England vs Japan: Rugby World Cup kick-off time, TV channel, live stream, team news, lineups, odds
Victory in Nice will go a long way to the Red Rose reaching the quarter-finals with the Asian nation representing a banana skin having claimed the famous scalps of Ireland, Scotland and South Africa at recent tournaments.
George Ford’s impressive kicking in Marseille was vital to securing a morale-boosting win to open the competition, particularly as England lost Tom Curry to a red card early on.
Steve Borthwick faced plenty of criticism for his side’s approach to their World Cup warm-up games but there was a sense of steel, determination and guile about their demolition job on Argentina.
Japan smashed Chile to open their campaign as they look to make another run into the knockouts.
Date, kick-off time and venue
England vs Japan takes place on Sunday September 17, 2023, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm BST.
The Stade de Nice will host.
Where to watch England vs Japan
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be shown live and free to air on ITV1, with coverage starting at 7.15pm.
Live stream: The ITV website and ITVX app will also offer a free live stream service for fans online.
Live blog: You can follow all the action live via Standard Sport’s Rugby World Cup blog, featuring expert analysis from Nick Purewal at the ground.
England vs Japan team news
Curry’s two-game ban will likely lead to Ben Earl shifting over to flanker and allowing Billy Vunipola to start at No8 following his suspension. Owen Farrell will serve the final match of his own ban.
Jack Willis and Henry Arundell are also pushing for starts with Borthwick likely to resist the temptation to rotate his side given minnows Chile will follow six days later.
The Brave Blossoms lost captain Kazuki Himeno shortly before their game against Chile, but he should be fit to return.
England vs Japan lineups
These will be announced closer to kick-off, so check back to see who is lining up for both teams!
England vs Japan referee
Georgian official Nika Amashukeli takes charge with Nic Berry and Andrea Piardi running the lines. Ireland’s Joy Neville will serve as TMO.
England vs Japan prediction
Japan may have stunned some big teams in past World Cups but they are certainly not expected to repeat the trick this Sunday.
Should England continue their front-foot approach and show off some attacking confidence, they should seal the win.
England to win with a bonus point.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
The two sides first met at the 1987 World Cup, which England comfortably won 60-7.
England wins: 3
