After a surprisingly decent win over Argentina, England continue their Pool D journey this French evening against Japan, who have a victory of their own after an entertaining outing with Chile from the opening fixture block.
The doomsayers have throttled back on the talk of the demise of Steve Borthwick’s team’s hopes after George Ford led the charge of the boot brigade last weekend. And while this newfound optimism would do well to be tempered with some context – Argentina were absolutely terrible – a win against Japan is expected and anything less, unacceptable.
The Brave Blossoms have pushed England previously in a 2018 match at Twickenham that had them on top until a late rally by the home side took the result. However, that was a Japan deep in prep for their own 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2023 vintage looks a long way shy of that quality.
England are well placed to progress, and while their present approach to play may not have many advocates outside of their squad, the efficacy so far is less up for debate. Expect more of the same today, this is Tournament Rugby™, after all.