Eddie Jones plots historic upset as Japan target first-ever win over England at Twickenham

Eddie Jones is targeting the first victory over England in Japan’s history as the Brave Blossoms arrive at Twickenham on Saturday as 40-1 underdogs for their Nations Championship showdown, with the veteran Australian coach promising his side have prepared “something a bit different” for his former employers.

Japan have lost all six previous Test meetings with England, but Jones — who led England from 2016 to 2022 — is confident his young squad can produce a seismic upset. “We realise England are a nation we’ve never been able to beat,” Jones said. “Everyone knows the record and we want to do something a bit different this week and we’ve trained like that, so I’m really pleased with the team.”

Jones offered a glimpse into Japan’s preparation, describing a deliberately disruptive training session mid-week. “We had two days of very settled and pretty training but Wednesday was quite dirty,” he said. “We had to adapt to certain situations and in the end we did it really well. I was really pleased with the players, really pleased with their effort, really pleased with the way they adapted to the situations.”

The 65-year-old, who remains England’s most successful head coach by win rate at 72 per cent, also guided the national side to two Six Nations titles — including the 2016 Grand Slam — and the 2019 Rugby World Cup final. He is relishing the return to a ground where he built much of his coaching legacy. “I had seven good years there,” Jones said. “If you look at the stats, they stand the test of time. So there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be pleased to go back to Twickenham.”

Jones named his starting XV for the match, with Naoto Saito and Warner Dearns sharing the captaincy. Kazuma Ueda starts at fullback, while Dylan Riley and Samisoni Tua form the centre partnership. Jack Cornelsen carries at number eight, with Harry Hockings and Dearns providing lineout options in the second row.

“I’m looking forward to going to Twickenham with this young Japanese team that’s going to play the house down,” Jones added — a statement that, given his record of engineering upsets, England’s coaching staff are unlikely to dismiss lightly.