The rookie prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour is in line for an England debut against Japan on Sunday, with Steve Borthwick expected to hand the 20-year-old a place on the bench.

Opoku-Fordjour was only called into Borthwick’s squad when Joe Marler announced his international retirement after the defeat by New Zealand earlier this month but caught the eye in last week’s England A victory over Australia at the Stoop. Prior to that match, Borthwick said, “I have been really positive about what I’ve seen from Asher,” and the Guardian understands that Opoku-Fordjour is in the frame for a place among the replacements on Sunday as Eddie Jones locks horns with his former employers at Twickenham for the first time.

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