England are looking to continue their perfect start to the Rugby World Cup when they take on Japan at the Allianz Riviera in Nice. Steve Borthwick’s side romped to a 27-10 victory over world No 6 Argentina in their opening match last weekend.
Despite Tom Curry being sent off early on, England fly-half George Ford potted three drop goals to inspire his team to victory. And the Sale Sharks star is keen for a repeat performance tonight.
“There is more to come, that was the niggling thought after that game,” Ford said. “[We have to] want the ball, get the ball in space and make things happen, and not wait for the perfect picture.”
He added: “We have worked pretty hard on attack this pre-season and particularly since we got here to France and we are looking forward to hopefully showing that,” Ford added.
“If you wait for the perfect picture you will be waiting all day long, you have to back yourself, you have to want the ball. If it is a two-on-two or a three-on-three, get the ball and make something happen.
“We want to always have the mindset to get back into shape, run and score tries. Our intent is always to make a difference with ball in hand first.”
Banana skin
Former England star Ben Cohen has warned Steve Borthwick that Japan will not be a walkover this evening.
He told SafeBettingSites.com: “What I will say is that they are both potential banana skins, both Japan and Samoa. You cannot write off either of those teams, we nearly got knocked out of the 2003 World Cup by Samoa before we went on to win it.
“Japan are not the team they were – nowhere near the team that beat South Africa in 2015 – they’re still a potential banana skin and could knock your confidence. They are lesser teams, but I’ve seen a gap that has been closed over the past 20 years against some of these teams.
“These so-called minnows are coming in and hurting opposition teams, scoring tries and unlocking defences. That is really encouraging to see for neutrals, to keep the buzz going through these games.”
Huge upset
Eddie Jones’ Australia have fallen to a shock defeat against Fiji. Pool C is now wide open after the Wallabies were rocked 22-15 thanks to some brilliant kicking by Simione Kuruvoli.
Earlier in the day South Africa thrashed Romania 76-0 in Pool B with Cobus Reinach and Makazole Mapimpi both scoring hat-tricks.
Line ups are in
Here’s how the two teams are lining up this evening.
England: Steward; May, Marchant, Tuilagi, Daly; Ford, Mitchell; Marler, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Chessum, Lawes (capt), Earl, Ludlam.
Replacements: Dan, Genge, Stuart, Martin, Vunipola, Youngs, Smith, Lawrence.
Japan: Masirewa; Matsushima, Osada, Nakamura, Naikabula; Matsuda, Nagare; Inagaki, Horie, Gu, Cornelsen, Fakatava, Leitch, Labuschagne, Himeno (capt)
Replacements: Sakate, Millar, Ai Valu, Dearns, Shimokawa, Saito, Riley, Lemeki.
Good evening
Good evening and welcome to Express Sport’s live coverage of England vs Japan at the Rugby World Cup.
Steve Borthwick’s side are hunting back-to-back victories following their opening-round win over Argentina.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Source: Read Full Article