England play USA in Kobe on Thursday in World Cup Pool C
Thursday 26 September 2019 10:00, UK
Ben Youngs has praised team-mate Dan Cole for forcing his way back into the squad as he prepares to become England’s joint-third highest capped player.
Cole was dropped by England head coach Eddie Jones a year ago but after improving areas of his game that he was told needed working on, he has travelled to Japan as one of two tighthead props in the squad.
The 32-year-old is set to match Jonny Wilkinson's tally of 91 appearances, while fellow Leicester player Youngs will do the same if he comes off the bench in Kobe.
"Dan has worked incredibly hard. To miss out on the South Africa tour last summer and then go away, reflect and work on the bits he knew he had to work on is a credit to him," Youngs said.
"I see him day-to-day at the club and know how hard he's worked on the areas that don't come particularly naturally to him.
"That's things like his ball carrying. He'd much rather go around hitting rucks and scrummaging.
"It shows how much he wants to be part of the squad, how much he tries to grow and how much the coaches have invested in him even when he hasn't been picked.
"He's kept pushing forward and I'm delighted for him because we've been through it all together and we're still going now.
"For me, it's really nice if I get some time on the pitch. It'll be good for my family, but for me it's just another game but one I'm looking forward to."
Joe Launchbury will also feature against USA having missed out on selection for the 35-3 win over Tonga in England's tournament opener after Jones made 10 changes to his squad.
The Wasps lock will join George Kruis in the second row and he has warned of the challenging conditions they will face.
"It's more slippery than back home. Early on in the session it got pretty wet, the grass was getting greasy. For us we'll have to look to take the ball a little earlier," said Launchbury.
"As a pack we'll probably have to catch the ball earlier rather than take it at the line.
"We really want to impress with our attack and keeping hold of the ball will be imperative to that, so we'll need to adjust to these conditions pretty quick."
