Japan name squad for RWC warm up games

Japan name squad for RWC warm up games

Jamie Joseph has named his Japan squad that will take him through the upcoming tests and RWC warm up games. The 36-member Brave Blossoms Squad will be supplemented by a 10-member Wider Training Squad in preparation for a monumental year that includes a five match domestic series, a World Cup warm-up against Italy and finally, Rugby World Cup in France.

Brave Blossoms

Position Name Team Height Weight Date of Birth Caps
PR Keita INAGAKI SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 186 116 1990/6/2 45
PR Craig MILLAR SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 186 116 1990/10/29 9
PR Sione HALASILI YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES 180 120 1999/10/15 0
PR Jiwon GU KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS 183 117 1994/7/20 21
PR Shinnosuke KAKINAGA TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 180 115 1991/12/19 11
PR Asaeli VALU SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 187 115 1989/5/7 23
HO Shota HORIE SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 180 104 1986/1/21 68
HO Atsushi SAKATE SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 180 104 1993/6/21 33
HO Kosuke HORIKOSHI TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 175 100 1995/6/2 7
LO James MOORE URAYASU D-Rocks 195 110 1993/6/11 13
LO Uwe HELU Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY 193 120 1990/7/12 16
LO Amanaki SAUMAKI KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS 189 108 1997/3/8 0
LO Wa DEARNS TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO 201 117 2002/4/11 7
LO/LF Amato FAKATAVA RICOH BLACKRAMS TOKYO 195 118 1994/12/7 0
LO/LF Jack CORNELSEN SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 195 110 1994/10/13 12
LF Shota FUKUI SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 186 101 1999/9/28 0
LF Kazuki HIMENO TOYOTA VERBLITZ 187 108 1994/7/27 25
LF Michael LEITCH TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO 189 113 1988/10/7 78
No.8 Faulua MAKISI Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY 187 112 1997/1/20 5
SH Naoto SAITO TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 165 73 1997/8/26 11
SH Yutaka NAGARE TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 166 75 1992/9/4 30
SH Kenta FUKUDA TOYOTA VERBLITZ 173 80 1996/12/19 0
SO Seungsin LEE KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS 176 85 2001/1/13 6
SO Rikiya MATSUDA SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 181 92 1994/5/3 29
CTB Nicholas MCCURRAN TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO 188 93 1996/6/13 0
CTB Ryoto NAKAMURA TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 182 92 1991/6/3 33
CTB Tomoki OSADA SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 179 90 1999/11/25 0
CTB Shogo NAKANO TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 186 98 1997/6/11 6
CTB Dylan RILEY SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 187 102 1997/5/2 10
WTB Siosaia FIFITA HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS 187 105 1998/12/20 12
WTB Haruto KIDA Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY 176 90 1999/4/9 0
WTB Semisi MASIREWA HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS 181 93 1992/6/9 2
WTB Jone NAIKABULA TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO 177 95 1994/4/12 0
FB/WTB Kotaro MATSUSHIMA TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 178 88 1993/2/26 47
FB/SO Ryohei YAMANAKA KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS 188 98 1988/6/22 27
FB/SO Jumpei OGURA YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES 172 82 1992/7/11 4

Japan Men’s National Rugby Team Wider Training Squad

Position Name Team Height Weight Date of Birth Caps
PR Kenta KOBAYASHI TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 181 112 1999/6/2 0
PR Heiichiro ITO SHIZUOKA BlueRevs 175 115 1990/10/5 6
HO Shunta NAKAMURA TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 176 98 1994/2/28 0
LF Pieter LABUSCHAGNE Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY 189 106 1989/1/11 15
LF Kanji SHIMOKAWA TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 188 105 1999/1/17 1
LF Ben GUNTER SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS 195 120 1997/10/24 5
LF Tevita TATAFU TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH 183 124 1996/1/2 15
SH Kaito SHIGENO TOYOTA VERBLITZ 170 75 1990/11/21 16
WTB Taichi TAKAHASHI TOYOTA VERBLITZ 180 91 1996/6/24 1
WTB Lomano LEMEKI NEC GREEN ROCKETS TOKATSU 178 96 1989/1/20 16

Both squads will assemble for a training camp in Urayasu, in Chiba Prefecture, just outside Tokyo from June 12-30. They will then relocate to their training base in Miyazaki, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu between July 3 to August 3. From Miyazaki, matchday squads will travel to and from the five host cities, for a series combining two non-capped matches and three full test matches.

The Japan XV will face the All Blacks XV at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday, July 8 in the first of the two non-capped matches making up the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2023. This will be followed by a match between a full-strength Brave Blossoms side and the All Blacks XV on Saturday, July 15 at Egao Kenko Stadium in Kumamoto.

The Brave Blossoms will then play three test matches in the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2023 Pacific Nations Series, taking on Samoa on Saturday, July 22 at Sapporo Dome and Tonga on Saturday, July 29 at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka. They then return to Tokyo to play Fiji at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Saturday, August 5.

Comprised of 19 forwards and 17 backs, the Brave Blossoms Squad features nine uncapped players, including Kubota Spears winger Haruto Kida, who scored the decisive try in last weekend’s League One Final. He is joined by the uncapped Saitama Wild Knight’s duo of backrow-forward Shota Fukui and outside-back Tomoki Osada, both of whom also played in the League One Final.


In addition to the introduction of new talent, the squad also maintains a solid foundation of experience with prop Keita Inagaki (45 caps), hooker Shota Horie (68 caps) and talismanic backrow-forward Michael Leitch (78 caps) named among the forwards. While winger Kotaro Matsushima (47 caps), centre Ryoto Nakamura (33 caps) and halfback Yutaka Nagare (30 caps) add their experience among the backs.

The 10-member Wider Training Squad is split between seven forwards and three backs. It includes two uncapped front-row forwards from Suntory Sungoliath, hooker Shunta Nakamura and prop Kenta Kobayashi. Both players featured in last Friday’s League One Third-Place Playoff between Suntory and Canon.


Commenting on the squad selections, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Jamie Joseph said:

“As we approach the 100 days-to-go mark for France 2023, I am happy to announce the Brave Blossoms and National Team Wider Training Squads ahead of our camp in Urayasu next month. The players have been selected based of their ability and the consistency they’ve demonstrated across the League One season. We will now focus on working with them to bring the group up to test match standard, while also working to reforge a strong connection within the team ahead of what will be an incredibly challenging and exciting year. We have a lot of work to do as we prepare for our upcoming matches in Japan, and then onto Italy, before we head to France for the World Cup.”

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