Sometimes it pays to take a deep breath before starting to write. On Thursday morning, when the England team was confirmed, was one of those occasions. There are Test matches and then there are the Test matches that matter. Japan definitely feature in the former.
Either before or after Saturday’s international, somebody within the England camp will remind us how competitive Japan were against New Zealand recently. In light of the 55 points racked up against a callow Welsh side in Cardiff, the 38-31 loss to the All Blacks last month looks hugely impressive.
But New Zealand picked only four of the side who started in Cardiff for the game in Tokyo. Ardie Savea and Aaron Smith, central to any functioning All Blacks side, were
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