Eddie Jones warns England of ‘violent’ New Zealand backlash after Wales loss

England scored 13 tries in a 78-15 victory over Japan at Twickenham on Saturday

Will Joseph scored five tries for England against Japan. Pic: Mike Egerton/Press Association.

Eddie Jones warned England they will face a “violent” New Zealand backlash after the All Blacks were stunned 35-28 by Wales.

England warmed up for next Saturday’s box office fixture of the autumn by crushing Jones’ Japan 78-15 at Allianz Stadium, with wing Will Joseph collecting five tries to equal the national record for a single match.

Both teams will be playing for a place in the Nations Championship final the following weekend and Jones claimed New Zealand will be reeling from their first defeat to Wales since 1953.

“They’re violent after losing,” Jones said. “Very violent, very physical. They’ll be massively disappointed with their performance against Wales.

“New Zealand will be back to their old selves next weekend – hard, tough and physical around the breakdown.” 

England enter the All Blacks clash with the wind in their sails after following up their impressive win against Australia that opened the autumn by overwhelming Japan with a 13-try onslaught.

Joseph emerged as the star of the afternoon in only his second cap and Twickenham debut with a devastating series of finishes that puts him in pole position to replace the injured Immanuel Feyi-Waboso against New Zealand.

Captain Maro Itoje backed the Gloucester wing, the younger brother of former England flyer Jonathan, to one day break the record for number of tries scored in a single game.

The Josephs are the only brothers to score hat-tricks for England.

“I’m not sure if he was aware of the record,” Itoje said. “There was some chat on the bench.

“We talked about maybe getting him behind one of the rolling mauls to get the record for him. I’m sure he’ll have more opportunities to break it.” 

Head coach Steve Borthwick was delighted with Joseph’s performance after telling his fringe stars they had the opportunity to play their way into his World Cup squad for next year.

“Will took those opportunities really, really well,” Borthwick said. “He has a point of difference in his carry and has pace, acceleration and footwork.

“I wanted the ball in his hands as much as possible and that’s exactly what happened. But it’s off the back of everybody doing their jobs in the middle of the pitch that creates those opportunities on the edges.

“We want to build a squad, not a team, and there are some people who are now really putting their hand up.

“The depth in the squad and the level of experience has taken another step forward.” 

Ollie Chessum (shoulder), George Furbank (groin) and Seb Atkinson (hip) are on course to return against New Zealand after sitting out the Japan showdown through injury.