The message within the England camp should be loud and clear this weekend: we are not conceding any tries against Japan. As much as Eddie Jones will be revelling in coming back to Twickenham, in trying to exploit whatever insecurities England have on the back of five straight defeats, this is not a Japan side that will harbour genuine hopes of an upset. The target for England, then, after an autumn of defensive frailties, should be to tighten up. To make sure that even if the result is not in doubt, they defend their line with all they’ve got.
It can be difficult when the drop-off is so pronounced having faced the back-to-back world champions in South Africa. Japan are historically a side who like to move the ball and I don’t expect that to change but England faced the same team in Tokyo over the summer in their first match of that tour and put 50 points on them despite stifling humidity. More than targeting a similar number of points, or a number of tries, I would challenge England to keep Japan tryless.
