South's juggling act from the first kick-off - nerves on his full debut, perhaps.
Japan, led by former England coach Jones in the first game of his second spell in charge, threw the ball at speed as they looked to impose themselves early on.
But England, in a new era of their own, wrestled back momentum after some huge hits by the impressive Cunningham-South and George Martin, while Underhill was ever present at the breakdown.
Their dominance in the forwards allowed Smith to pull the strings in attack and assert his authority in answer to Borthwick's biggest conundrum of the summer.
Racing 92's Owen Farrell is out of the picture and George Ford has an Achilles injury which has set up a tussle of the Smiths, Marcus and Fin, at fly-half.
Marcus was handed the jersey in the Japanese capital and the 25-year-old showed glimpses of brilliance as he timed his line to burst on to Mitchell's pass before stepping past the final defender to glide over.
If that was the running, next came the hands as his double-pump pass forced the red and white shirts to engage him a second longer, allowing Feyi-Waboso space outside to dot down.
Finally, the boot was brought into play as Smith cut back against the traffic to clip the ball to the opposite touchline with little more than a quick glance for Slade to gather and score.
The game was out of sight when he was caught trying to stop a Japanese attack with an early tackle, and he would not return to the field as Fin Smith took the reins following the 10-minute sin-bin period, but this was vintage Marcus Smith as he looks to lay down a marker in the shirt.
England begin their series with the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday, 6 July before moving on to Auckland the following weekend.
Ewels, meanwhile, is unlikely to miss the series after becoming the first England player to be sent off twice after also receiving a red card on his last cap against Ireland in March 2022.
'We're very happy with that' - George
England captain Jamie George was pleased with the way England adapted to the heat and humidity of Tokyo.
“It was a really tough game," he told RugbyPass TV. "The conditions were very difficult. I’m very proud with the way we went about our business.
“It was always going to be very difficult to come over here and get the result, but we’re very happy with that.
“It took us a little while to get used to the conditions but off the back of that we were really efficient with the ball and moved the ball into space.
“We’ve got some really talented backs with a lot of speed and we managed to show that.”
England head coach Steve Borthwick added: “Clearly late in the game our cohesion broke up a little against a very fast and skilful Japanese team who took their chances really well.
“They play in a certain way and are very, very dangerous and we had to defend really well to keep them out, especially in that first 20 minutes.”
Line-ups
Japan: Yazaki; Naikabula, Riley, Osada, Nezuka; Lee, Saito; Mohara, Harada, Takeuchi, Waqa, Dearns, Leitch (capt), Costley, Makisi.
Replacements: Sakate, Miura, Tamefusa, Saumaki, Yamamoto, Fujiwara, Matsuda, Tua.
England: Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman; M Smith, Mitchell; Rodd, George (capt), Cole, Itoje, Martin, Cunningham-South, Underhill, Earl.
Replacements: Dan, Marler, Stuart, Ewels, T Curry, Randall, F Smith, Roebuck.
Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra)
