John Mitchell: Japan will spring surprises
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England defence coach John Mitchell believes Japan will be full of surprises and capable of scoring tries at Twickenham on Saturday.
The New Zealander insists there will be no complacency when England face Japan this weekend after beating South Africa and narrowly losing to New Zealand in their opening two November Internationals.
Japan lost 69-31 to a weakened All Blacks side earlier this month.
"With this side Japan the number one thing is there will be surprises," Mitchell told Sky Sports News.
"They love ball and play, they love kicking and attacking kicking, their left winger is world class.
"There will be threats all around the park and we will be challenged as a group in a far different way so we have to be ready for anything.
"Ultimately it is going to challenge us defensively but in saying that it also presents us with opportunities when we stay connected and work for each other.
"I'm looking forward to this game, it's going to be a different challenge altogether and it's going to require different demands from us and we are going to have to go for longer periods defensively as well.
"The other great thing from this game is that you are going to get different learnings each time you go out, different challenges as well. This side is very capable of scoring tries."
Mitchell is hoping Manu Tuilagi will make his England comeback against Australia. The Leicester centre was due to make his first international appearance since 2016 against South Africa only to be struck down by a groin strain in training.
"Manu is progressing nicely," Mitchell went on. "He's at a stage where we want to be 100 per cent sure.
"He was doing some running intervals with the medical team. We'll make a decision once he's at 100 per cent but we're working him towards the Australia game."
