- Date: Sunday, September 22
- Venue: Sapporo Dome, Sapporo
- Kick-off: 19:15 local (11:15 BST, 10:15 GMT)
England vs Tonga Rugby World Cup preview. Eddie Jones's side begins their World Cup campaign against Tonga on Sunday.
Owen Farrell will captain the side at inside centre with George Ford starting at 10 for the clash with Tonga (KO 1915 local time, 1115am UK time live on ITV Sport).
Manu Tuilagi is named at outside centre with Elliot Daly, Jonny May and Anthony Watson making up the back three.
England’s most capped scrum half Ben Youngs will start in his 90th match for his country.
Jones has selected Joe Marler, Jamie George and Kyle Sinckler in the front row with Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje chosen as the lock pairing.
Tom Curry will start at blindside flanker with Sam Underhill at open while Billy Vunipola is named at number 8.
Following Sunday’s opener, England will face USA on Thursday 26 September (KO 11:45 BST), Argentina on Saturday 5 October (KO 09:00 BST) and finally France – Saturday 12 October (KO 09:15 BST).
England vs Tonga Rugby World Cup preview
THE FACTS
- When is England vs Tonga taking place? Sunday 22nd September, 2019 – 11:15 (UK)
- Where is England vs Tonga taking place? Sapporo Dome, Sapporo
- What is the expected weather for England vs Tonga? 15c with a greasy surface expected due to rain at several intervals during the day
- What television channel is England vs Tonga on in the UK? This match will be televised live on ITV 1
- Where can I stream England vs Tonga? This match can be streamed via ITV Hub
- Where can I get tickets for England vs Tonga? https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/tickets
ENGLAND vs TONGA TEAM NEWS:
England
15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler
Substitutes: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 George Kruis, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jonathan Joseph
Tonga
ENGLAND vs TONGA MATCH OFFICIALS|
- Referee: Paul Williams
- Assistant Referee 1: Mathieu Raynal
- Assistant Referee 2: Shuhei Kobu
- TMO: Ben Skeen
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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