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Jamie Joseph has laughed off Eddie Jones ’ advice that Japan should seek divine intervention for their clash with England .
Former Japan coach Jones has warned the Brave Blossoms that England will be “absolutely” ruthless at Twickenham on Saturday, as they exorcise frustrations from last weekend’s 16-15 defeat to New Zealand .
Jones suggested Japan head to the temple to prepare to face his England side, but current Blossoms boss Joseph shrugged off the warning on Monday.
Ex-All Blacks lock Joseph admitted Japan will need some help on the weather front in order to launch their fast-paced phase play – but insisted he will not be caught in any places of worship this week.
Show all 30 1 /30England vs New Zealand player ratings England vs New Zealand player ratings Ben Moon - 7 out of 10 Certainly strengthened England’s scrum from the get-go and looked comfortable at this level against seasoned opposition in Owen Franks. Replaced just shy of the hour by Alec Hepburn.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Dylan Hartley - 7 out of 10 One overthrow on the first half but took the plaudits for the team shove-over try. Departed at half-time with a thumb injury, and England’s lineout completely malfunctioned without him as it went from 100 per cent completion to less than half.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Kyle Sinckler - 7 out of 10 Another bone-crunching tackle, this week on Goodhue, set the tone for the defence although he was guilty of another first-half scrum infringement. Got sucked into the ‘big-player’ knack of seeing a smaller man and running at him, as Barrett impressively halted his barrelling run.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Maro Itoje - 7 out of 10 A much-improved disciplinary performance as he took on the duty of being England’s go-to man in the lineout. A defensive rock in the line and caused problems for Aaron Smith as he pressured the scrum-half.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings George Kruis - 6 out of 10 Struggled to make as much of an impact this week with his carrying, and the lineout misfunction in the second half is part of his responsibility as caller. Left the field with a knock in the 67th minute.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Brad Shields - 6 out of 10 Forced off early for an HIA that he returned from just before the break and showed a bit of niggle against his former teammates. Replaced permanently by Lawes with 15 minutes remaining.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Sam Underhill - 8 out of 10 Led the defensive charge with good line speed, but missed a tackle on Crotty in the seconds before McKenzie’s try. Kept England in the the hunt in the second half and secured a crucial turnover on England’s 5m line to prevent a try.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Mark Wilson - 7 out of 10 Phenomenal work rate in defence but facing New Zealand showed up his lack of ball carrying a bit more this weekend.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Ben Youngs - 7 out of 10 Good awareness to spot Ashton unmarked and feed him with a lovely miss-pass for the first try. His best performance this season by far, but his poor chip into Read’s hands proved to be his last contribution as Danny Care came on.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Owen Farrell - 7 out of 10 Stripped Savea of the ball early on and pulled all the strings for his side. Smart move to the openside created the space for Ashton’s try before he added a drop-goal, and also dislodged the ball with his tackle on McKenzie when the full-back had rounded Daly. Only criticism can be the missed touchline conversion for Ashton’s score.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Jonny May - 7 out of 10 Enjoyed one mazy run in the second half that reignited England’s fight as he came into the line off Farrell’s inside shoulder, and popped up across the park as he upped his usual work-rate.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Ben Te’o - 6 out of 10 Eddie Jones warned that this would prove a much harder task for him and so it proved. Unable to make much impact with the ball in hand and caught out of position for McKenzie’s try.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Henry Slade - 7 out of 10 Displayed a few lovely touches that kept the All Blacks defence guessing, not least when he wrongfooted Goodhue in the first half before chipping in behind.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Chris Ashton - 7 out of 10 Given all the time he needed by smart play from the England back line to slide in for the opening try after two minutes. Faded thereafter as the All Blacks started to control possession, and replaced by Jack Nowell midway through the second half.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Elliot Daly - 6 out of 10 Brilliant piece of play to keep a Barrett penalty kick in play. A much-improved performance under the high ball in testing conditions, though he did lose one early one with a knock-on.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Karl Tu'inukuafe - 7 out of 10 Stood up well against Sinckler and eked out a penalty in the opening 40 minutes, though didn’t make a great impact carrying-wise.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Codie Taylor - 7 out of 10 Strong work in the lineout and with a player like Dane Coles waiting on the bench, he needs to maintain his performance to keep his place in the side.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Owen Franks - 6 out of 10 Fairly quiet and wasn’t able to get at Moon as much as he would have hoped, resulting in his early departure in the 44th minute.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Sam Whitelock - 7 out of 10 Played a strong leadership role alongside Read and put in a solid shift with a full 80 minutes. Played a role in disrupting England’s lineout too.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Brodie Retallick - 8 out of 10 Dropped the kick-off to give England an immediate lift, but minute No 2 he was sublime and tore the England lineout to shreds in the second half with three steals as he got at Jamie George.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Liam Squire - 5 out of 10 Anonymous around the breakdown and carrying and while he defended well, it was far from his best performance.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Ardie Savea - 6 out of 10 Lost the ball when tackled by Farrell, but a strong turnover later in the first half made up for his mistake. Should have scored a try straight after the restart but that was more to do with Smith’s poor pass.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Kieran Read - 7 out of 10 Felt the power of Lawes when he was smashed on the try line by the England replacement seconds before McKenzie’s try, but made an impact of his own with a barrelling run that flattened Farrell.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Aaron Smith - 6 out of 10 Wasn’t given the time and space he craves as England did a good job of shutting him down, and it was his poor pass to Savea that butchered a certain try.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Beauden Barrett - 6 out of 10 Shaky start saw him fail to collect a high ball and kick rather erratically from hand. As the rain died down he grew into the game and created McKenzie’s try nicely, but then gave away a penalty late on that nearly cost New Zealand the game. In the end, it was his points that won the match, but it was very much a hit and miss display.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Rieko Ioane - 6 out of 10 Kept relatively quiet in the first half as England starved the All Blacks of ball, even more anonymous in the second half as England did a good job of putting the ball behind him.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Sonny Bill Williams - 4 out of 10 His first chance to get his hands on the ball and take aim at the England defence didn’t come until the 18th minute, and the back-line was very much disjointed with him in it before injury forced his departure on the half-hour mark.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Jack Goodhue - 5 out of 10 Got to know Sinckler a bit better than he’d have wanted to, and disappointed as he struggled to get on the ball.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Ben Smith - 6 out of 10 One good break down the right in the first half and made a lovely second-half break through the midfield that went unrewarded when Savea dropped the ball with the line at his mercy.
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England vs New Zealand player ratings Damian McKenzie - 6 out of 10 Peppered with high ball early on in the wet conditions. Hit into touch by Ashton to concede possession that led to the first try, but grew into the game and ran a smart line on Barrett’s shoulder to get the try before half-time. Guilty in the second half of kicking the ball straight into touch to invite pressure but cut a lovely line off Read’s offload, only to drop the ball in the tackle from Farrell.
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“When we’ve got the ball and guys are really excited about playing, we’ve got a different style of play; we’re not as big as others, but we’re quick,” said Joseph.
“In tough conditions it’s tough to get our game going, so we’re hoping and praying for a bit of weather. I’m not sure I’m going to the temple though!”
Joseph attended England’s abrasive Test with New Zealand, admitting he relished Twickenham’s cut and thrust.
The former Highlanders coach believes Japan remain on course for their objective of reaching a maiden quarter-final as hosts of next year’s World Cup.
Before all that though, Joseph feels Japan will pose England several different threats from New Zealand this weekend.
“Our players all watched the England match; I went to the Test match, loved it,” said Joseph.
“Those types of games are exactly what rugby’s all about in my view.
Jones did not hold back in his comments post-New Zealand defeat (Getty) “But I suspect the game that we play, how the All Blacks play, and the fact England have had a few matches, it could be a little bit different this weekend.
“We just play our rugby, we like to play quick, we’re not as big as other sides.
“We don’t want rain come kick-off time, and I think we’ve shown over the last couple of years if we can get our game going we can push teams hard.
“You could say they were unlucky against the All Blacks.
“But my focus really is just to go out there and make sure we can do our very best against a very good England side.
“We’re getting a lot of experience and I think we are on track for the World Cup.
“In terms of development in the last few years we’ve had some good performances and that experience is helping.”
PA
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