Brave Blossoms Squad Announced Ahead of Autumn Internationals
Brave Blossoms Head Coach Jamie Joseph has today announced the 52 players who will make up the Japan National Team Wider Training Squad ahead of their upcoming international matches in Japan against Australia A and New Zealand, and the Brave Blossoms’ Lipovitan D Tour 2022 to England and France.
Commenting on the squad selection, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Jamie Joseph said:
“With one year to go before Rugby World Cup 2023, we’re happy to announce our wider training squad ahead the three uncapped matches against Australia A, our test match against the All Blacks in Tokyo, and our tour to Europe where we will face England and France.
“As always, when choosing the squad, we’re trying to strike the balance of having experienced players who have played tier one test matches, but also looking at the future by bringing new players through. We’ve selected a big squad of 52 players, and we have a number of injuries among key players who won’t be available. While this is disappointing for them, it also gives us the opportunity to blood new players coming through.
“We learnt a lot from the June and July test matches. We had two convincing wins against Uruguay, and we created an opportunity to win the second test against France. We weren’t good enough in the end and it was a fair reflection of where we currently stand in terms of the areas we need to improve on. For several reasons in the second half, we were unable to close off the France match and this is something we are working on ahead of the upcoming matches.
“The Australia A matches will be crucial for our preparations, as following those three games we’re playing the All Blacks at home, then England and France away: three of the best teams in the world. We’re not in a position to sacrifice games in order to give players match time and an opportunity to play. Anybody playing will have to earn their place.”
The Japan National Team Wider Training Squad will assemble in Beppu City, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, for a training camp from Monday, September 5 in preparation for their upcoming matches.
The Japan XV will play three uncapped matches against Australia A, kicking off the series on Saturday, October 1 at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo. The two sides will meet again the following Saturday, October 8, at Best Denki Stadium in Fukuoka, with the third and final match taking place on Friday, October 14, at Yodoko Sakura Stadium in Osaka.
The Brave Blossoms will then host the All Blacks in a test match at the National Stadium in Tokyo, on October 29 as part of the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2022. They will then depart for the Lipovitan D Tour 2022 in which they will play England at Twickenham on November 12 and France in Toulouse on November 20, at Stadium de Toulouse.
Japan National Team Wider Training Squad:
| Position | Name | Club Team |
| PR | Shunsuke ASAOKA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
| PR | Keita INAGAKI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| PR | Asaeli Ai VALU | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| PR | Kota KAISHI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY |
| PR | Yusuke KIZU | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
| PR | Craig MILLAR | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| PR | Jiwon GU | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS |
| PR | Shogo MIURA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
| HO | Atsushi SAKATE | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| HO | Daigo HASHIMOTO | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO |
| HO | Takeshi HINO | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs |
| HO | Kosuke HORIKOSHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH |
| LO | Daichi AKIYAMA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
| LO | Koji IINO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH |
| LO | Wimpie VANDERWALT | URAYASU D-Rocks |
| LO | Yuya ODO | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs |
| LO | Naohiro KOTAKI | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS |
| LO | Sanaila WAQA | HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS |
| LO | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| LO | aｒner DEARNS | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO |
| FL | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH |
| FL | Shunsuke NUNOMAKI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| FL | Pieter LABUSCHAGNE | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY |
| FL | Masato FURUKAWA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
| FL | Ben GUNTER | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| FL | Michael LEITCH | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO |
| No.8 | Kazuki HIMENO | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
| No.8 | Faulua MAKISI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY |
| SH | Kaito SHIGENO | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
| SH | TAIKI KOYAMA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| SH | Naoto SAITO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH |
| SH | Toshiya TAKAHASHI | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo |
| SH | Yutaka NAGARE | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH |
| SO | Yu TAMURA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES |
| SO | Hayata NAKAO | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO |
| SO | Takuya YAMASAWA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| SO | Seungsin LEE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS |
| CTB | Yusuke KAJIMURA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES |
| CTB | Shane GATES | -Rocks URAYASU D-Rocks |
| CTB | Shogo NAKANO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH |
| CTB | Ryoto NAKAMURA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH |
| CTB | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| CTB | Timothy LAFAELE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS |
| WTB | Taichi TAKAHASHI | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
| WTB | Jone NAIKABULA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO |
| WTB | Gerhard Van Den HEEVER | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY |
| WTB | Siosaia FIFITA | HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS |
| WTB | Koga NEZUKA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY |
| WTB | Kotaro MATSUSHIMA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH |
| FB | Ryuji NOGUCHI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS |
| FB | Taira MAIN | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo |
| FB | Ryohei YAMANAKA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS |
