England vs Japan LIVE - Latest score and updates as hosts struggle against Brave Blossoms
Follow the latest from the autumn international clash at Twickenham
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Your support makes all the difference.A heavily changed England side takes on Japan on Saturday afternoon in the third of their autumn internationals, with Eddie Jones looking to get his side back to winning ways after last weekend’s defeat by the All Blacks.
Jones hands Bath wing Joe Cokanasiga his England debut while Zach Mercer makes his first start at No 8, with only four players being retained and just two of those in the same position in the form of full-back Elliot Daly and lock Maro Itoje.
George Ford comes in at fly-half to replace Owen Farrell and captain the side on what will be his 50th cap, but he will want to ensure that England do not suffer a similar fate to the Springboks in 2015 after witnessing Japan pull off one of the great shocks of rugby union. Follow the live action below.
What time does it start?
England vs Japan kicks off at 3:00pm on Saturday 17 November.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main event from 2:30pm.
Teams
England: Elliot Daly; Joe Cokanasiga, Jack Nowell, Alex Lozowski, Chris Ashton; George Ford, Danny Care; Alec Hepburn, Jamie George, Harry Williams; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Courtney Lawes, Mark Wilson, Zach Mercer.
Replacements: Dylan Hartley, Ben Moon, Kyle Sinckler, Ted Hill, Sam Underhill, Richard Wigglesworth, Owen Farrell, Henry Slade.
Japan: Will Tupou; Akihito Yamada, Timothy Lafaele, Ryoto Nakamura, Kenki Fukuoka; Yu Tamura, Fumiaki Tanaka; Keita Inagaki, Atsushi Sakate, Koo Ji-won, Wimpie van der Walt; Uwe Helu, Michael Leitch, Masakatsu Nishikawa, Kazuki Himeno.
Replacements: Yusuke Niwai, Koki Yamamoto, Aasaeli Ai Valu, Samuela Anise, Hendrik Tui, Shunsuke Nunomaki, Yutaka Nagare, Rikiya Matsuda.
29 min: Danny Care with the box-kick from inside his own half. It falls for a Japan line-out but not much comes of it. Still, they're in possession and working the England defence nicely. Nakamura soon spots an opening and dinks the ball in behind with a smart grubber kick...
31 min: England 10-15 Japan (Leitch try, Tamura misses conversion)
Wow. What a try from the Japan captain. After Lafaele had claimed the grubber kick in behind, the ball was quickly sprayed back out to the left flank. From there, Leitch danced and skipped his way past THREE England defends - Care, Hartley and Williams - before bursting through towards the try-line. A quick shake of the hips sent Daly the wrong way, allowing the Japan 6 to go crashing over for a sensational solo try. Cracking stuff. Tamura misses the conversion.
34 min: More bad news for England. Chris Ashton is off with a calf problem. It's Henry Slade who comes on to replace him.
36 min: The hosts kick from deep to find a pocket of space in behind the Japan defence. Daly gives chase - with the ball in no man's land - but he's pulled up for coming into contact with Japan's Fukuoka in the process. Another sloppy penalty. The Brave Blossoms kick for the line-out and the danger is cleared.
38 min: More fantastic play from Japan! They've been brilliant in breaking through England's defence and they're at it again. This time around it's Nakamura who worms his way through on the England 22. He manages to make the offload to Yamada and the ball is then quickly shipped to Leitch of all people. He sprints down the flank and attempts the offload, after being stopped by Daly, but Slade is there to intercept.
39 min: Amazingly, Slade is held up when he takes the ball backwards over his own line. Not quite sure how he failed to touch that down. Japan penalty and scrum on England's 5-metre line.
Half-time: As promising as Japan's position was, this time there was to be no try. A dropped ball outside England's 22 takes the wind out of the visitors' sail and that's it for the opening 40 minutes.
What a half of rugby it's been though! England were warned not to underestimate this Japan side and they now head into the break trailing by five points. A well-deserved lead for Jamie Joseph's side.
What a half it's been from this man. The Japan captain has been leading by example with his power and surprising pace, having caught the England defence out on multiple occasions down the right flank.
As for England, it's been a seriously disappointing display of rugby. The watertight defence that marked last week's performance is missing while multiple mistakes, both on and off the ball, have hindered the hosts' ability to put together any meaningful passages of play. They've been comprehensively outplayed and outclassed by the opposition.
We can only assume Jones will be bringing on the big guns in the second half to avoid what would be a hugely embarrassing defeat here at Twickenham.
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