Rugby’s Nations Championship continues at Twickenham after Wales’ historic upset of New Zealand, as England face a Japan side coached by Eddie Jones.
asserted
England → continue → Jones
The hosts are heavy favourites to record another strong win and get one over on their former long-time boss, having eased the latest pressure on Steve Borthwick with a record rout of Australia last weekend.
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hosts → record → Australia
45 points was the most they have ever scored in a game against the Wallabies, who were blown away by seven tries.
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who → score → tries
England pledged to come out fighting for Borthwick after headlines over an alleged rift in camp and did just that, making it three wins in a row after finishing the summer with victories over Fiji and Argentina.
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it → pledge → Fiji
They should take care of Japan in a warm-up for next weekend’s showdown with the wounded All Blacks, though as ever there have been plenty of mind games from Jones, who says his team want the “sky to fall in” at Twickenham as they target a first-ever win over England.
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they → take → England
Borthwick has made 10 changes to the side that thrashed Australia for his 50th game in charge, including starts for the likes of Henry Pollock, Max Ojomoh, George Ford and Will Joseph.
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that → make → Pollock
England vs Japan latest news
Live updates
Kick-off at Twickenham
Here we go at Twickenham!
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we → go → Twickenham
Can much-changed England follow up their record rout of Australia with another statement win ahead of facing wounded New Zealand next weekend?
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England → change → Zealand
Or will Japan take belief from Wales’ heroics and spring another almighty upset to beat England for the first time ever?
It’s time to find out...
Here come the teams
The teams are out at a freezing cold Twickenham, where the usual burst of pre-match pyrotechnics will come as a warming relief to many fans.
After a minute’s applause, it’s time for the national anthems.
God Save The King will come second.
Focus switches to Twickenham after Wales heroics
Standard Sport’s Sam Tabuteau at Twickenham
Kick-off is in 20 minutes here at Twickenham.
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off → take → Twickenham
It is going to take some doing for this game to top what we've just witnessed in Cardiff.
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we → go → Cardiff
England will face wounded New Zealand after Wales shock
A penny for Dave Rennie’s thoughts right about now after the New Zealand head coach made eight changes from last weekend’s comfortable win over Scotland at Murrayfield.
Steve Borthwick might be a bit miffed that Wales have just made the All Blacks very angry before they head to Twickenham...
Wales stun New Zealand in historic upset
Utterly extraordinary scenes in Cardiff, where Wales have just stunned New Zealand 35-28 in an almighty upset.
It is their first win over the All Blacks since all the way back in 1953, having lost 34 games in a row against them.
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It → face → them
Steve Tandy’s side delivered an absolutely incredible second-half defensive effort at the Principality Stadium to hold on following tries by Tomos Williams, Dewi Lake, Archie Griffin, Eddie James and Louis Rees-Zammit - all of which were converted by Sam Costelow.
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all → deliver → Costelow
New Zealand got tries from Cortez Ratima, Wallace Sititi, Fehi Fineanganofo and Peter Lakai, all converted by Richie Mo’unga, but could not hit back again late on despite their dominance.
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all → get → dominance
What a moment for Wales after such an abysmal few years for Welsh rugby, both on and off the pitch. No one gave them even the slightest chance.
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one → give → chance
It’s just the sort of result this inaugural Nations Championship needed, with most matches having gone the way of the favourites so far.
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matches → ’ → favourites
It follows injury-plagued France’s epic win over South Africa in Paris last night.
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It → follow → Paris
That should give Japan plenty of hope, while England will be facing a wounded All Blacks team next weekend.
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England → give → team
Things just got very interesting indeed...
Eddie Jones: Japan want 'the sky to fall in' at Twickenham
Here’s more from Eddie Jones on how Japan can shock the world at Twickenham this afternoon.
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Japan → get → Twickenham
It is four years next month since the Australian was sacked by the RFU.
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Australian → sack → RFU
He had been in post for seven years - following his first spell with Japan - and his dismissal came just nine months before the World Cup in France.
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dismissal → follow → France
Jones won three Six Nations titles, one Grand Slam and reached one World Cup final during his time in charge, producing the highest win ratio of any England head coach in history before a dire run ultimately cost him his job.
"We're massive underdogs," Jones told BBC Radio 5 Live this week.
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Jones → win → Radio
We've got to find a way to disrupt an England side that's looking at New Zealand next week and sometimes may be a little bit distracted.
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that → get → Zealand
"Our opportunity is to get in there, cause some havoc, cause some chaos, put off their game, get the crowd booing.
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crowd → get → game
“Then the sky starts to come in on Twickenham and you never know what can happen.
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what → start → Twickenham
"We've seen it happen with Italy and other countries."
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it → see → Italy
England looking to lay down marker for New Zealand clash
Standard Sport’s Sam Tabuteau checks in from a bitterly cold Twickenham, where much-changed England are looking to lay down another marker ahead of facing the All Blacks next weekend.
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England → look → Blacks
Opportunity knocks for a number of players with the World Cup in Australia now less than a year away, including Max Ojomoh and Will Joseph.
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Opportunity → knock → Ojomoh
Unusual reason Ryunosuke Ito is unavailable for Japan
Japan certainly win the award for the most unusual absence of a key player during this concluding autumn portion of the inaugural Nations Championship.
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Japan → win → Championship
Highly-rated young fly-half Ryunosuke Ito is unavailable as he is playing for Meiji University in the Kanto University Intercollegiate Championship.
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he → rat → Championship
"That's the uniqueness of Japanese rugby," said Jones of Ito’s absence.
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Jones → say → absence
Ito, 21, had never previously played a match of professional rugby before being selected by Jones for the impressive 27-10 win over Italy in July.
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Ito → play → July
He later scored a remarkable individual try in the narrow defeat by Australia in Osaka.
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He → score → Osaka
Ito will begin his professional club career with Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath next season, meaning no more clashes with university rugby.
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Ito → begin → rugby
England hit back at Eddie Jones mind games
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England → hit → games
There have been all manner of trademark mind games from Eddie Jones this week as he makes his latest return to Twickenham.
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he → make → Twickenham
Among his many claims has been that England might well be distracted by their upcoming clash with New Zealand, allowing his Japan side to potentially take advantage and spring a massive upset in beating England for the very first time.
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side → distract → time
“That’s nowhere near the case because we understand how important this game is,” England scrum coach Tom Harrison hit back on Friday.
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Harrison → ’ → Friday
“We understand the challenge Japan can throw at us and we have to be alive in every single moment to the type of rugby they play.
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they → understand → rugby
“We understand that there might be unorthodox things coming our way, but our need is to be alive.
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need → understand → ?
“I’ve never worked with Eddie but I’ve met him a few times and he’s a rugby genius, the way he thinks about the game and the way the players talk about him.”
Archie McParland set to make England debut
There will be an England debut off the bench this afternoon for Northampton scrum-half Archie McParland, who has recovered from injury to make the matchday squad.
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who → work → squad
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
