"Unbeaten Streak" - England's 4 Previous Matches Against Japan Ahead of Summer Series Opener

England first toured Japan in 1971, and then returned to the Far East for another tour eight years later. However, the matches contested on these two trips are not officially recognised to hold test match status, with only four previous fixtures being registered by World Rugby, the RFU and JRFU.

England and Japan last met on the pitch during the pool stages of the 2023 Rugby World Cup (more on that later), with Saturday's match set to be only the fifth meeting between the two nations. Due to the time zone difference in Japan, England fans will have to set their alarms ahead of the 07:00am kick off. Don't worry if you can't watch the match live, as RUCK will be providing a live play-by-play blog to keep you updated with all the action.

So, ahead of Saturday's clash in Tokyo, here is how the four previous test matches between England and Japan went down.

Despite this match being one-way traffic in favour of England, this win holds great significance in the history of the RFU. After taking an opening round defeat to the Wallabies to start the first-ever Rugby World Cup, this 60-7 victory over Japan marked England's first ever win at the competition. In front of an attendance of just under 5,000, Martin Green's side ran out a convincing win over the Brave Blossoms, for a victory that has gone down in the history books at Twickenham.

England ran in a perfect 10 tries, as the stars of the late amateur era were on full display in the tournament. Winger Michael Harrison racked up an impressive hat-trick, and his back-three partner Rory Underwood contributed a further two tries. England kept the score-board rising, as centres Kevin Simms and Jamie Salmon, number eight Dean Richards, lock Nigel Redman and flanker Gary Rees all crossed over to score. The metronomic kicking of fullback-come-knee surgeon Jonathan Webb added a further 20 points from the tee.

Japan's consultation try was scored by flanker Katsufumi Miyamoto, with Katsuhiro Matsuo adding the extra two points. After finishing his on-field career, Miyamoto would become a well-respected coach amongst Japanese rugby, most notably taking charge of former Top League champions the Wild Knights. This match also marked the Rugby World Cup debut of Rob Andrew, with the fly-half and former cricketer later becoming the Professional Rugby Director for the RFU.

England and Japan had to wait a staggering 31 years before their next test match encounter, which came during the 2018 Autumn Internationals. There was great anticipation to witness the progression of the Brave Blossoms, as Japan would be set to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup in less than a year's time. The visitors had an immediate impact at Twickenham, with first half tries from centre Ryoto Nakamura and captain Michael Leitch.

Yu Tamura added a first half penalty and one conversion from the tee, with Japan stunning the Twickenham faithful for a half half lead. Despite an early Danny Care try and the kicking prowess of Elliot Daly, England trailed at the break to the underdogs. England Head Coach Eddie Jones knew all too well of the possibility of an upset, after he led Japan to their memorable 2015 Rugby World Cup win over South Africa. Luckily for England, Japan had exhausted their arsenal in the first half, and failed to register a point in the second 40 minutes.

Second half tries from Mark Wilson, Joe Cokanasiga and Dylan Hartley brought England a comfortable lead, which they were able to hold out on for victory. This match also marked the England debuts of the try-scoring Cokanasiga and Bath flanker Ted Hill. Another memorable milestone was achieved in this match against Japan, as George Ford made his 50th test cap for his country.

The third and most recent encounter between England and Japan came in last year’s Autumn Internationals. The Brave Blossoms returned to Twickenham full of fire, after putting in impressive an performance against the All Blacks the week prior (38-31 defeat). England were eager to shake off their recent 30-29 loss to Argentina, in what was the first defeat to the Pumas at Twickenham since 2006.

Fullback Freddie Steward began England's try count after just 12 minutes, with Marcus Smith adding his first of two tries before the half hour mark. Northampton centre Guy Porter then scored his first on the stroke of half-time, before Ellis Genge re-started the scoring just eight minutes after the break.

Porter completed his brace after 50 minutes, with Harlequins talisman Smith scoring his second six minutes from full-time. A penalty try gave England a guaranteed seven-pointer, with Japan struggling to keep up with the home side. A consolation score from Naioto Saito was converted by Lee Seung-sin, and Takuya Yamasawa added two penalties from the tee.

England and Japan both entered the 2023 Rugby World Cup with just one win throughout their Summer campaigns. Both sides suffered defeats to Fiji, with Samoa and Italy also recording wins over Japan. Now, after a return to winning form for both England and Japan, an exciting contest is expected this Sunday in Nice. Steve Borthwick's men have the expected advantage, yet there is no ruling out the possibility of an upset when it comes to Japan at the Rugby World Cup.

The most recent meeting between England and Japan, things did not start off to plan for Steve Borthwick's men. An underwhelming first half saw England scrapping to get the upper hand on their unfavored opponents, as the Brave Blossoms once again had Rugby World Cup upsets on their minds. Having previously toppled the likes of South Africa and Ireland previous World Cups, England fans held their breath for an anxious first 40 minutes.

A try from Lewis Ludlam was the only break through of the first half, with George Ford adding three penalties to the points tally. However, Japan responded through their own sharpshooter, as Rikiya Matsuda narrowed the score-line to just 13-9 at the break. The half-time team-talk breathed new life into England for the second half, and despite Matsuda's efforts of the tee to narrow the gap to just one point, England were soon over to score following an unexpected assist from the head of Joe Marler.

A loose pass ricocheted off the prop's iconic mohawk and bounced towards the try-line, with Courtney Lawes quickest to react and ground the ball for a try. The floodgates then opened for the Brave Blossoms, as England ran in additional tries from Freddie Steward and Joe Marchant to establish a real foothold into the match. England kept their unbeaten start to the Rugby World Cup in tact and climbed to the top of the pool, whilst Japan would eventually finish third to qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.