‘Give it to them’ is Itoje’s battle-cry

MARO ITOJE is demanding England “give it” to Japan as they face the world No11 side at Twickenham.

Itoje, below, wants England to flex their muscles against the minnows in what will be only the second Test between the two sides.

The 6ft 5in, 18st second row personifies the physical advantage England possess although he admitted yesterday his surprise at the size of the Brave Blossoms.

“They have some big boys,” said Itoje. “The stereotype for Japanese is that they’re quite small people but half their team is from the Pacific Islands. They’re not too small, I can tell you that.

“We know it won’t be easy. If you look at their history of results and what they did at the World Cup, they’re a tough and mentally strong team. We need to go out and give it to them. We need to have the right attitude and be physical. That’s a non-negotiable for this team.”

With 11 personnel changes from last week’s near-miss against New Zealand, the game should give England some pointers to the final make-up of next year’s World Cup squad. Flanker Mark Wilson said: “With a year to go until the World Cup, every game counts and individuals have to put their hand up to say: ‘I want to be in that squad’. It’s games like these that you’ve got to make count. We’ve got to have the same energy as if we’re playing the world No1.” An 80,000 crowd is expected. ●RFU chief executive Steve Brown is to quit at the end of the year after just 15 months in the job. He has been under pressure after a £30million overspend on the East Stand redevelopment at Twickenham destabilised the Union’s finances and contributed to 64 redundancies. “The time is right for me to step down,” said Brown. Nigel Melville, Director of Professional Rugby, will take temporary charge until a new chief executive is appointed. NEIL SQUIRES