Preview: England v Japan

16 Sep 2023 | 8 min |

Everything you need to know ahead of England Men's second Rugby World Cup fixture against Japan at the Stade de Nice.

Steve Borthwick's men got their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign off to winning ways with a 27-10 victory over Argentina, thanks to a full compliment of points from an inspired George Ford, who kicked six penalties and three drop goals in a consummate performance at fly half.

Supporters' Guide to Nice

When?	Sunday 17 September
Where?	Stade de Nice, Nice
Kick off?	20:00 BST

England's second Pool D fixture sees them face the Cherry Blossoms at the Stade de Nice, home of Ligue 1 football club OGC Nice, in what will be just the fourth capped Test match between the two sides. Their first meeting came in the 1987 Rugby World Cup pool stages, with England emerging 60-7 victors.

2018 saw the two teams reunited after 31 years for another English victory. Tries from Danny Care, Mark Wilson, Joe Cokanasiga and Dylan Hartley confirmed the 35-15 win as Japan scored tries through Ryoto Nakamura and captain Michael Leitch.

The third and most recent Test between England and Japan was in 2022 at Twickenham Stadium. Marcus Smith and Guy Porter each scored two tries in the 52-13 victory in their second Autumn Nations Series fixture. Naoto Saito scored the visitors' only try, while Takuya Yamasawa kicked two penalties.

WHERE TO WATCH

ITV will be broadcasting every Rugby World Cup fixture live.
Enjoy the ultimate experience at the official England Rugby fanzone at Vinegar Yard, with tickets from just £10.
For the travelling rugby fan, check out our supporters' guide to Nice.

TEAMS

England

15. Freddie Steward, 14. Jonny May, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Elliot Daly, 10. George Ford, 9. Alex Mitchell, 1. Joe Marler, 2. Jamie George, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Courtney Lawes (C), 7. Ben Earl, 8. Lewis Ludlam

Replacements

16. Theo Dan 17. Ellis Genge , 18. Will Stuart , 19. George Martin , 20. Billy Vunipola, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Ollie Lawrence

Japan

15. Semisi Masirewa, 14. Kotaro Matsushima, 13. Tomoki Osada, 12. Ryoto Nakamura, 11. Jone Naikabula, 10. Rikiya Matsuda, 9. Yutaka Nagare, 1. Keita Inagaki, 2. Shota Horie, 3. Jiwon Gu, 4. Jack Cornelsen, 5. Amato Fakatava, 6. Michael Leitch, 7. Pieter Labuschagne, 8. Kazuki Himeno (C)

Replacements

16. Atsushi Sakate, 17. Craig Millar, 18. Asaeli Ai Valu, 19. Warner Dearns, 20. Kanji Shimokawa, 21. Naoto Saito, 22. Dylan Riley, 23. Lomano Lemeki

Match Officials

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)

Assistant Referee 1: Nic Berry (RA)

Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU)

VIEWS FROM CAMP

Steve Borthwick: "We focus on moving forward every day and that's been the case since we came into camp. That hasn't changed and the players have been magnificent every single day, we have continued to build through this week. There was a lot I was pleased with in terms of our performance last week and I think it's really important to acknowledge the supporters. I thought they were outstanding and when we went down to 14 men after two minutes, it was as if the supporters recognised that gaps and stepped in to become our 15th player. It was absolutely incredible, and I've been privileged to be involved in this team since 2000 in one way or another, and that was as good as I've ever heard the English supporters.

"I was very privileged to live in Tokyo for a couple of years. Japan is a very special place and Japan is a very special team. For us going into this game, we know we are going to have to defence exceptionally well. The ball movement from the Japan team is exceptional and they test you in a way that most other teams don't, so we've prepared thoroughly for that this week. Our team is very well prepared and is energised and excited to get out there on Sunday night."

Ollie Lawrence: "We know what Japan's threats are, they like to move the ball around. There's obviously a lot of history there with how they've performed in World Cups previously, they're a very passionate team and it's something that we've had a focus on and we know what we need to do to get on the right end of the result on the weekend."

Richard Wigglesworth: "This is where you show what kind of team you are, what kind of professional you are, both as coaches and players. You can sit and think 'that's a job well done' or you can think 'what are the many areas that we can improve on?'.

"Japan attack in a different way to many teams that you play against, both internationally and in the Premiership. It's a really good test for us and we're excited to get stuck into it. And on the other side of the ball, every team presents a slightly different challenge with how they defend and how they kick, so we'll be ready for that when it comes."

TOP STATS

This will be just the fourth meeting between England and Japan in men’s Test rugby, but the third in the last five years;England have won each of their previous three encounters with Japan by margins of 20+ points.

England have won each of their last five pool stage matches at the Rugby World Cup, with each of those victories coming by margins of more than 15 points.

Japan have won eight of their last nine pool stage matches at the Rugby World Cup (L1) including the last seven in a row, this after winning just one of their initial 24 pool fixtures in the tournament (D2 L21).

England were the only side to win 100% of their lineouts across the opening round of fixtures in this year’s Rugby World Cup, claiming all seven throws they attempted; Japan meanwhile stole four of Chile’s lineouts in their match, the most by any side across the round.

Japan made 19 dominant tackles across the opening set of fixtures in this year’s Rugby World Cup, more than any other nation.