Japan game set to leave England with more questions than answers / Photo: Adrian Dennis - AFP
Japan game set to leave England with more questions than answers
England know that even if they end a run of five straight defeats by beating Japan at Twickenham on Sunday doubts over their ability to tame major teams will remain.
Their final game of 2024 follows England's trio of November losses at home to New Zealand, Australia and world champions South Africa -- the first time they have suffered three reverses in a row at Twickenham since 2006.
Steve Borthwick's men have had their chances in each of these contests against the southern hemisphere's big three but have instead gone down 24-22 to the All Blacks, 42-37 to the Wallabies and 29-20 to the Springboks.
Japan, by contrast, have never beaten England and it will be a shock to compare with their 2015 World Cup win over South Africa if they triumph at Twickenham this weekend.
Indeed Japan were the last team beaten by England, with Borthwick's men cruising to a 52-17 win in Tokyo in June.
It all leaves England, who have a tough start to the 2025 Six Nations against Ireland, the reigning champions, and France, on a hiding to nothing in a match that pits them against a Japan team coached by their former boss Eddie Jones.
Full-back George Furbank returns in a bid to give England an extra cutting edge and take some of the pressure off fly-half Marcus Smith.
- 'Play fast' -
"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 full-back," Borthwick said after naming his team on Friday.
It was a point emphasised by Japan hooker Mamoru Harada, who told the BBC that Jones's vision of "chosoku (super-fast) rugby" was emerging during the coach's 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, England's Tom Curry is back just a fortnight after the dynamic flanker was knocked out against Australia, his fifth concussion 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 chosen at the expense 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."
But wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has lost his own race to be fit after he too was concussed against the Wallabies.
Borthwick, who worked under Jones with both Japan and England, is looking forward to going up against his 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's management style has been in the spotlight after former England scrum-half Danny Care published an autobiography earlier this month in which he said "everyone was bloody terrified" of the veteran Australian coach.
Renowned for his pre-match 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 worst losing streak since he was in charge 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."
F.Peeters--RTC
