England slammed over 'repulsive rugby' despite World Cup victory over Japan

18 September 2023 , 08:03

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England slammed over 'repulsive rugby' despite World Cup victory over Japan

Former France star Olivier Magne was among those to slam England's performance against Japan, despite Steve Borthwick leading his side so a second straight pool stage win at the Rugby World Cup.

Borthwick's men withstood the early loss of Tom Curry to beat Argentina in their opener, and followed it up with a 34-12 victory over Japan. It wasn't a straighforward win, though, with England's lead sitting at just one point before three tries in the final 25 minutes added gloss to the scoreline.

There was plenty of criticism during the encounter, with former England man Jeremy Guscott deeming the display "pretty boring". However, Magne - who played for France at the 1999 and 2003 World Cups - was far more forceful.

"This English team is ugly!" Magne wrote on social media. "No desire, no joy, no consistency... It's repulsive rugby, with [George] Ford at the top of the negation of the game."

France, like England, have won their first two matches. The hosts handed New Zealand a statement-making defeat in the tournament opener, before surviving an early scare against Uruguay to make it two from twow.

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If both teams win their pools, a semi-final meeting could be on the cards. France still have games against Namibia and Italy to come, while next up for England is Chile followed by Samoa.

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England are celebrating two wins from two (AP)

The second England try was the key, and it arrived in bizarre circumstances. The ball rebounded off the head of Joe Marler, setting up an unlikely opportunity for Courtney Lawes to finish the job.

"What do they say… the more we practice the luckier we get," number eight Ben Earl said in response to the stroke of fortune. "We’ll take it.”

England were able to cross the try line twice more before full-time, through Freddie Steward and Joe Marchant. The fourth try, scored right at the death, even secured England a bonus point from a game they weren't certain of winning until the final stages.

Borthwick's focus after the game appeared to be on the result rather than the way his team got there. “I think ultimately, players find a way and that’s the important thing,” the head coach said.

“In these conditions, it was challenging. Japan kicked the ball 37 times today. I’m not sure when you’ve seen a Japan team kick 37 times.

“We knew the fourth quarter was going to be the important one,” added the England head coach. “We felt this game could be tight and we felt the fourth quarter was where we could accelerate.”

Tom Victor