England target complete performance against Japan

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

England have shown glimpses of high quality during this autumn campaign and yet victory continues to elude them.

Steve Borthwick's side have lost their past five matches, falling short against southern hemisphere big-hitters New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

They were leading in all three defeats by the All Blacks, before conceding a last-gasp try to fall short against the Wallabies.

World champions South Africa were the only side to beat England by more than one score, but head coach Borthwick will be under huge pressure if the hosts fail to beat Japan at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

England are overwhelming favourites to maintain their perfect record against the Brave Blossoms, who are also the last side they beat, back in June.

Japan head coach Eddie Jones did not attend his pre-match news conference on Friday because of health reasons.

The former England boss was well enough, however, to return to Twickenham on Saturday as he finalised his side's plans to inflict a damaging defeat on the hosts.

Japan arrive in London after beating Uruguay 36-20 in their last outing and England prop Ellis Genge, who made his Test debut under Jones in 2016, says the Australian will relish the opportunity to beat his former side.

"I like the bloke. He was always... not always actually, he wasn't always nice to me, but we've got a good relationship," said Genge.

"He's a master of the psychological part of player development and man-management."

Jones' leadership style has been criticised in a book by former England scrum-half Danny Care, who claimed players were belittled and berated in a "toxic environment".

The 64-year-old will face England at Twickenham for the first time since he was sacked by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in 2022.

Genge said: "Sometimes he gets it wrong. There have been some nightmare stories of late about him. But he's a good bloke. He's a good guy."

The 29-year-old front row added: "I can't imagine he's going to get a cheer when he goes on camera, but he'll love that part of it. He'll relish it.

"He will have them fired up and you saw what he did with his Japan side in 2015 that beat South Africa in Brighton."

England will be aiming for an 80-minute performance against Japan after racing out of the blocks in each game in the Autumn Nations Series.

Borthwick's side failed to score in the final quarter against the All Blacks and Springboks, while their two converted late tries were matched by the Wallabies in a frantic finale.

Borthwick has criticised the fitness of his players, external, while former England wing Chris Ashton has also said the current squad has struggled with "fatigue".

Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson, meanwhile, says England's personnel on the bench have not been conducive to continuity in their approach.

"I am not convinced Steve Borthwick has solved his bench issues," Dawson told BBC Rugby Union Weekly.

"There is a big difference between Ben Earl and Alex Dombrandt [as number eights].

"Where is the continuity to get consistency across the full 80 minutes?"

The playing style of Fin Smith, who has replaced George Ford as back-up fly-half on the bench, is more akin to Marcus Smith's creativity, while 20-year-old prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour will make his England debut if he comes on from the bench.

A junior World Cup winner with England Under-20s in the summer, Opoku-Fordjour has impressed with his dynamism in open play and his technical expertise on both sides of the scrum.

England have also recalled Tom Curry to the starting XV, two weeks after he was knocked out against Australia.

Curry was cleared to play after coming through his 12-day stand-down period, and his inclusion in a full-strength side against Japan only points to England's need for a positive outcome.