Brave Blossoms and National Team Wider Training Squads Announced
Japan National Team Head Coach Jamie Joseph has today announced his first Brave Blossoms squad of the year, along with an additional National Team Wider Training Squad. The 36-member Brave Blossoms Squad will be supplemented by a 10-member Wider Training Squad in preparation for a monumental year that includes a five match domestic series, a World Cup warm-up against Italy and finally, Rugby World Cup in France.
Brave Blossoms
| Position | Name | Team | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Caps |
| PR | Keita INAGAKI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 186 | 116 | 1990/6/2 | 45 |
| PR | Craig MILLAR | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 186 | 116 | 1990/10/29 | 9 |
| PR | Sione HALASILI | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | 180 | 120 | 1999/10/15 | 0 |
| PR | Jiwon GU | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 183 | 117 | 1994/7/20 | 21 |
| PR | Shinnosuke KAKINAGA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 180 | 115 | 1991/12/19 | 11 |
| PR | Asaeli VALU | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 187 | 115 | 1989/5/7 | 23 |
| HO | Shota HORIE | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 180 | 104 | 1986/1/21 | 68 |
| HO | Atsushi SAKATE | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 180 | 104 | 1993/6/21 | 33 |
| HO | Kosuke HORIKOSHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 175 | 100 | 1995/6/2 | 7 |
| LO | James MOORE | URAYASU D-Rocks | 195 | 110 | 1993/6/11 | 13 |
| LO | Uwe HELU | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | 193 | 120 | 1990/7/12 | 16 |
| LO | Amanaki SAUMAKI | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 189 | 108 | 1997/3/8 | 0 |
| LO | Wa DEARNS | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 7 |
| LO/LF | Amato FAKATAVA | RICOH BLACKRAMS TOKYO | 195 | 118 | 1994/12/7 | 0 |
| LO/LF | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 195 | 110 | 1994/10/13 | 12 |
| LF | Shota FUKUI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 186 | 101 | 1999/9/28 | 0 |
| LF | Kazuki HIMENO | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 187 | 108 | 1994/7/27 | 25 |
| LF | Michael LEITCH | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 189 | 113 | 1988/10/7 | 78 |
| No.8 | Faulua MAKISI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | 187 | 112 | 1997/1/20 | 5 |
| SH | Naoto SAITO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 165 | 73 | 1997/8/26 | 11 |
| SH | Yutaka NAGARE | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 166 | 75 | 1992/9/4 | 30 |
| SH | Kenta FUKUDA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 173 | 80 | 1996/12/19 | 0 |
| SO | Seungsin LEE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 176 | 85 | 2001/1/13 | 6 |
| SO | Rikiya MATSUDA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 181 | 92 | 1994/5/3 | 29 |
| CTB | Nicholas MCCURRAN | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 188 | 93 | 1996/6/13 | 0 |
| CTB | Ryoto NAKAMURA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 182 | 92 | 1991/6/3 | 33 |
| CTB | Tomoki OSADA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 179 | 90 | 1999/11/25 | 0 |
| CTB | Shogo NAKANO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 186 | 98 | 1997/6/11 | 6 |
| CTB | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 10 |
| WTB | Siosaia FIFITA | HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS | 187 | 105 | 1998/12/20 | 12 |
| WTB | Haruto KIDA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | 176 | 90 | 1999/4/9 | 0 |
| WTB | Semisi MASIREWA | HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS | 181 | 93 | 1992/6/9 | 2 |
| WTB | Jone NAIKABULA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 177 | 95 | 1994/4/12 | 0 |
| FB/WTB | Kotaro MATSUSHIMA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 178 | 88 | 1993/2/26 | 47 |
| FB/SO | Ryohei YAMANAKA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 188 | 98 | 1988/6/22 | 27 |
| FB/SO | Jumpei OGURA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | 172 | 82 | 1992/7/11 | 4 |
Japan Men’s National Rugby Team Wider Training Squad
| Position | Name | Team | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Caps |
| PR | Kenta KOBAYASHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 181 | 112 | 1999/6/2 | 0 |
| PR | Heiichiro ITO | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | 175 | 115 | 1990/10/5 | 6 |
| HO | Shunta NAKAMURA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 176 | 98 | 1994/2/28 | 0 |
| LF | Pieter LABUSCHAGNE | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | 189 | 106 | 1989/1/11 | 15 |
| LF | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 1 |
| LF | Ben GUNTER | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 195 | 120 | 1997/10/24 | 5 |
| LF | Tevita TATAFU | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 183 | 124 | 1996/1/2 | 15 |
| SH | Kaito SHIGENO | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 170 | 75 | 1990/11/21 | 16 |
| WTB | Taichi TAKAHASHI | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 180 | 91 | 1996/6/24 | 1 |
| WTB | Lomano LEMEKI | NEC GREEN ROCKETS TOKATSU | 178 | 96 | 1989/1/20 | 16 |
Both squads will assemble for a training camp in Urayasu, in Chiba Prefecture, just outside Tokyo from June 12-30. They will then relocate to their training base in Miyazaki, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu between July 3 to August 3. From Miyazaki, matchday squads will travel to and from the five host cities, for a series combining two non-capped matches and three full test matches.
The Japan XV will face the All Blacks XV at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday, July 8 in the first of the two non-capped matches making up the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2023. This will be followed by a match between a full-strength Brave Blossoms side and the All Blacks XV on Saturday, July 15 at Egao Kenko Stadium in Kumamoto.
The Brave Blossoms will then play three test matches in the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2023 Pacific Nations Series, taking on Samoa on Saturday, July 22 at Sapporo Dome and Tonga on Saturday, July 29 at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka. They then return to Tokyo to play Fiji at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Saturday, August 5.
Comprised of 19 forwards and 17 backs, the Brave Blossoms Squad features nine uncapped players, including Kubota Spears winger Haruto Kida, who scored the decisive try in last weekend’s League One Final. He is joined by the uncapped Saitama Wild Knight’s duo of backrow-forward Shota Fukui and outside-back Tomoki Osada, both of whom also played in the League One Final.
In addition to the introduction of new talent, the squad also maintains a solid foundation of experience with prop Keita Inagaki (45 caps), hooker Shota Horie (68 caps) and talismanic backrow-forward Michael Leitch (78 caps) named among the forwards. While winger Kotaro Matsushima (47 caps), centre Ryoto Nakamura (33 caps) and halfback Yutaka Nagare (30 caps) add their experience among the backs.
The 10-member Wider Training Squad is split between seven forwards and three backs. It includes two uncapped front-row forwards from Suntory Sungoliath, hooker Shunta Nakamura and prop Kenta Kobayashi. Both players featured in last Friday’s League One Third-Place Playoff between Suntory and Canon.
Commenting on the squad selections, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Jamie Joseph said:
“As we approach the 100 days-to-go mark for France 2023, I am happy to announce the Brave Blossoms and National Team Wider Training Squads ahead of our camp in Urayasu next month. The players have been selected based of their ability and the consistency they’ve demonstrated across the League One season. We will now focus on working with them to bring the group up to test match standard, while also working to reforge a strong connection within the team ahead of what will be an incredibly challenging and exciting year. We have a lot of work to do as we prepare for our upcoming matches in Japan, and then onto Italy, before we head to France for the World Cup.”
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