England host Japan at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday in Round 5 of the Nations Championship, with Steve Borthwick's side looking to build on their convincing victory over Australia and maintain the pressure on France at the top of the Northern Hemisphere standings.
England were impressive in beating the Wallabies 45–22 last weekend, while Japan went down 28–21 to Wales in Cardiff. The Brave Blossoms have shown that they can be competitive, but they face a much tougher assignment against an England side that appears to be finding its form.
England have dominated previous meetings between the countries, and with points difference potentially important in the race for a place in the final, the hosts will be looking for another convincing victory.
Match: England v Japan
Competition: Nations Championship, Round 5
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, London
Date: Saturday 14 November 2026
Kick-off: 18:40 South African time
Referee: Damián Schneider (Argentina)
Assistant Referees: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Weather Forecast: The early forecast suggests a cool evening in London, with temperatures around 8–9°C. Conditions are expected to be largely dry, with light winds and little indication of significant rain.
Hourly weather forecast – London
England
England currently occupy second place in the Northern Hemisphere standings with 15 points from four matches, having won three and lost one.
They opened their Nations Championship campaign with a 45–21 defeat to South Africa before bouncing back with an emphatic 73–8 victory over Fiji.
A 31–24 win over Argentina completed their July fixtures, leaving England well placed heading into the November internationals.
They returned to action last weekend with an impressive 45–22 victory over Australia at Twickenham.
The Wallabies had attracted plenty of support in the betting markets, with England's handicap shortening from an early -10.5 to as low as -7.5 before settling around -8.5.
However, England were far too strong, dominating the first half and maintaining control after the break to record a comfortable victory.
That result took England to 170 points scored in four Nations Championship matches, with a points difference of +71.
France currently lead the Northern Hemisphere standings on 17 points, with England and Ireland both on 15. England hold second place thanks to their superior points difference over Ireland.
Steve Borthwick will be well aware of the importance of securing a bonus-point victory against Japan, particularly with New Zealand visiting Twickenham in the final round.
England have plenty of attacking quality and should have opportunities against a Japanese defence that has struggled at times against stronger opposition.
The hosts will also take confidence from their excellent record against Japan, having won every previous meeting between the sides.
Nations Championship Results and Fixtures:
Round 1: South Africa (a) LOST 21–45
Round 2: Fiji (a) WON 73–8
Round 3: Argentina (a) WON 31–24
Round 4: Australia (h) WON 45–22
Round 5: Japan (h) – 14 November
Round 6: New Zealand (h) – 21 November
Japan
Japan currently sit fifth in the Southern Hemisphere standings with five points from four matches.
The Brave Blossoms made an encouraging start to their Nations Championship campaign, recording a 27–10 victory over Italy in the opening round.
However, they were unable to build on that result, suffering defeats against Ireland and France in their remaining July fixtures.
Japan returned to action last weekend against Wales in Cardiff, where they produced a competitive performance before going down 28–21.
There had been considerable support for Wales during the week, with their handicap moving from -10.5 to as high as -15.5, but Japan stayed well within that margin.
It was a much-improved showing from Eddie Jones's side, who demonstrated that they can cause problems when given opportunities to attack.
Japan have scored 83 points in their four Nations Championship matches, although they have conceded 116.
Their attacking game is built around pace, quick ball and the ability to move possession into space. However, they have struggled to match the physicality of the stronger international sides, particularly when placed under sustained pressure.
With Scotland awaiting them in the final round, the Brave Blossoms will be hoping to build on their improved performance against Wales.
Nations Championship Results and Fixtures:
Round 1: Italy (h) WON 27–10
Round 2: Ireland (h) LOST 20–36
Round 3: France (h) LOST 15–42
Round 4: Wales (a) LOST 21–28
Round 5: England (a) – 14 November
Round 6: Scotland (a) – 21 November
Recent Head to Head
November 2024 – Twickenham – ENGLAND 59–14 Japan
June 2024 – Tokyo – Japan 17–52 ENGLAND
September 2023 – Rugby World Cup, Nice – ENGLAND 34–12 Japan
November 2022 – Twickenham – ENGLAND 52–13 Japan
November 2018 – Twickenham – ENGLAND 35–15 Japan
England have won all six previous meetings between the countries, with the last five victories coming by margins of at least 20 points.
The most recent encounter was at Twickenham in November 2024, when England ran out convincing 59–14 winners.
Team News
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Will Joseph, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 George Ford, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Alex Coles, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Arthur Clark, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Greg Fisilau, 22 Archie McParland, 23 Marcus Smith.
Japan: 15 Kazuma Ueda, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Samisoni Tua, 11 Riku Tokito, 10 Riku Kitahara, 9 Naoto Saito (c), 8 Jack Cornelsene, 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 6 Ben Gunter, 5 Warner Dearns (c), 4 Harry Hockings, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Yota Kamimori.
Replacements:16 Kenji Sato, 17 Sojiro Otsuka, 18 Opeti Helu, 19 Michael Stolberg, 20 Tiennan Costley, 21 Shinobu Fujiwara, 22 Shinya Komura, 23 Jisu Lee.
The Betting
Betting as at 14 November 2026
England -31.5 points
Japan +32.5 points
Total Points 68.5
Betting Angle
Bet: England v Japan
Posted 14 November 07h14
Bet: 2.5 units (1–5), Over 9.5 tries at 0.87/1 at Sportingbet
England remain favourites by 31.5 to 32.5 points, depending on where you're betting, but it's the points and tries markets that catch my eye here.
The total points line is set at 68.5, and I reckon it could be seriously threatened. I'm expecting Japan to play an open brand of rugby, while England will be keen to pile on the points and keep the pressure on Ireland, who sit just below them on the Northern Hemisphere log.
I don't expect penalties to feature in this match, and with both sides likely to look for tries rather than kick at goal, I'm anticipating a high-scoring encounter.
Rather than take over 68.5 match points, I'm going with over 9.5 tries, which takes the conversions out of the equation. Ten tries would give us a winning bet regardless of how many conversions are successful and if I am correct on penalties then you would need all 10 to be converted to land the points.
Follow our Nations Championship Round 5 betting blog for betting-related news and tips throughout the week.
See what other punters fancy and have your say in the Nations Championship Round 5 discussion thread.
Disclaimer: Betting odds and handicaps are correct at the time of writing but may change. Punters should check the latest prices, team news, weather conditions and relevant form before placing their bets.