Will Joseph scores record-equalling five tries as England rout Japan
Will Joseph scored a record-equalling five tries as England routed Japan in their Test on Saturday, 14 November 2026, and the hosts set their sights on New Zealand for next weekend's meeting.
Joseph returned to international rugby after four years out of the Test game; he first appeared as a teenage late replacement against Australia four years ago and has since faced off-field setbacks including his boyhood club London Irish going bust, an underwhelming spell at Harlequins and loss of hearing in his left ear after an auto-immune reaction. Strong early-season form for Gloucester brought him back into selection contention and he seized the opportunity with a performance that combined work-rate, intelligence and top-end speed. His five tries drew him level with Douglas Lambert, Rory Underwood, Josh Lewsey and Henry Arundell as players who have scored five in a single match for England.
England raced into a 32-3 lead inside 20 minutes as they ran up a large scoreline; the full scoring for England read: Tries: Joseph 5, Steward, Genge, Murley, Earl, Martin, B Curry, M Smith, Fisilau; Cons: Ford 4, Slade; Pen: Ford. Japan's points came from Tries: Dearns, Helu; Con: Saito; Pen: Saito. Japan struggled to generate the quick ball movement and rapid ruck speed that have troubled top sides in the past.
Centre Max Ojomoh, making his first appearance since an excellent performance against Argentina 12 months ago, was prominent in midfield, bursting into space to help set up Joseph's second and using slick hands to create the opening for Joseph's fourth. Henry Pollock, making only his second start, carried strongly but did not have the same impact he has often shown when introduced from the bench. Replacement Greg Fisilau added two physical hits and a burrowing try that further bolstered England's forward options.
George Ford linked England's backline throughout the match but his missed conversions on early tries was noted in relation to his hopes of regaining the number 10 shirt on a permanent basis. With the result settled early, attention shifted to individual performances from players contesting positions ahead of the New Zealand game. Japan were unable to overturn England's dominance once the visitors established momentum.
England named Steward; Joseph, Slade, Ojomoh, Murley; Ford, Van Poortvliet; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Itoje (c), Martin, Coles, Earl, Pollock with replacements Dan, Iyogun, Heyes, Clark, B Curry, Fisilau, McParland, M Smith. Japan named Ueda; Ishida, Riley, Tua, Tokito; Kitahara, Saito (co-c); Kamimori, Harada, Takeuchi, Hockings, Dearns (co-c), Gunter, Shimokawa, Cornelsen with replacements Sato, Otsuka, Helu, Stolberg, Costley, Fujiwara, Komura, Lee.
Northampton scrum-half Archie McParland made his England debut as a replacement, and a host of front-line names will return next Saturday as England attempt to take down an All Blacks side smarting from defeat by Wales.
