Eddie Jones returned to Twickenham this weekend in a familiar yet tense setting as England prepared to face Japan in the Nations Championship. The match comes during the second weekend of the northern hemisphere Tests, where England and Ireland remain locked in a tight battle for the title with identical competition points.
England and Ireland each sit on 15 points after five rounds, but England’s points difference is currently 42 better thanks to a 73-8 rout of Fiji in July and a 45-22 victory over Australia last week. Ireland’s campaign has included narrow bonus-point wins over Australia and Japan, a loss to New Zealand without any bonus points, and a 42-12 win against Argentina last week where they failed to score in the final quarter.
Steve Borthwick’s England side lost to South Africa earlier in the tournament without securing a losing bonus point but picked up crucial bonus points in wins against Fiji and Argentina. Last week’s win over Australia gave England a strong chance of finishing at least second and facing either South Africa or New Zealand in the finals weekend at Twickenham.
Ireland’s path to overtake England relies on outperforming them in the final two rounds. That means beating South Africa in Dublin while hoping New Zealand beat England at Twickenham, or gaining more bonus points in a potential loss to the Springboks than England do against the All Blacks. Both England and Ireland are expected to secure comfortable wins against Japan and Fiji respectively this Saturday, making it unlikely for Ireland to reduce England’s points difference advantage significantly. The final standings may well hinge on bonus points collected in these matches.
Jones, who coached England from 2016 to 2022, returned to Twickenham as Japan’s head coach with a plan to unsettle his former team. Japan have lost all six previous Tests against England and enter the match as 40-1 outsiders. Jones acknowledged that England have never been beaten by Japan but said his team is preparing to try something different.
“It’s a big week for Japanese rugby,” Jones said. “We realise England are a nation we’ve never been able to beat. Everyone knows the record and we want to do something a bit different this week and we’ve trained like that, so I’m really pleased with the team.”
Jones described Japan’s training as a mix of settled sessions and a tougher day on Wednesday where the players adapted well to more challenging scenarios. He expressed confidence in the team’s effort and adaptability heading into the match at Twickenham.
“I was really pleased with the players, really pleased with their effort, really pleased with the way they adapted to the situations,” Jones said. “I’m looking forward to going to Twickenham with this young Japanese team that’s going to play the house down.”
Jones holds the record as England’s most successful coach by win rate at 72 percent, having led them to two Six Nations titles including the 2016 Grand Slam and the 2019 World Cup final. His tenure ended in 2022 under difficult circumstances with fans booing the side, but Jones said the statistics from his time remain strong.
“If you look at the stats, they stand the test of time,” he said. “So there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be pleased to go back to Twickenham.”
Jones also commented on England’s situation, describing them as “distracted” and aiming to “make the Twickenham sky fall in on” them with his Japanese side’s approach.
The Nations Championship weekend also features a blockbuster Test on Friday with injury-hit France hosting South Africa in Paris. France will field Antoine Dupont at fly-half, a position he has played for his club Toulouse, despite injuries ruling out Romain Ntamack and Matthieu Jalibert. South Africa captain Siya Kolisi said the Springboks have no special plan to contain Dupont, trusting their defence to limit his space.
“He’s played at 10 before for his club, and we saw the game where he played there. He was very good,” Kolisi said. “I mean, he can play almost anywhere on the field, so I don’t think it is a surprise to see him there.”
South Africa have made only two changes to their match day squad for this fixture, reflecting a preference for consistency ahead of the final rounds of the tournament.
The Nations Championship will conclude at Allianz Stadium from November 27 to 29, where the final places and the title will be decided.
According to Sky Sports.
