Japan Brave Blossoms vs England Nations Championship 2026 Preview

rugbyasia247 Posted On November 12, 2026

4 Views

Japan Brave Blossoms vs England Nations Championship 2026 Preview

The Brave Blossoms head to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday, 14th November, for the World Rugby Nations Championship 2026 to take on an England team flying high after they dismantled the Wallabies 45-22 last weekend.

Photo Credit – RFU

Japan will be trying to avoid a third straight defeat after their 21-28 loss to Wales last week, but not many will be banking on Eddie Jones’s team to upset the English this weekend. For England, they scored a record number of points against Australia in their win.

Mid-week, Miu Austin Moriyama and Inoke Brua have returned to Japan due to injury, and Faulua Makisi (Kubota Spears Funabashi/Tokyo Bay) and Jone Naikabra (Toshiba Brave Lupus Musashi) have been called up to replace them.

Japan are ranked 12th and England are 5th – with Steve Borthwick’s side silencing some critics for now with their performance over the weekend.

The most recent encounter between these two teams was a convincing 59-14 win for England, and the English are yet to lose to Japan in six Tests, which dates back to the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

The closest Japan have come is in an uncapped match in 1971 that ended 3-6 to England during their first tour of Japan.

Eddie Jones has been on a media blitz in the UK, appearing on several rugby programs and podcasts, and has talked of pulling off a rare Italy or Fiji win against England. He has selected a similar team to that which lost to Wales, with no changes to the starting pack. Warner Dearns and Naoto Saito continue to lead the side as co-captains.

On the left wing, Inoke Burua (who has gone home) has been replaced by Toshiba Brave Lupus Musashi player Rinku Tokito, who will make his debut. He was one of the standout Japan 7s players at the Asian Games 2026 and has yet to make his debut in the JRLO too. That is the only change in the starting backline, as Riku Kitahara will keep the ten jersey and earn his second cap.

Among the reserves, only Shinobu Fujiwara replaces Kenta Fukuda.

Brave Blossoms Men’s XV vs Wales - Nations Championship 2026

Photo Credit – Nations Championship

England Head Coach Steve Borthwick has brought back George Ford (as vice-captain) at fly-half in one of 10 changes to the side that beat the Wallabies, with Maro Itoje still captaining the team.

Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, George Martin, Henry Pollock, George Ford, Will Joseph, Max Ojomoh, Cadan Murley and Freddie Steward all come into the starting line-up. Scrum-half Archie McParland is set to make his England debut off the bench.

You can see more about the Nations Championship results and fixtures here.

You can also listen/watch our editor Steve Noble speak with Ben Jaycock from the Rugby Paper about the Japan vs England game and where the teams are at a year out from RWC 2027.