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As well as Jonny Wilkinson and George Ford, England fans will have slightly less fond World Cup drop goal memories of this man, Jannie de Beer...

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George Ford has been working with England legend Jonny Wilkinson to land more drop goals at the World Cup.

Fly-half Ford scored three against Argentina and don't be surprised if he goes for the posts again tonight.

"Jonny said you can have the ugliest drop in the world but if you get your body right and the ball is in the slot, and you get the momentum of your body towards the target, you can do it.

"The drop-goal has probably been underused. You watch Jonny's era in 2003 and 2007 and the influence drop-goals had on the game then was enormous. They can be really effective and hopefully we can show that again."

Japan are currently enjoying a seven-game winning streak in the pool stages of the World Cup dating back to victory in Milton Keynes in 2015 against Samoa.

They have only won their second game of the tournament once, but that was in 2019 against Ireland in Shizuoka.

Can they upset England tonight?

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Hello to you, Japan fans.

The atmosphere at England v Argentina was immense in Marseille. Expect it to be just as special in Nice...

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However, maybe let's not expect a repeat of South Africa's mauling of Romania.

England have been restricted to one try or less in six of their past seven tests this year, only crossing three times once since March, against Fiji at Twickenham.

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Tonight is just the fourth time England's men have faced Japan, with all three previous clashes ending in a win for the Red Rose.

England have averaged 49 points and 7.3 tries per game against Japan. After last week's kick-fest I'm sure England fans will be up for that...

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As omens go it's tenuous but we'll take it.

England's women beat Japan in the football World Cup in this very stadium in the south of France back in 2019 thanks to an Ellen White double. Will the visiting fans be celebrating again in a few hours?

Mike Henson
BBC Sport in Nice

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It is always fun trying to work out how various people in the rugby world know each other.

England's starting fly-half George Ford and scrum-half Danny Care, who isn't in the matchday 23, stop to have a quick chinwag with Scott Hansen, Japan's assistant coach, as the two teams take an intial stroll around the pitch.

Hansen worked briefly at Leicester as defence coach between 2015 and 2016 - but Ford was at Bath, rather than the Tigers at that point.

Who knows? Perhaps they are just making friends. It's nice to be nice and all that.

England coach Steve Borthwick says Japan have plenty of experience and England will have to be 'very good to get a win' tonight.

How are the nerves out there?

Owen Farrell is still banned for this one but he's found a new role...

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Australia gave away 17 penalties in that costly defeat this afternoon. Ouch!

If it is to be a fairly tight game for England tonight then Japan's discipline could be crucial. They conceded only six penalties in their opening game against Chile, including just four at the breakdown.

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There's been much said about high tackles and red cards in this tournament already, so naturally England skipper Courtney Lawes was asked for his take.

"Don't hit their head - that is all you can really do."

No nonsense.

What says elite, high-octane sporting action better than an easy-to-follow flow chart eh?

Mike Henson
BBC Sport in Nice

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Confused what a high tackle has to look like to merit a red card? You are not alone.

A flurry of dismissals and contentious calls, including the sending off of England's Tom Curry against Argentina last weekend, has put the officials under the spotlight once again.

World Rugby have attempted to simplify and explain the process with a nifty flow chart.

The first consideration after someone makes contact with an opponent's head, neck or throat is whether it was foul play. If the act was intentional, reckless or avoidable (i.e the tackler never dropped their own body height to make a tackle), then we move into what punishment is due.

It all depends on how dangerous it. Low danger and you are looking at a penalty or a yellow card. High danger we are into red territory.

Sounds subjective? It is really. But some of the factors refs consider are whether contact is direct or indirect, the degree of force involved and whether there is a swinging or leading forearm or shoulder involved.

You might get some mitigation to lessen your punishment, if say there is a sudden change of direction or height by the ball-carrier, but you don't qualify for any mitigation is 'always-illegal' which basically boils down to not making an effort to make a legal tackle by wrapping your arms around the ball carrier.

Got all that? I haven't, but let's crack on and see if we catch up.

Image source, World Rugby

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Tom Curry became the first English player to receive a red card in a Rugby World Cup game against Argentina last weekend. England’s victory was only the seventh in the tournament’s history when a team has received a red card, and only the second since 2011 after Ireland defeated Samoa in Fukuoka despite Bundee Aki being sent from the field in the 29th minute.

Hopefully there will be no issues for any fans getting into the ground tonight...

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Fly-half George Ford has challenged England to attack without fear or inhibition against Japan.

England have averaged fewer than two tries a game this year, scoring 18 in 10 matches.

"We have worked pretty hard on attack this pre-season and particularly since we got here to France and we are looking forward to hopefully showing that," Ford added.

"If you wait for the perfect picture you will be waiting all day long, you have to back yourself, you have to want the ball.

"If it is a two-on-two or a three-on-three, get the ball and make something happen.

"We want to always have the mindset to get back into shape, run and score tries. Our intent is always to make a difference with ball in hand first."

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So have England turned the corner after that opening win? Can they be a force in this World Cup after all? Where do they need to still improve?

Fire away with your thoughts. We are all ears...

Just the small matter of Wales v Australia next Sunday, by the way...

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If you're just dialling in tonight, you missed a cracker as Fiji beat Australia for just the third time in their history as they blew Pool C wide open.

Fine kicking from Simione Kuruvoli put Fiji 12-8 up at half-time before Josua Tuisova crossed after the restart.

Lalakai Foketi went over late on to cut the deficit to 22-15 but Eddie Jones' side could not mount a comeback.

Fiji's first-ever World Cup win over the Wallabies puts significant pressure on their opponents in Pool C. Corrrr....