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Nations Championship: Henry Pollock, Max Ojomoh, Will Joseph start for England vs Japan as part of 10 changes
England vs Japan at Twickenham on Saturday in Nations Championship Test (4.40pm); Steve Borthwick makes 10 changes to starting XV; Henry Pollock, Max Ojomoh, Will Joseph, Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, George Martin, George Ford, Cadan Murley, Freddie Steward all in
Thursday 12 November 2026 12:10, UK
Henry Pollock, Max Ojomoh and Will Joseph will all start for England in Saturday's Nations Championship Test vs Japan as part of 10 changes.
Fresh from his two-try impact off the bench - out of position on the wing - Pollock is named to start at No 8 by head coach Steve Borthwick.
Ojomoh comes in to start at inside centre with Seb Atkinson out injured (hip), while Joseph replaces Tommy Freeman on the right wing.
Elsewhere, there are three new starters in the front-row with loosehead Ellis Genge, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and tighthead Asher Opoku-Fordjour.
George Martin starts in the second row, while experienced fly-half George Ford is picked ahead of Marcus Smith.
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Wing Cadan Murley and full-back Freddie Steward form a new back-three with Joseph, in the absence of injured duo Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (ankle) and George Furbank (groin).
Outside-centre Henry Slade and scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet maintain their places in the backline, with Maro Itoje captaining the side once again from the second-row.
There are positional switches for Alex Coles - lock to blindside flanker - and Ben Earl - No 8 to openside flanker.
Northampton Saints scrum-half Archie McParland is also in line to make his Test debut off the replacements bench.
Hooker Theo Dan, loosehead Emmanuel Iyogun, tighthead Joe Heyes, lock Arthur Clark and back-rows Ben Curry and Greg Fisilau complete the bench alongside half-backs McParland and Smith.
"Japan are a very well-coached side who will challenge us in different ways, and we know we'll need to bring intensity throughout the game," said Borthwick.
"The atmosphere at Allianz Stadium last week was incredible. The players really fed off the energy in the stadium, and we're really looking forward to being back on Saturday.
"We're all delighted for Archie. He's had some bad luck with injury, so it's especially pleasing to be able to name him in an England matchday 23 for the first time. He's an outstanding young talent who has worked hard to get to this point, and we're all excited to see how he goes."
England squad to face Japan in Nations Championship
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Will Joseph, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 George Ford, 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 George Martin, 6 Alex Coles, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Henry Pollock.
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.
