“When we are in attack, I want incredible pace in the game,” Borthwick said. “I want speed of ball at the breakdown to increase, and I want the players to back their skill sets, to throw the pass, to be willing to throw the pass that will break what are very good defences. And I’m seeing that more and more now. I think you’ve seen it as well.”
Uncapped 20-year-old prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour of Sale has been named as England’s tighthead on the bench, replacing the 37-year-old Dan Cole. Asked if he has spoken to Cole about possibly retiring from England duty, Borthwick said there had been no indication from the Leicester veteran.
“I want to make sure that Dan Cole can continue being an England player for a long time. I sense no hesitation in him. I think he enjoys being part of the programme,” Borthwick said.
England XV: Furbank; Freeman, Lawrence, Slade, Sleightholme; M Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George (capt), Stuart, Itoje, Martin, T Curry, Underhill, Earl.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Baxter, Opoku-Fordjour, Isiekwe, Cunningham-South, Randall, F Smith, Roebuck.
Japan XV: Matsunaga; Osada, Riley, Fifita, Naikabula; McCurran, Saito; Okabe, Harada, Takeuchi, Waqa, Uluiviti, Shimokawa, Himeno, Makisi.
Replacements: Lee, Morikawa, Tamefusa, Akiyama, Tatafu, Gunter, Fujiwara, Kajimura.