Preview: England vs Japan
Everything you need to know ahead of England's Autumn Nations Series fixture against Japan.
Eddie Jones' men return to Twickenham this weekend to host Japan in their second Autumn Nations Series fixture.
Five changes to the team that faced Argentina sees David Ribbans promoted to the starting lineup. He joins Jonny Hill in the second row.
| When? | Saturday 12 November |
| Where? | Twickenham Stadium |
| Kick off? | 15:15 |
Sam Simmonds will be aiming to inject his pace from the outset as he is named at No 8, while Maro Itoje and Tom Curry occupy the flanks. Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Kyle Sinckler make up the front row.
Elsewhere, Jack van Poortvliet is afforded a start at scrum half after impressing from the bench last weekend. Marcus Smith completes the half back pairing, while Owen Farrell captains the side at 12.
Guy Porter comes in at outside centre, while Jonny May marks his international return after dislocating his elbow earlier in the season. Jack Nowell (right wing) and Freddie Steward (full back) complete the back three.
The finishers are Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Joe Heyes, Alex Coles, Billy Vunipola, Ben Youngs, Henry Slade and Manu Tuilagi.
VIEWS FROM CAMP
Eddie Jones: "We've had a really good week. The attitude and determination from the players is high. We had a setback last week and we acknowledge our performance wasn't good enough, but we've had a really great week and we're ready for Japan.
"We want to go out there and play like England. We felt at the end of the day against Argentina that we only touched on that and we want to find the best versions of ourselves this week."
Mako Vunipola: "The style that Japan play is something that we don't face that often. They really like to move the ball around and they can break up defences from anywhere. You can see from the game against New Zealand that they're not a team you can just rock up and hope that as long as you turn up you'll be alright. They're a team that you have to respect and not underestimate.
"We need to be aggressive and take it to them as a team. We saw parts of that last weekend and when we did that we got points, but I don't think we saw enough of it. It will be tough for us, but at international level every team is a threat and you have to be adaptable to it."
TEAMS
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Jack Nowell (VC) 13.Guy Porter 12. Owen Farrell (C), 11.Jonny May, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Jack van Poortvliet 1. Ellis Genge (VC), 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. David Ribbans, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Maro Itoje, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Sam Simmonds
Finishers
16. Jamie George, 17. Mako Vunipola, 18. Joe Heyes, 19. Alex Coles 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Ben Youngs, 22. Henry Slade, 23. Manu Tuilagi
Japan
15. Ryohei Yamanaka, 14. Kotaro Munyaradzi Matsushima, 13. Dylan Riley, 12. Ryota Nakamura, 11. Gerhard van den Heever, 10. Takuya Yamasawa, 9. Yutaka Nagare 1. Keita Inagaki, 2. Atsushi Sakate (C), 3. Jiwon Gu, 4. Warner Dearns, 5. Jack Cornelsen, 6. Michael Leitch, 7. Kazuki Himeno, 8. Tevita Tatafu
Replacements
16. Kosuke Horikoshi, 17. Craig Millar, 18. Yusuke Kizu, 19. Wimpie van der Walt, 20. Pieter Labuschagne, 21. Naoto Saito, 22. Seungshin Lee, 23. Siosaia Fifita.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
2018: England 35-15 Japan
1987: England 60-7 Japan
1979: England 38-18 Japan*
1979: England 21-19 Japan*
1971: England 6-3 Japan*
1971: England 27-19 Japan*
*Uncapped England side
KEY STATS
This will be the 13th time Eddie Jones has faced a nation he has previously been head coach of.
Japan have lost each of their last eight Test matches against Tier 1 nations, after winning two in a row such opposition previously.
England’s Billy Vunipola was one of just three players to make a round-high 15 carries during last weekend’s Autumn Nations Series fixtures.
Henry Slade could win his 50th cap for England in this match; 47 of his caps for England so far have come under Eddie Jones.
