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:

PositionNameClub 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
PRCraig MILLARSAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS
PRJiwon GUKOBELCO 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
LOWimpie VANDERWALTURAYASU D-Rocks
LO
Yuya ODO
SHIZUOKA BlueRevs
LO
Naohiro KOTAKI
KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS
LOSanaila WAQAHANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS
LOJack CORNELSENSAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS
LOarner DEARNSTOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO
FL
Kanji SHIMOKAWA
TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH
FL
Shunsuke NUNOMAKI
SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS
FLPieter LABUSCHAGNEKubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY
FL
Masato FURUKAWA
TOYOTA VERBLITZ
FLBen GUNTERSAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS
FL
Michael LEITCH
TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO
No.8
Kazuki HIMENO
TOYOTA VERBLITZ
No.8Faulua MAKISIKubota 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
CTBShane GATES-Rocks
URAYASU D-Rocks
CTB
Shogo NAKANO
TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH
CTB
Ryoto NAKAMURA
TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH
CTBDylan RILEYSAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS
CTB
Timothy LAFAELE
KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS
WTB
Taichi TAKAHASHI
TOYOTA VERBLITZ
WTBJone NAIKABULATOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO
WTBGerhard Van Den HEEVERKubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY
WTBSiosaia FIFITAHANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS
WTB
Koga NEZUKA
Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY
WTBKotaro MATSUSHIMATOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH
FB
Ryuji NOGUCHI
SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS
FB 
Taira MAIN
RICOH BlackRams Tokyo
FB
Ryohei YAMANAKA
KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS

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