England take on Japan this Sunday, in their second match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup pool stages. Both sides come into this contest following opening round victories, with England securing a 27-10 win over Argentina, and Japan recording a resounding 42-12 win over Chile.
Japan currently lead Pool D with five points, after achieving a bonus point in their victory over the Rugby World Cup debutants. 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 three previous fixtures being registered by World Rugby, the RFU and JRFU.
England are set to head to Japan for a historic test match next year, with the two sides set to battle it out for the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup on Saturday 22nd June 2024. However, the task at hand for both nations is this Sunday, in a match that could well have detrimental effects in how the rest of Pool D will play out.
So, ahead of Sunday evening’s clash in Nice, here is how the three previous test matches between England and Japan went down.
1. England 60 – 7 Japan: Pool 1 – 1987 Rugby World Cup
May 30th 1987, Concord Oval, Sydney
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.