Will Joseph's five tries thrill as England rout Japan 78-15 and look ahead to the All Blacks

Eddie Jones spent Saturday afternoon in the coaching box at Twickenham, stony-faced, as a message on the big screen asked the crowd to make more noise. He had objected to exactly that earlier in the week on BBC Radio 5 Live, saying that being told when to make noise as a spectator was 'a bit funny'. The message came up again in the middle of his Japan side's 78-15 defeat by England.

There was little else for Jones to enjoy on his return to the ground where he was head coach for seven years. For the rest of a capacity crowd, though, it was a fun day. Junior tickets were on sale at £15, which meant a younger crowd, higher decibels and lighter spirits than usual. England supplied thirteen tries, and Will Joseph's five put him at the centre of it.

Joseph is 24 and had won only one previous cap, under Jones. In the summer of 2022 he was a teenage apprentice taken on tour to Australia and thrown into the second Test as a last-minute replacement. The promise took time to materialise. London Irish's bankruptcy forced him out of his boyhood club, and at Harlequins he struggled for game time and fitness. An auto-immune condition cost him the hearing in his left ear.

This season, as part of a group of exciting young English-qualified backs at Gloucester, he has been superb, a swerving, offloading threat on the wing or in midfield. England used him out wide to replace the razzle-dazzle lost when Immanuel Feyi-Waboso limped out of the autumn campaign. Reports from Pennyhill Park during the week said he was replicating Feyi-Waboso's elusiveness, and he did the same at Twickenham. His first try arrived after 60 seconds and his hat-trick score in the 19th minute. His fourth ended with a cartwheeling plant of the ball over the line. After that score, Japan flanker Ben Gunter put a consoling arm around full-back Kazuma Ueda, who had been beaten in a race to the corner.

Former England wing Chris Ashton, speaking on Radio 5 Live, said Joseph plays much like Feyi-Waboso: 'He doesn't look too fast in the first two steps and then he is just gone.' Joseph said it had been a challenging four years, that he was happy the hard work had paid off, and that he couldn't wait to do it again.

There is a caution in the story. Henry Arundell, Joseph's Irish team-mate, was the other teenage apprentice on that Australia tour, and scored a try in the first Test. He later started in the Six Nations and, at the World Cup, scored five tries against Chile in Lille. He has yet to convince in sterner Tests. Joseph's are still to come, though he may be a shade slower but a smidge smarter, and better suited to Test rugby for it.

Elsewhere there was plenty to please head coach Steve Borthwick. Saracens second row George Martin led England's carry and tackle standings in the comeback performance awaited since his 14-month injury lay-off ended in May. Ellis Genge was bruising ribs, and Maro Itoje's rejuvenation after a summer off continues. Max Ojomoh was too quick and clever for the Japanese midfield. Henry Pollock found it harder to get involved with ball in hand but did the defensive and breakdown work some have questioned.

It is a fourth win in a row after five successive defeats. Borthwick said the team is really starting to play well, praising the speed and positioning in attack and the pass-kick balance, and said the supporters really enjoyed it. Even Jones, who had Borthwick as an assistant with both England and Japan, smiled at the end, joking that it kills him that Joseph, whose first cap he gave, scored five against him, 'not being very loyal'. He called him a great kid.

New Zealand come next Saturday, stung by defeat to Wales, a clear step up if Borthwick picks Joseph again. Ollie Chessum, Seb Atkinson and George Furbank are hoping to return from injury in time.