The Albany Gazette - England at strength for 'brilliant' Japan

The Japanese won all four of their pool games four years ago as hosts and kicked off their campaign in France with a 42-12 victory over tournament debutants Chile.

Courtney Lawes will captain an England side with three changes to the starting XV that defeated Argentina 27-10.

There are starts for props Kyle Sinckler and Joe Marler, and Lewis Ludlam at No 8, with Lawes starting at blindside and Ben Earls moving to openside. The backline is unchanged.

"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 England coach Steve Borthwick.

"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."

Japan coach Jamie Joseph made four changes to his starting XV, bringing in hooker Shota Horie, flanker Pieter Labuschagne and captain and No 8 Kazuki Himeno to the forwards pack, while Tomoki Osada is named at centre.

Back-row forward Michael Leitch will make his 15th Rugby World Cup appearance after being named alongside Labushagne and Himeno.

In doing so, Leitch will become Japan’s most capped Rugby World Cup player, surpassing Luke Thompson.

- 'Extreme pressure' -

There are 13 survivors in Joseph's match-day team from the last time Japan played England in 2022 -- a game which they lost 52-13 -- including their only try-scorer that day, Naoto Saito.

Joseph said he was expecting England to bombard his team.

"We are expecting a lot of pressure, it (kicking) is a big part of their game. We've got to be good enough to catch those balls under extreme pressure," said the former All Black No 8.

Joseph called Uruguay's spirited showing in their 27-13 defeat by France on Thursday "inspiring for tier-two teams".

"England will be a handful in the way they play the game. They play differently to everyone else at the World Cup and they control the game well," he said.

"They control the kicking game and set-piece. For tier-two teams it is always a challenge."

England effectively throttled Argentina, an imperious George Ford kicking all the points in the 27-10 win, including three drop-goals.

Concerns over not scoring tries, however, were not affecting the team, according to centre Elliot Daly.

"If we keep getting opportunities we're definitely going to score some tries," he said, adding that going a man down after the third-minute departure of Tom Curry on a yellow card upgraded to red had not helped.

Daly said England considered Japan to be a "brilliant team" even though the Brave Blossoms appear to be less of a force compared to 2019 when they made a barnstorming run to the quarter-finals as tournament hosts.

"They're very hard to play against so we know we're going to have to be up there again this weekend to get a performance and a result," Daly said.

(T.Burkhard--BBZ)