England: Freddie Steward, Jack Nowell, Guy Porter, Owen Farrell (captain), Jonny May, Marcus Smith, Jack van Poortvliet, Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Kyle Sinckler, David Ribbans, Jonny Hill, Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, Sam Simmonds. Replacements: Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Joe Heyes, Alex Coles, Billy Vunipola, Ben Youngs, Henry Slade, Manu Tuilagi.
Japan: Ryohei Yamanaka, Kotaro Matsushima, Dylan Riley, Ryoto Nakamura, Gerhard van den Heever, Takuya Yamasawa,Yutaka Nagare, Tevita Tatafu, Kazuki Himeno, Michael Leitch, Jack Cornelsen, Warner Dearns, Jiwon Koo, Atsushi Sakate (captain), Keita Inagaki. Replacements: Kosuke Horikoshi, Craig Millar, Yusuke Kizu, Wimpie van der Walt, Pieter Labuschagne, Naoto Saito, Seungsin Lee, Siosaia Fifita.
Preview: England boss Eddie Jones has shaken up the side that suffered defeat at the hands of Argentina last weekend, with five changes made for this weekend’s clash with Japan.
Leicester’s Guy Porter getting the nod at outside centre while Northampton lock David Ribbans will make his Test debut. Jones is starting Jack van Poortvliet at scrum-half while Sam Simmonds is in at No.8 and Jonny May returns on the wing.
The partnership of Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell at fly-half and centre will continue, while Manu Tuilagi, Billy Vunipola and Joe Cokanasiga move to the bench.
“We’ve worked hard this week to improve on last week’s performance,” Jones said. “We’ve taken a good look at our preparation and we are happy with our position going into the game.
Wales vs. Argentina, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, 5.30pm GMT [4.30am AEDT]
Wales: Louis Rees-Zammit, Alex Cuthbert, George North, Nick Tompkins, Rio Dyer, Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams, Taulupe Faletau, Justin Tipuric, Dan Lydiate, Adam Beard, Will Rowlands, Dillon Lewis, Ken Owens, Gareth Thomas. Replacements: Ryan Elias, Rhodri Jones, Sam Wainwright, Ben Carter, Jac Morgan, Kieran Hardy, Rhys Priestland, Owen Watkin.
Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Mateo Carreras, Matias Moroni, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Emiliano Boffelli, Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Bertranou, Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Tomas Lavanini, Matias Alemanno, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Julian Montoya (captain), Thomas Gallo. Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Eduardo Bello, Lucas Paulos, Facunda Isa, Eliseo Morales, Tomas Albornoz, Matias Orlando.
Odds: [tab.com.au Aus only] Wales $1.80, -1.5 $1.95; Argentina $1.95, +1.5 $1.80
Preview: Louis Rees-Zammit will make his first international start at fullback for Wales against Argentina on Saturday, with Alex Cuthbert back from injury to take his place on the wing.
Wales are smarting from a 55-23 mauling at the hands of New Zealand this past weekend, and now face an Argentina side buoyant from their shock win over England at Twickenham.
Rees-Zammit replaces Gareth Anscombe in the No. 15 jersey after the latter moved to his more regular flyhalf position, with Wales facing something of an injury crisis in their back three due to the absence of Leigh Halfpenny and Josh Adams.
“Last week we had Leigh Halfpenny unavailable at the last minute and we’d trained a certain way so we went with Gareth Anscombe at fullback, who’s done that before at this level,” Wales coach Wayne Pivac said in a media release from Welsh Rugby.
“We’re back to Gareth at 10 and we have Louis Rees-Zammit at fullback. He’s trained there the entire week and looked good, and it’s something we’ve explored in the background, so it will be good information going forward with the Six Nations around the corner and the Rugby World Cup.”
Meanwhile, Argentina have made no changes to their lineup as they look for a second victory on their British tour after last weekend’s shock win over England.
“We’ve been working on self-belief, understanding what we can do and what we are capable of and making ourselves capable to go to the new standard and get better,” Argentina head coach Michael Cheika said.
“We’ve put together one or two results on the road this year but with time off in between. Now we can try and win away for a second successive weekend.”
France vs. South Africa, Stade Velodrome, Marseille, 9pm [8pm GMT; 7am AEDT]
France: Thomas Ramos, Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Yoram Moefana, Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont, Gregory Alldritt, Charles Ollivon, Anthony Jelonch, Thibaud Flament, Cameron Woki, Uini Atonio, Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille. Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Reda Wardi, Sipili Falatea, Romain Taofifenua, Bastien Chalureau, Sekou Macalou, Maxime Lucu, Matthieu Jalibert.
South Africa: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian Willemse, Faf de Klerk, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Marvin Orie, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Manie Libbok, Makazole Mapimpi.
Odds: [tab.com.au Aus only] France $1.48, -4.5 $1.87; South Africa $2.55, +4.5 $1.87
Preview: South Africa have recalled the experienced duo of fullback Willie le Roux and scrumhalf Faf de Klerk for their autumn international against France in Marseille on Saturday, while they have also added some goal-kicking insurance on the bench.
Le Roux comes into the side in the No.15 jersey, with Cheslin Kolbe moving to the wing in the place of Makazole Mapimpi, and De Klerk taking over from Jaden Hendrikse.
“We opted to make a few tactical personnel changes for the challenge that we expect France to pose,” Nienaber said.
“We know what each of the players in this squad can do, and we thought these combinations fit this specific game.”
Sunday, November 13
Scotland vs. New Zealand, BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh, 2.15pm GMT [1.15am Mon, AEDT]
Scotland:
New Zealand:
Odds: [tab.com.au Australia only] Scotland $5.70, +14.5 1.90; New Zealand $1.12, -14.5 $1.85
Preview: