Mitchell expects Manu Tuilagi to make his England comeback against Australia on Saturday week
Wednesday 14 November 2018 15:44, UK
England defence coach John Mitchell believes Japan will be full of surprises and capable of scoring tries at Twickenham on Saturday.
Eddie Jones' side go into their third Autumn international live on Sky Sports after beating South Africa and narrowly losing to New Zealand.
But Mitchell insists there will be no complacency against Japan who went down 69-31 to the All Blacks earlier this month.
"With this side Japan the number one thing is there will be surprises," Mitchell told Sky Sports News. "They love ball and play, they love kicking and attacking kicking, their left winger is world class.
"There will be threats all around the park and we will be challenged as a group in a far different way so we have to be ready for anything.
"Ultimately it is going to challenge us defensively but in saying that it also presents us with opportunities when we stay connected and work for each other.
"I'm looking forward to this game, it's going to be a different challenge altogether and it's going to require different demands from us and we are going to have to go for longer periods defensively as well.
"The other great thing from this game is that you are going to get different learnings each time you go out, different challenges as well. This side is very capable of scoring tries."
England have been tight at the back in their last in their two games conceding just one try against South Africa and another against the All Blacks but Mitchell says his defensive unit have attacking responsibilities as well.
"Ultimately at the end of the day it is not a separate component, we see our defence feeding our attack," he added.
"It's something we want to be relentless about, something that's infectious. We want to make sure that we are feeding our attack in abundance. It's something we hang our hats on and something that we want to get better at.
"At the end of the day defence reveals how much the team means to you and how much you care for your team mate.
"Put aside measurements such as tackles, missed tackles and stuff like that, that's ultimately the number one barometer and I think the guys are creating an identity in that area.
"We're only in the infancy of it and we want to make sure it remains part of us whenever we walk out at Twickenham or onto any piece of grass in the world."
Mitchell is hoping Manu Tuilagi will make his England comeback against Australia on Saturday week.
The Leicester centre was due to make his first international appearance since 2016 against South Africa only to be struck down by a groin strain in training.
"Manu is progressing nicely," Mitchell went on. "He's at a stage where we want to be 100 per cent sure.
"He was doing some running intervals with the medical team. We'll make a decision once he's at 100 per cent but we're working him towards the Australia game."
