Match Facts

England have won each of their previous five matches against Japan by margins of 20+ points, scoring 4+ tries in each of those games, including eight during their most recent encounter (52-17 in June 2024), their most against the Brave Blossoms since their very first meeting at the 1987 Rugby World Cup (60-7, 10 tries).

England have lost each of their last five matches, their longest such run since another five-game stretch between February and June 2018, however, they have not lost more in a row since a streak of seven in 2006, each of the five losses in their current streak have come by single-digit margins.

England have lost each of their last three matches at the Allianz Stadium, their longest losing run since 2008, only once before have they lost more in a row at the Twickenham venue (L5 between 1971 and 1973).

Japan won their most recent match (36-20 v Uruguay) after losing three in a row previously, they have conceded 20+ points in each of their last 13 Tests, a run which started with a 12-34 loss to England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Japan have lost 14 of their last 15 matches against European sides, including each of their last 11 by an average margin of 22 points, their last such win came in Portugal in November 2021(38-25).

Japan have made the most carries per game of any men’s Tier 1 side in 2024 (132), while England have averaged the fewest (100) – the Brave Blossoms also rank first for metres gained per game this year (538).

England have crossed the gainline from a higher share of their carries than any other men’s Tier 1 side in 2024 (64%) and have also prevented their opponents from crossing the gainline on a higher share of the carries than any other nation (50.0%).

England have averaged the most kicks in play per game of any side in men’s Tier 1 Test rugby in 2024 (30) and have the second highest kick retention rate of any side (16%) – Japan, on the other hand, rank last for kicks in play per game (21) and second last for kick retention (8%) this year.

England lock Maro Itoje has won the most turnovers of any player in men’s Tier 1 Test matches this year (13) and also ranks first for both attacking (278) and defensive (130) ruck hits in 2024, while Japan lock Warner Dearns ranks first for lineout takes (52), including eight lineout steals, also an annual high.

Japan’s Dylan Riley (7 tries, 3 assists) and England’s Marcus Smith (2 tries, 7 assists) rank first and second respectively for direct try involvements in men’s Tier 1 rugby in 2024 – Smith has scored three tries and assisted a further three across his three previous matches against Japan, averaging a try involvement every 24 minutes of action against the Brave Blossoms.