Ludlam starts for England, Leitch to set Japan record for World Cup appearances

Steve Borthwick’s side face the Brave Blossoms in Nice on Sunday.

LEWIS LUDLAM HAS edged Billy Vunipola in the battle for England’s number eight jersey for Sunday’s World Cup clash with Japan.

Vunipola has completed his two-match suspension for a dangerous tackle against Ireland last month but the hard-carrying Saracen is limited to a bench role only for the Stade de Nice showdown.

Instead, Ludlam has been rewarded for his defensive masterclass as a replacement in the 27-10 rout of Argentina on Saturday by filling the hole in the back row created by Tom Curry’s suspension, also for an illegal challenge.

Ben Earl switches from number eight to openside to accommodate the return of Ludlam, who played every minute of this year’s Six Nations and has been one of England’s most consistent performers of recent times.

The Northampton skipper’s elevation above the less mobile Vunipola is a nod to Japan’s high tempo tactics, which assistant coach Kevin Sinfield has compared to Barcelona’s tiki-taka style of football.

Two further changes in personnel have been made in the front row where Kyle Sinckler and Joe Marler displace Dan Cole and Ellis Genge as starting props.

The team is in! 🤩

Here's your England line-up to face Japan on Sunday🌹

KO: 20:00 BST | Tune in on ITV #ENGvJPN | #RWC2023
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) September 15, 2023

Sinckler has recovered from the pectoral injury that limited his game time during the warm-up Tests and prevented him from facing the Pumas in the Pool D opener in Marseille.

Steve Borthwick has retained the same backline that featured against Argentina with George Ford given another opportunity to argue his case for being viewed as first choice out-half.

Owen Farrell completes his four-match ban – once again for a dangerous tackle – versus Japan and becomes available for the last two group matches against Chile and Samoa, forcing Borthwick to make a difficult call at 10.

Having risen to tier-one status, Japan have now slipped to 14th in the global rankings but at least opened the tournament with a thumping 42-12 victory over Chile.

“It was both pleasing and important that we were able to start our World Cup campaign with a good win against Argentina last Saturday,” Borthwick said.

“It was incredible to see so many of our supporters in the stadium in Marseille. Their support means a great deal to the team. We hope that we were able to provide the supporters both here in France and at home with some great memories, and we are setting out to do the same again this Sunday in Nice.

“After another good week’s preparation in Le Touquet, we are looking forward to the challenge of playing a Japan side that will be full of confidence following their comprehensive win over Chile in their opening fixture of the competition.”

Japan coach Jamie Joseph has made four changes to his starting XV from last week’s win over Chile for the Pool D match.

Hooker Shota Horie, flanker Pieter Labuschagne and captain and No 8 Kazuki Himeno come in to the forwards pack and Tomoki Osada is named at centre.

Ready 💪

Your @JRFURugby lineup to face England 🇯🇵#RWC2023 | #ENGvJPN pic.twitter.com/1CN6bUOAFl
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 15, 2023

Back-row forward Michael Leitch will make his 15th Rugby World Cup appearance after being named alongside Labushagne and Himeno.

In doing so, Leitch will become Japan’s most capped Rugby World Cup player, surpassing Luke Thompson.

There are 13 survivors in Joseph’s match-day team from the last time Japan played England in 2022 — a game which they lost 52-13 — including their only try-scorer that day, Naoto Saito.

Japan kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 42-12 victory over tournament debutants Chile. After the England game, they play Samoa in Toulouse on 28 September and finish up their group play with a match against Argentina in Nantes on 8 October.