England team to face Japan in Rugby World Cup
Steve Borthwick has named his England team to play Japan in their second pool match of the Rugby World Cup on Sunday.
- Live on ITV, KO 8pm
- Supporters' Guide to Nice
- Watch from London Fanzone
Courtney Lawes will captain an England side with just three changes to the starting XV that defeated Argentina 27-10 at Stade de Marseille last Saturday. Those changes see Lewis Ludlam at No.8, as Ben Earl moves to openside flanker, as well as Kyle Sinckler (tighthead) and Joe Marler (loosehead) starting upfront.
England men’s most capped player Ben Youngs returns to the match day 23 to play his fifteenth Rugby World Cup match. He is joined on the bench by the returning Billy Vunipola, as well as Theo Dan, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Martin, Marcus Smith and Ollie Lawrence.
George Ford and Genge are named vice-captains for the Test.
Select your England XV to face Japan
Team to play Japan
Starting
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 27 caps)
14. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 74 caps)
13. Joe Marchant (Stade Francais, 20 caps)
12. Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks, 54 caps)
11. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 60 caps)
10. George Ford – vice-captain (Sale Sharks, 86 caps)
9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 7 caps)
1. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 83 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 80 caps)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 63 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 71 caps)
5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 12 caps)
6. Courtney Lawes – captain (Northampton Saints, 101 caps)
7. Ben Earl (Saracens, 19 caps)
8. Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 22 caps)
Replacements
16. Theo Dan (Saracens, 4 caps)
17. Ellis Genge – vice-captain (Bristol Bears, 53 caps)
18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 30 caps)
19. George Martin (Leicester Tigers, 4 caps)
20. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 70 caps)
21. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 124 caps)
22. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 25 caps)
23. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
Borthwick on his squad
“It was both pleasing and important that we were able to start our Rugby World Cup campaign with a good win against Argentina last Saturday,” said Borthwick.
“It was incredible to see so many of our supporters in the stadium in Marseille. Their support means a great deal to the team. We hope that we were able to provide the supporters both here in France and at home with some great memories, and we are setting out to do the same again this Sunday in Nice.
“After another good week’s preparation in Le Touquet, we are looking forward to the challenge of playing a Japan side that will be full of confidence following their comprehensive win over Chile in their opening fixture of the competition.”
