England v Japan - teams and prediction 

Today at 03:18 AM

PREVIEW: England know that even if they break their five-match losing streak by beating Japan at Twickenham on Sunday - doubts over their ability against major teams will remain.

[rp-mc-game id="3|941361|2024"][/rp-mc-game]

England's final Test of 2024 follows their trio of defeats at home to New Zealand, Australia and world champions South Africa - the first time they tasted defeat three times in a row at home since 2006.

Steve Borthwick's men had their opportunities in all these contests against the Southern Hemisphere's big three, but have instead suffered narrow losses to New Zealand (22-24), Australia (37-42) and South Africa (20-29).

Japan, by contrast have never defeated England and it will be a shock to compare their 2015 World Cup heroics over South Africa if they emerge victorious at Twickenham this weekend.

Japan last meeting against England came in a 17-52 loss to Borthwick's men back in June.

It all leaves England, who faces a tough start to the 2025 Six Nations when they face defending champions Ireland and France, on a hiding to nothing in a clash that pits them against Japan who's coached by their former mentor Eddie Jones.

Fullback George Furbank returns in a bid to give England an extra cutting edge and take some pressure off No.10 Marcus Smith.

"Japan want to play fast, we want to play fast. We want to do some different things in the way we attack, hence the selection at fullback," Borthwick said after naming his team on Friday.

It was a point emphasised by Japan Hooker Mamoru Harada, who told the BBC that Jones' vision of "chosoku [super fast] rugby" was emerging during the coaches second stint leading Japan.

"The game in June was our first game of this campaign and the team was very young," Harada said.

"We have experienced 10 games now this year and we will show a different Japan this weekend."

Meanwhile loose forward Tom Curry makes his return to the England outfit after just a fortnight following a concussion against Australia, his fifth in two years.

Curry will restore his destructive 'Kamikaze Kids' partnership with Sam Underhill for the first time since the 2023 World Cup after being selected ahead of Chandler Cunningham-South.

Borthwick, a former England captain, defended Curry's inclusion by saying: "There are stringent measures in terms of the players' return to play. The welfare and health of players is paramount.

"He [Curry] has gone through all those protocols, a number of different consultations, independent specialist consultations. He feels great, he's raring to go."

Wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso failed to pass his fitness test after also suffering a concussion against Australia.

Borthwick, who also worked under Jones with both Japan and England, is looking forward to face is former mentor.

"We know what a great coach he is, what a mind he has, what a great tactician he is. He's incredibly competitive," Borthwick said.

Jones' management style has been in the spotlight following former England scrumhalf Danny Care's autobiography extract which was published last month had a line in which he said "everybody was bloody terrified" of the veteran Australian coach.

Renowned for his pre-game verbal sparring, Jones has not spoken to the British media all week and missed Friday's online press conference with a cold.

But with England on their worse losing streak since Jones' tenure in 2018, Japan assistant coach Neal Hatley was confident Jones would make it to Twickenham on Sunday, saying: "Eddie will be there with bells on."

Players to watch

For England: Tom Curry's return will provide great defensive work and breakdown disruption while George Furbank will be entrusted to unlocking Japan's dodgy defence. Marcus Smith will pull the strings at flyhalf and if he's on song England could score a big win.

For Japan: Dylan riley has been a shining light in the centres and will be expected to break England's defence open, while Jone Naikabula can be a lethal finisher. Hooker Mamoru Harada will have to be spot on in his primary role while Kazuki Himeno will have to nullify the likes of Tom Curry at the breakdown.

The article continues below...

[rp-mc-form id="3|941361|2024"][/rp-mc-form]

Prediction:

@rugby365com: England by 25 points or more

England: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South; 21 Harry Randall, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Tom Roebuck.

Japan: 15 Takuro Matsunga, 14 Tomoki Osada, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Siosaia Fifita, 11 Jone Naikabula, 10 Nicholas McCurran, 9 Naoto Saito (captain), 8 Faulua Makisi, 7 Kazuki Himeno, 6 Kanji Shimokawa, 5 Epineri Uluiviti, 4 Sanaila Waqa, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Takato Okabe.
Replacements: 16 Seunghyuk Lee, 17 Yukio Morikawa, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Daichi Akiyama, 20 Tevita Tatafu, 21 Ben Gunter, 22 Shinobu Fujiwara, 23 Yusuke Kajimura.

Date: Sunday, November 24
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 16.10 (16.10 GMT; 01.10 Monday, November 25 Japan time)
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy) & Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)