Will Joseph Scores Five Tries as England Thrash Eddie Jones's Japan 78-15
Gloucester wing Will Joseph scored five tries on his first England appearance in four years as Steve Borthwick's side ran in 13 tries in a 78-15 win over Japan at Twickenham on Saturday. Joseph equalled England's record for tries in a Test, against a Japan side coached by Eddie Jones, the man who gave him his only previous cap.
Will Joseph waited four years for a second England cap. When it came, he made up for lost time, scoring five tries as England crushed Japan 78-15 at Twickenham on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Gloucester back, picked on the wing, equalled England’s record for tries in a single Test. England scored 13 in total against a Japan side coached by a familiar face: Eddie Jones, the man who gave Joseph his debut back in 2022.
“It kills me that Will Joseph, I gave him his first cap, he scores five tries against me. Now that’s not being very loyal, is it?” Jones joked afterwards, BBC Sport reported. “He’s a great kid. He always was going to be a good player.”
Five tries, one record
Joseph wasted no time. He crossed for his first try after around a minute, completed a hat-trick by the 19th minute, and kept going. His fourth, finished with a cartwheeling dive over the line, showed how much he was enjoying himself.
The five-try haul puts him alongside four other England players: Dan Lambert in 1907, Rory Underwood in 1989, Josh Lewsey in 2003 and Henry Arundell in 2023.
Arundell was Joseph’s team-mate at London Irish, and the two were teenage tourists together in Australia in 2022. Arundell’s five came against Chile at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“It has been a challenging four years, but I have enjoyed the journey to get back here,” Joseph said. “I have had a taste for it now and I can’t wait to do it again.”
A long road back
Joseph’s first cap came as a last-minute replacement in the second Test of that 2022 tour. Then his career stalled.
London Irish went bust in 2023, forcing him to leave his boyhood club for Harlequins, where he struggled for fitness and minutes. He also lost the hearing in his left ear to an autoimmune condition.
A move to Gloucester has turned things around. He has been in outstanding form this season as an elusive, offloading threat, and with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso injured and out of the autumn series, Borthwick handed him a chance on the wing.
Borthwick’s England find their rhythm
The result was England’s fourth win in a row, following a run of five straight defeats. Joseph was not the only one to stand out.
Saracens lock George Martin, back after a 14-month injury lay-off, led the way in carries and tackles. Prop Ellis Genge and captain Maro Itoje were both influential up front, while centre Max Ojomoh kept finding gaps in Japan’s midfield.
“The team is really starting to play well,” Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live, praising England’s speed in attack and their balance between passing and kicking. He also highlighted the atmosphere created by a younger-than-usual crowd, with junior tickets on sale for £15.
That atmosphere did not suit everyone. Jones had complained during the week about the stadium’s big-screen prompts telling fans to make more noise, and he looked unimpressed when they appeared again on Saturday. Jones spent seven years in charge of England at Twickenham.
Next up: the All Blacks
The test gets much harder next Saturday, when England face New Zealand. The All Blacks will be smarting after losing 35-28 to Wales in Cardiff earlier on Saturday, Wales’s first win over them since 1953.
Borthwick is waiting on the fitness of Ollie Chessum, Seb Atkinson and George Furbank before he picks his side. He will also have to decide whether Joseph, who has five tries against Japan but has never faced a top-tier side, gets the chance to show he can do it against the best.
Sources: BBC Sport (November 14, 2026).