Johnny Sexton will skipper Ireland for the first time in his 86-Test career on Thursday in Kobe while Billy Vunipola and England have been preparing with their team psychologist for the challenges to come.
Elsewhere Wales issue a fitness update and Louis Picamoles speaks of his pride ahead of Wednesday’s key clash in Fukuoka.
Sexton taking the captain’s armband is the headline news from the Ireland team named to face Russia in Kobe on Thursday.
Ireland must take all five points to ensure their path to the knockout stages, but on a short turnaround after the Japan defeat Joe Schmidt has made 11 changes.
That means the only players backing up from Shizuoka in the starting XV are Rob Kearney, Keith Earls, Peter O’Mahony and Garry Ringrose.
Robbie Henshaw was said to be on the cusp of selection but will probably have to wait for the Samoa game at the end of the group stages, meaning Ringrose starts his third Test in a row.
Schmidt said: “It’s a risk but Garry is feeling great, and he’s playing super,” said Schmidt, of selecting Ringrose again.
“I thought Garry was really good last weekend, he was one of the guys who didn’t really miss a beat.
“He was still working really hard, creating opportunity.”
England trained in Tokyo on Tuesday with 600 local school children in attendance.
Mako Vunipola’s return to fitness appears likely to earn him a start against the Pumas on Saturday, provided he can come through some live scrummaging sessions this week.
And little brother Billy has been speaking about the impact team psychologist Corinne Reid has had on the team as they look to bury the wounds of four years ago.
The No.8 said: “Men don’t know how to talk about their feelings. It took us a while but we got there in the end.
“Eddie (Jones) has definitely got the baggage out. It was something that was very important to us and it has probably freed us up a lot in terms of our relationships.
“Being brutally honest (with each other) can hurt a few feelings. It was really good. She (psychologist Corinne Reid) gave us the platform to do it.
“Being within the confines of England rugby, a lot of us are very precious. When you’re at your club you’re the main man, but when you’re with England you’re just the next person.
“There were a few handbags thrown around but it was really good.
“We’re on a different level to any England side I’ve previously been involved with. This is the first team that is willing to go deeper than just say, ‘I think you should have hit this ruck’.
“We’ve talked about things we’ve never previously been able to put out there as a group and it’s brought us closer together. There is a lot more respect in that changing room for each other and it’s been really fun.
“It’s partly about just listening to each other, caring about another person’s opinion and taking it on board, rather than going back to your room and having a little moan to your mate.”
