England v Japan LIVE: Rugby World Cup result and reaction after ludicrous try off Joe Marler’s head

It was a try that rather summed it all up. For 56 minutes, England and Japan had stumbled about, frantic, flustered and fumbling in the Nice heat. An error-ridden contest hung in the balance – until Joe Marler used his head.

It was fortuitous in nature, as it felt like it had to be on a night like this. An errant pass, a flick of Will Stuart’s shoulder and a bounce off the bonce. Courtney Lawes collected the refuse and England salvaged the situation. Maro Itoje had promised they were prepared to win by any means necessary but few expected them to need to put an equally error-prone Japan away.

There was time enough for one moment of magic: England had kicked inaccurately all night but George Ford at last arrived at the jive, a delicate dab off his left boot landing in Freddie Steward’s huge hands in the corner. Coupled with Joe Marchant’s bonus-point-securing score, at last the travelling fans who earlier flooded the Promenade des Anglais could get out of their seats.

Read Harry Latham-Coyle’s full match report from the Stade de Nice below:

England are back in action next Saturday as they face off against World Cup debutants Chile, while Japan have a bye week until they face Samoa in a must-win game on September 28.

That’s all for us today - thanks for tuning in!

Fresh off his comical assist for England’s second try, the prop explains all. As with any Joe Marler interview, do take it with a pinch of salt!

All smiles from England after that win:

“I’m very proud of my team. We created a lot of opportunities, we just made too many mistakes. England put us under a lot of pressure but there were times I thought it was a real arm-wrestle, we just needed to capitalise on those opportunities and we couldn’t do it.

“The heart of the team is really sound, we’ve got great leadership here and there is a lot of experience in our team, but when you have those opportunities, you have to capitalise on them.”

“We had to work hard for the win. We knew we would get our rewards if we kept doing the right things and I’m delighted for the players and especially the supporters out there. What’s evident in the first two games of the tournament is what incredible support we have out here - travelling and following this team - and we want to make sure they enjoy it.

“We’ll have a debrief and analysis of the game but the first thing is for the payers to enjoy this win. We’ve got six days until we play against Chile and we’re looking forward to putting in a really good display in front of our supporters.”

“Obviously delighted with another win. Another tough game which we knew it was going to be. Japan are a great team; they challenge you in different ways, they’ve got an unbelievable attitude to never give in and it took until that third and fourth quarter for us to pull away a bit which we planned for in the week.

“Probably not the prettiest to watch but we had to build a game in a different way to get our points in the end but I thought it was good discipline by the boys.

“There was no frustration from our end. We understand what wins Test matches. I can understand what people might see on the TV or in the stands but we understand that building pressure is more important, especially in those conditions tonight. Sometimes if you force it too early you can make it a real tight game.

“They’ll be decisions we look back on that we could have done better but, overall, very happy with how we played. We are two from two, we’ve had two tough games in different ways. We are glad we backed last week up but there is some more in us.”

With that win, England remain top of Pool D with nine points. Japan sit third on five points with Samoa also on five and just above them on points difference.

Argentina and Chile are both without a point so far.

Here is a look at those three second-half tries from England including that comical score courtesy of Joe Marler’s head:

Freddie Steward touched down after Ford’s perfect cross-field kick:

And Marchant added the bonus point late on with his score:

England huffed and puffed for much of that game but, in the end, they run out comfortable winners against Japan after a late flurry of tries. At one point in the second half, England’s lead was just one but tries from Lawes, Steward and Marchant secured a much-needed bonus-point victory for Borthwick’s side who are now in a very comfortable position in Pool D.