Japan veteran Michael Leitch will become Japan’s most capped Rugby World Cup player when he runs onto the pitch at Stade de Nice at 21:00 for his 15th tournament match on Sunday when Japan face England in a Pool D match.
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He is one of 13 survivors from the Japan side that lost 52-13 against England at Twickenham last November, a match Jamie Joseph’s side would rather forget as the home side ran in seven tries.
The RWC 2019 hosts will need him to be at his obdurate best again. He was superb in defence against Chile, completing 15 of his 16 tackle attempts, making one breakdown steal from four defensive ruck arrivals, forcing one tackle turnover, and making one lineout steal.
Head coach Jamie Joseph has made four changes to Japan's starting XV from last week’s win over Chile, with Shota Horie, Pieter Labuschagne and captain Kazuki Himeno coming in to the forwards pack and Tomoki Osada joining the backs.
Joseph admitted that most of the teams in Pool D have a similar style of play. "Since we have known we were going to take on England and Argentina and Samoa, who all play a very similar style. It's all based around physicality, set-piece, and physical defence. Everything we have been doing is preparing for this game and the two games to follow so I think our boys know what is coming. We just need to make the most of every opportunity we create and make sure we are able to deal with the physical power of the English game."
Steve Borthwick, meanwhile, has made three changes to England’s starting XV after their pragmatism-first win over Argentina last weekend. Joe Marler and Kyle Sinckler come into the front row, while Lewis Ludlam slots in at eight.
Steve Borthwick, England's head coach was adamant that there are no discipline problems in the England camp. "We gave away seven penalties last week, so this is a disciplined team. What we have had is incidents that have meant cards have been issued against the England team, and we want 15 players on the pitch. That is very important."
Borthwick also said their lack of tries scored against Argentina is not a major concern. "You get to this level, games are tight. Players have to find a way to gain an advantage one way or another. These players did an incredible job last week in finding an advantage. These guys are big players who rise to the biggest of occasions and I anticipate and expect that these players will find another way on Sunday and will rise again to the big occasion."
Teams:
England: 1 Joe Marler, 2 Jamie George, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Courtney Lawes (c), 7 Ben Earl, 8 Lewis Ludlam, 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 George Ford, 11 Elliot Daly, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 13 Joe Marchant, 14 Jonny May, 15 Freddie Steward. Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Ollie Lawrence.
Japan: 1 Keita Inagaki, 2 Shota Horie, 3 Jiwon Gu, 4 Jack Cornelsen, 5 Amato Fakatava, 6 Michael Leitch, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 8 Kazuki Himeno (c), Yutaka Nagare, 10 Rikiya Matsuda, 11 Jone Naikabula, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 13 Tomoki Osada, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 15 Semisi Masirewa. Replacements: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Warner Dearns, 20 Kanji Shimokawa, 21 Naoto Saito, 22 Dylan Riley, 23 Lomano Lemeki.