England's rugby squad touched down in Miyazaki, southern Japan, on Tuesday evening for a week-long training camp ahead of the Rugby World Cup. The team was greeted by a small crowd of locals at the airport before settling into a luxurious hotel surrounded by golf courses near the coast.
From Wednesday, the squad will undergo a three-day conditioning programme to acclimatise to the sweltering heat and humidity of the region. They will then step up preparations for their World Cup opener against Tonga in Sapporo on September 22.
Head coach Eddie Jones, along with his assistants, players and staff, will fly to the northern city of Sapporo via Tokyo next Wednesday. Until then, they must contend with the challenging climate in this remote, quiet location.
The team's arrival came after a frustrating false start to their World Cup campaign on Monday. They were stranded at Narita Airport, east of Tokyo, for five hours due to the aftermath of Typhoon Faxia, which had battered Japan's east coast. Roads were gridlocked and train services suspended, delaying their ground transport until nearly 7pm local time.
