England’s fourth and final match of the autumn campaign will see Eddie Jones’ Japan come to Twickenham.
Off the back of five consecutive defeats, Borthwick must decide whether to go with his strongest team, or experiment by giving youth a chance.
Telegraph Sport’s rugby experts select the team they would like to see on Sunday.
Even with the spectre of Eddie Jones returning to Twickenham, Japan should not be considered a threat. The All Blacks’ second team put 60 points on them and England 50 back in June. So while a win is absolutely imperative, Steve Borthwick can afford to make some changes. The centre partnership has not looked particularly inspiring and while it is certainly too soon to call quits on Slade and Lawrence as a duom, it might be worth seeing how Tommy Freeman fares at centre rather than the wing. Doing this means a recall for George Furbank to offer an extra playmaking option in the backline.
Up front, a combination of Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Trevor Davison has the potential to be a tasty prop partnership. Finally, Ted Hill deserves a shot at blindside flanker where his work rate could potentially match that of Ollie Chessumm, who has been so sorely missed this autumn.
The structure of England’s autumn leaves a little to be desired, with a final date against Japan giving Steve Borthwick the chance to put a sticking plaster on defeats in the three Tests that truly matter. Can a likely thumping victory over a side who shipped 52 points to France and 64 to New Zealand truly be spun as this team turning a corner? I am not so sure.
Still, a couple of constructive exercises are possible: one is to entrust Maro Itoje with the captaincy and see whether the added responsibility reduces his penchant for coughing up penalties. It has to be preferable to the chaos that inevitably ensues after 50 minutes or fewer of Jamie George. A second imperative is to restore the confidence of Jack van Poortvliet, who must be on the floor after being mercilessly targeted by South Africa. There will be calls to sideline him permanently, but scrum-half is one position where England’s lack of depth is glaring.
Why not have a bit of fun? There is enough know-how and talent to beat Japan here, while sending England supporters to Christmas with a modicum of optimism about the Six Nations and a bright future beyond. Fraser Dingwall is a fine facilitator who seemed to be earmarked for a more significant role this autumn before injury struck. A classy outing as captain of England A was enough to prove his fitness.
There is a Saints flavour to the backline and, up front, I am unleashing a couple of Under-20 world champions – one from the start and the other from the bench. A rejig of the replacements, I feel, should add dynamism. If it is all going well, 20 minutes at outside centre for Tommy Freeman seems sensible.
If England had managed to win at least two of the last three games, then I would have expected a major rotation in the side to face Japan. But this is not the time. England need an emphatic victory on Sunday, not a scratchy performance. For that reason, the starting XV will be full bore again, just as it was when England opened their summer tour against Japan in Tokyo.
That means a return for George Furbank at full-back, given Japan are not expected to pepper England with contestable kicks as the Springboks did, and also Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the wing if he is fit. A start too for Harry Randall, with his running game. The experimentation comes on the bench with a golden opportunity to introduce Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Trevor Davison, with Finn Smith also included.
Japan so far this autumn are conceding an average of 43 points per game, so England can afford to tinker. Freddie Steward did well against South Africa but that felt like a horses for courses selection to counter their kicking game. The longer-term answer to England’s attack involves Furbank, while Feyi-Waboso is back from concussion on the wing. Freeman at 13 gives England much-needed punch in the middle and is an option which needs to be explored, even if it means losing one of Lawrence or Slade.
You can swap the front rows, mainly to see if England finish stronger with their best front row arriving late on, while I would give Opoku-Fordjour a debut. England need to get another look at what Ted Hill can offer as a rangy lock/six with good carrying ability, while Cunningham-South exploding off the bench can help England’s late-game malaise. Finally, half an hour for Fin Smith to show how well he can run this attack would be welcome.
Minimal changes, so that England are able to finish a dispiriting autumn on a high, incorporating a couple of experimental tweaks which attempt to answer the questions and doubts introduced by the past three defeats. Unfortunately, the poor standard of the opposition means that we might not get those answers, but there needs to be an attempt.
Can Marcus Smith and George Ford play together? Would having the former at full-back allow him a little more time and space to conjure those wicked individual spells? Will Ford be able to get more out of England’s misfiring midfield? Jack van Poortvliet was harassed by South Africa last Saturday but I do believe, long term, that he is in England’s top two scrum-halves.
Jamie George starts on the bench to offer a leadership option towards the back end of the match, something which has been severely lacking this autumn, while George Martin – so important to the England cause – is rested. He is young, has played a lot of rugby, is injury prone and has looked absolutely knackered in the past fortnight when being replaced. And, yes, Asher Opoku-Fordjour should be given a shot off the bench, too.
