Joe Cokanasiga has been ruled out

England coach Eddie Jones (AUS) has named his team for the Pool C match against Tonga at Sapporo Dome on Sunday, 22 September:

1 Joe Marler
2 Jamie George
3 Kyle Sinckler
4 Courtney Lawes
5 Maro Itoje
6 Tom Curry
7 Sam Underhill
8 Billy Vunipola
9 Ben Youngs
10 George Ford
11 Jonny May
12 Owen Farrell (capt.)
13 Manu Tuilagi
14 Anthony Watson
15 Elliot Daly

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

England have made six personnel changes to the starting XV which won 37-0 against Italy on 6 September 6.

England return to the 10 and 12 combinations of George Ford and Owen Farrell.

Ford and Farrell are the most common 10 and 12 partnership for England in the professional era and start together against Tonga for the 27th time.

Ford and Farrell last started together in the 57-15 win against Ireland in August. That was their first time they had been paired together by Eddie Jones since June 2018.

Ford and Farrell have only played together in one previous Rugby World Cup match, in England 60-3 win over Uruguay in the final pool match of Rugby World Cup 2015, when they had already been eliminated.

Both Ben Youngs and Dan Cole, who starts on the bench, will move to 90 caps, one cap behind Jonny Wilkinson in England’s all-time list.

Youngs becomes the first England scrum-half to feature in three Rugby World Cups.

Farrell will move past 850 points for England and the British & Irish Lions when he scores against Tonga. He is currently 12th in the all-time list with 848.

With an average age of 26 years and 170 days, England’s starting XV are the 2nd youngest side by twelve days that they have put out in a Rugby World Cup match.

The only younger team they have fielded at a Rugby World Cup was also against Tonga at RWC 1999.

21-year-old Tom Curry will become the youngest forward to play for England at a Rugby World Cup, beating fellow back-rower Joe Worsley who made his debut against Tonga 20 years ago aged 22.

Curry will be the third-youngest player to play at a Rugby World Cup for England after Manu Tuilagi in 2011 and Jonny Wilkinson in 1999.

England’s back row of Curry, Sam Underhill and Billy Vunipola, have only played once together before in the 57-15 win over Ireland in August.

Four players from England’s RWC 2011 squad return to the selection for RWC 2019.

All four are in the match-day 23 against Tonga.