Japan back Jones' warp-speed plan to upset England

Eddie Jones has won four of his 10 matches since taking charge of Japan at the start of 2024

Autumn Nations Series: England v Japan

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Sunday, 24 November Kick-off: 16:10 GMT

Coverage: Listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app

Turbocharged Japan will only be satisfied by an upset win that would stretch England's losing streak on Sunday, says hooker Mamoru Harada.

England ran out comfortable winners when the teams met in June, beating the Brave Blossoms 52-17 in Tokyo.

But Harada believes former England head coach Eddie Jones' vision of 'chosoku [super-fast] rugby' is beginning to emerge on the Australian's second stint leading Japan.

"The game in June was our first game of this campaign and the team was very young," Harada said.

"We have experienced 10 games now this year and we will show a different Japan this weekend.

"Only victory will be success this weekend."

England have not won since beating Japan in the summer, losing to New Zealand three times before defeats by Australia and world champions South Africa.

Jones, who masterminded Japan’s seismic shock win over the Springboks at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, has prioritised speed in both thought and action since taking over from Jamie Joseph in January.

"We want it to be a core identity of Japanese rugby," Jones said after his appointment.

"So you play against South Africa, you know it's going to be physical. When you play against New Zealand, they're the best counter-attacking team in the world. So we want to develop Japan into the best team at playing fast rugby."

“When I first came into the camp, I didn’t know the training was going to be so hard and tough – harder than before - but I have enjoyed it,” said centre Siosaia Fifita.

Helu, who plays his club rugby for Kubota Spears and qualifies for Japan on residency grounds, made his Japan debut against New Zealand earlier this month

“Watching the game in June, I thought Japan played really well, with good tempo, in the first 20 minutes against England, but I now understand that you when you are playing this style you get really fatigued.

“It is tough, but it is our style, and something we can feel strong about.

“We are also focused on our physicality because we are against the big boys of England.

Asked about Jones’s mood before the game, he added: “Maybe he is very excited too!”

Japan have star number eight Kazuki Himeno, who missed the June match, available, while centre Dylan Riley and prop Opeti Helu, both former Australia age-grade internationals, are also part of the squad this autumn.

“He is really big and once we can start using his strength, we can really be destructive,” said Harada of Helu, who is 6ft 3in tall and weighs 20 stone.

“But he also really needs to get used to the Japanese height and scrum low – once he can improve that area, he can really be a powerful scrummager.”