Horie, Tatekawa to Lead Squad Containing 17 Uncapped Players

TOKYO (Oct.28) – Shota Horie and Harumuchi Tatekawa will act as co-captains when Japan take on Argentina, Georgia, Wales and Fiji in November.

Head coach Jamie Joseph made the announcement when naming a 32-man squad for his first tests in charge of the national team.

“They have the right credentials,” Joseph said of the pair. “They are two of our best players, have got great leadership skills already, are captains of their company teams and know what the Japan jersey stands for.”

With so many inexperienced players in the squad and having had limited time with his players, Joseph and his assistant Tony Brown opted for co-captains.

“Putting the responsibility on the shoulders of one man as captain would be far too much,” Joseph explained.

The squad contains 17 uncapped players – 12 in the forwards and five in the backs – as the result of a number of injuries and withdrawals.

“There are some players who are injured, who would have made the team,” said Joseph. “There are some players who have not been selected on current form and there are some who have made themselves unavailable, which is disappointing.”

Despite having held just two mini-camps with his payers, Joseph said he was looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“We’ve had little time to prepare but what we have had time to prepare is our attack,” he said.

“Argentina are a very strong team but that’s the last thing we need to worry about. We want a positive attacking mindset and when we get an opportunity to play and attack these guys you should see some organization, flair, real speed and skill in our game plan.”

Much of that attacking game plan has been devised by Brown.

“We need to attack in a similar way to how we operate, as one,” he said. “Speed, skill and space are the key words we want to use.”

Japan play Argentina in Tokyo on Nov. 5, before traveling to Europe where they play Georgia in Tbilisi on Nov.12, Wales in Cardiff on Nov. 19 and Fiji in Vannes, France on Nov. 26.

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◎=Captain