Borthwick tweaks his England team for Eddie Jones' return
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: England head coach Steve Borthwick has named his team to play Japan at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday.
Jamie George will lead an England team featuring two changes to the starting XV that was defeated by South Africa last weekend, with George Furbank and Tom Curry brought into the lineup. George will be supported by vice-captains Maro Itoje, Ben Earl, and Ellis Genge.
In the front row, George starts at hooker, with Genge at loosehead prop and Will Stuart at tighthead. In the second row, Itoje is paired with George Martin. The back row sees Curry on the blindside, Sam Underhill at openside, and Earl at No.8.
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In the halfback positions, scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet partners Marcus Smith at 10 while the midfield sees Henry Slade named at inside centre alongside Ollie Lawrence at 13.
In the back three, Tommy Freeman continues on the right wing, Ollie Sleightholme on the left and Furbank returns at full-back to round off the starting XV.
The 20-year-old prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour is set to earn his first England senior cap from the bench during Sunday’s match. He joins Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Nick Isiekwe, Chandler Cunningham-South, Harry Randall, Fin Smith, and Tom Roebuck among the replacements.
“We anticipate a tough challenge from a team that thrives on playing fast and with tempo,” said Borthwick.
“Japan are a dangerous team so it’s important that we execute our game plan and maintain focus throughout the full 80 minutes.”
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.
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)
