Jones rings changes for Eagles test

TOKYO (July 22) – Japan coach Eddie Jones has named his side to play the United States on Friday (Saturday at noon Japan time).

The starting XV for the game at Sacramento’s Bonney Field shows eight changes and one positional switch from the side that started last weekend’s 20-6 win over Canada.

With Michael Leitch one of five players currently en route to North America and Ayumu Goromaru given a rest, Kensuke Hatakeyama leads the side from tighthead prop.

While Hatakeyama forms an all new front row alongside Keita Inagaki and Takeshi Kizu, Hitoshi Ono and Luke Thompson keep their spots in the second row.

Flankers Michael Broadhurst and Justin Ives will also suit up for the second game in succession but there is a change at No. 8 with Ryu Koliniasi Holani set to win his 40th cap.

In the backs, Keisuke Uchida gets a rare start at scrumhalf and he will partner Harumichi Tatekawa, who left the field halfway through the first half against Canada with a facial injury, which fortunately was not as bad as first suspected.

Ryohei Yamanaka lines up at inside center alongside Kotaro Matsushima, with Akihito Yamada and Karne Hesketh on the wings and Yoshikazu Fujita shifting from wing to fullback.

Of the eight players on the bench, six – Hisateru Hirashima, Shinnosuke Kakinaga, Kazuhiko Usami, Tsuyoshi Murata, Atsushi Hiwasa and Tim Bennetts – were involved in last week’s game, while hooker Hiroki Yuhara and flyhalf Kosei Ono prepare for their first outings of the tournament.

*Captain