Japan Squad for Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2017
On 29 May 2017, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced the Japan squad for the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2017.
Comments by co-captain Shota Horie, “I am very honoured to be named co-captain for this season. Romania and Ireland are both strong sides and so we have to build an even better squad than last year. I want to do my best to bring our on-field players and off-field staff together as one unit.”
Comments by co-captain Harumichi Tatekawa, “I am very proud to be given the honour of co-captain, continuing on from last November. This June, we play three tough tests against Ireland who are confirmed in our pool at the 2019 Rugby World Cup and Romania who will more than likely also be in the same pool. I want to play with pride in the jersey and a deep sense of responsibility in my role as co-captain and together with Shota (Horie) help develop a team that will do our nation proud.”
Japan Squad for Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2017
| Name (Japan player number) | Club | DOB | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shintaro ISHIHARA (634TBC) | Suntory Sungoliath | 17/06/1990 | 26 | 181/105 | 4 |
| Keita INAGAKI (582) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 02/06/1990 | 26 | 186/116 | 13 |
| Koki YAMAMOTO (628) | Yamaha Jubilo | 29/10/1990 | 26 | 181/118 | 3 |
| Yusuke NIWAI | Canon Eagles | 22/10/1991 | 25 | 174/102 | – |
| Takeshi HINO (633) | Yamaha Jubilo | 20/01/1990 | 27 | 172/100 | 4 |
| Shota HORIE (530) (co-c) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 21/01/1986 | 31 | 180/104 | 49 |
| Takuma ASAHARA (570) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 07/09/1987 | 29 | 179/113 | 5 |
| Heiichiro ITO (625) | Yamaha Jubilo | 05/10/1990 | 26 | 175/115 | 4 |
| Yu CHINEN (591) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 18/11/1990 | 26 | 184/125 | 6 |
| Kyosuke KAJIKAWA (619) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 05/09/1987 | 29 | 188/105 | 4 |
| Uwe HELU (621) | Yamaha Jubilo | 12/07/1990 | 26 | 193/115 | 3 |
| Shinya MAKABE (534) | Suntory Sungoliath | 26/03/1987 | 30 | 192/119 | 34 |
| Kotaro YATABE (592) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 29/07/1986 | 30 | 190/107 | 12 |
| Hendrik TUI (565) | Suntory Sungoliath | 13/12/1987 | 29 | 189/110 | 38 |
| Yoshitaka TOKUNAGA (638TBC) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 10/04/1992 | 25 | 185/100 | 4 |
| Shuhei MATSUHASHI (627) | Ricoh Black Rams | 24/11/1993 | 23 | 180/99 | 6 |
| Amanaki Lelei MAFI (580) | NTT Communications | 11/01/1990 | 27 | 189/112 | 13 |
| Michael LEITCH (518) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 07/10/1988 | 29 | 189/105 | 47 |
| Keisuke UCHIDA (558) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 22/02/1992 | 25 | 179/86 | 21 |
| Fumiaki TANAKA (510) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 03/01/1985 | 32 | 166/72 | 58 |
| Yutaka NAGARE (639TBC) | Suntory Sungoliath | 04/09/1992 | 24 | 166/71 | 4 |
| Jumpei OGURA (640TBC) | NTT Communications | 11/07/1992 | 24 | 172/80 | 2 |
| Yu TAMURA (555) | Canon Eagles | 09/01/1989 | 28 | 181/92 | 42 |
| Rikiya MATSUDA (617) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 03/05/1994 | 23 | 181/92 | 7 |
| Shota EMI | Suntory Sungoliath | 08/12/1991 | 25 | 180/95 | – |
| Kenki FUKUOKA (569) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 07/09/1992 | 24 | 175/83 | 17 |
| Akihito YAMADA (574) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 26/07/1985 | 31 | 182/88 | 21 |
| Derek CARPENTER | Suntory Sungoliath | 26/07/1988 | 28 | 183/94 | – |
| Harumichi TATEKAWA (557) (co-c) | Kubota Spears | 02/12/1989 | 27 | 180/95 | 41 |
| William TUPOU | Coca-Cola Red Sparks | 20/07/1990 | 26 | 187/101 | – |
| Timothy LAFAELE (629) | Coca-Cola Red Sparks | 19/08/1991 | 25 | 186/98 | 4 |
| Ryuji NOGUCHI (599) | Tokai University | 15/07/1995 | 21 | 177/86 | 8 |
| Kotaro MATSUSHIMA (576) | Suntory Sungoliath | 26/02/1993 | 24 | 178/87 | 22 |
Staff
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Director of Rugby | Masahiro Kunda | JRFU |
| Assistant DOR | Yoji Nagatomo | JRFU |
| Head Coach | Jamie Joseph | JRFU |
| Attack Coach | Tony Brown | JRFU |
| Defence Coach | Ben Herring | JRFU |
| Scrum Coach | Shin Hasegawa | JRFU |
| Skill Coach | Atsushi Tanabe | Japan SR |
| S&C Coach | Simon Jones | JRFU |
| Assistant S&C Coach | Chihiro Ota | Keio University |
| Team Doctor | Takuro Moriya | Chiba Rosai Hospital |
| Physiotherapist | Hidenori Izawa | Dome Co., Ltd. |
| Physiotherapist | Junnosuke Aono | JRFU |
| Analyst | Shota Nakajima | JRFU |
| Analyst | Shumpei Hamano | JRFU |
| Interpreter | Hidenori Sato | EHB International |
| Team Manager | Takenori Omura | JRFU |
| Media Manager | Mana Muto | JRFU |