The final match of week two in the 2023 Rugby World Cup will see the current top two teams in Pool D clash with England taking on Japan at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice on Sunday night.
Both these sides come into this match after winning their opening games in the competition, although Japan's bonus point earned against Chile sees them currently lead the way with five points.
Match preview
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Fair to say, English fans and players alike would have been nervous coming into this competition, as the team had lost three of their four warm-up matches, which included defeats against the likes of Wales and, more notably, Fiji.
However, it was not just the warm-up games that were a cause for concern as the Red and Whites also had a poor Six Nations tournament, which saw them finish fourth while also losing the Calcutta Cup in the opening match to Scotland.
Considering those results and their overall form this year, beating Argentina last week would have felt as good as winning a knockout-stage match, and the boost it would have given Steve Borthwick's side would have been immense.
While England were far from their best, a George Ford tactical masterclass got the team the victory, as the fly-half kicked all 27 points in the 27-10 win and kept the Argentines pinned in their own half for what must have felt like an eternity for the Pumas.
Ultimately, the points are all that matter, and the positive for the English is that while they are certainly nowhere close to their best form, they are playing to their strengths, which is essential for going deep in a tournament like this.
A win for England here will put them firmly in the driver's seat to finish in the top two places in the group, with games against lower-tier Samoa and Chile to come.
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Meanwhile, Japan got the bonus point in their opening fixture, scoring seven converted tries to beat Chile 42-12 in an entertaining encounter in Toulouse last week.
While that result has got them to the top of the pool standings, beating the lowest-ranked team in the competition does not cover up that the Brave Blossoms are a long way from the side that reached the quarter-final stage four years ago.
Japan's form coming into the competition was very poor, with just a single win recorded in their last nine matches, which came in a hard-fought encounter against Tonga back in July.
They will now face an English side that will have a rigid set of tactics and will have to try and match them at set pieces, which has not been a particularly strong point for them over the last 12 to 18 months.
However, that is not to say that Japan are without a chance here, and Jamie Joseph, who will step down as head coach after this World Cup, will likely have a few tricks up his sleeve that could catch out an iffy English defence.
England Rugby World Cup form:
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England form (all competitions):
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Japan Rugby World Cup form:
- W
Japan form (all competitions):
- L
- L
- W
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- W
Team News
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England will welcome back Billy Vunipola, who has completed his suspension, although Borthwick has opted to hand Lewis Ludlam the start at number eight, meaning Vunipola will be on the bench.
In the front row, Kyle Sinckler and Joe Marler replace Dan Cole and Ellis Genge in the props positions alongside Jamie George at hooker.
Owen Farrell will be eligible to return to action in the last two group-stage matches, although Ford has been massive for England and will be given another opportunity to stake his claim to be the first choice number 10.
Joseph has given Shota Horie the nod to replace Atsushi Sakate at hooker and also brings in Pieter Labuschagne in the second row in place of Kanji Shimokawa.
Despite a minor injury scare against Chile last week, Kazuki Himeno is fit to play and will resume captaincy duties, meaning Jack Cornelsen will move into the lock role.
England starting lineup: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Jonny May, 13. Joe Marchant, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Elliot Daly, 10. George Ford, 9. Alex Mitchell, 8. Lewis Ludlam, 7. Ben Earl, 6. Courtney Lawes (c), 5. Ollie Chessum, 4. Maro Itoje, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 2. Jamie George, 1. Joe Marler
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 starting lineup: 15. Semisi Masirewa, 14. Kotaro Matsushima, 13. Tomoki Osada, 12. Ryoto Nakamura, 11. Jone Naikabula, 10. Rikiya Matsuda, 9. Yutaka Nagare, 8. Kazuki Himeno (c), 7. Pieter Labuschagne, 6. Michael Leitch, 5. Amato Fakatava, 4. Jack Cornelsen, 3. Jiwon Gu, 2. Shota Horie, 1. Keita Inagaki
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
Head To Head
These sides have met on three previous occasions, and England have won all three matches. The most recent encounter came in November last year, which ended 52-13 in favour of England.
We say: England 37-17 Japan
Neither of these sides are at their best in this moment, but the tactical game of England may work very well against the teams in this group. While Japan will know exactly what their opponents will try to do in this match, we feel they may still struggle to stop the English.
No Data Analysis info
Devesh Jaganath
