Brave Blossoms Named for First Group D Clash Against Chile
Japan Head Coach, Jamie Joseph has today named his Brave Blossoms side for their opening Pool D match against tournament debutants Chile, this Sunday, 10 September at Stadium de Toulouse. Kicking off at 13:00 French local time, 20:00 in Japan, the Brave Blossoms will be looking to make a strong start to their tournament ahead of crunch matches against England, Samoa, and Argentina.
Captained by number-eight, Kazuki Himeno, Joseph has picked a matchday 23 featuring 12 players who were part of Japan’s 2019 squad, alongside 11 who are set to make their Rugby World Cup debuts.
In the front row, loosehead prop, Keita Inagaki will earn his 50th Japan cap as he packs down opposite Jiwon Gu at tighthead and Atsushi Sakate at hooker. On the bench, Craig Millar and Asaeli Valu are the reserves props, alongside reserve hooker and Brave Blossoms veteran, Shota Horie. At 37, Horie is the oldest member of the squad and is set to play in his fourth World Cup.
The engine room sees the return of the highly impressive Amato Fakatava for his fourth test. He packs down alongside the ever-reliable Jack Cornelsen in the second row. In news that will delight Brave Blossoms fans, Warner Dearns has been named on the bench as replacement lock, having returned to the team following a niggling injury that kept him out of action during the recent domestic test series.
Japan’s talismanic blindside, Michael Leitch, also set to feature in his fourth World Cup is joined by rookie number-seven, Kanji Shimokawa in the backrow alongside Kazuki Himeno at number-eight. On the bench, two-test flanker, Shota Fukui has been named as the reserve backrow forward.
Yutake Nagare and playmaker, Rikiya Matsuda will take to the field as the starting halves, at numbers nine and ten respectively, while in the midfield, Ryoto Nakamura and Dylan Riley have been named at inside and outside centre.
In the outside backs, Jone Naikabula starts once again on the left-wing, while there is a change up in the recent back-three configuration, with Semisi Masiwera moving from the wing to fullback, while Matsushima moves from fullback to the right-wing. The backline reserves consist of scrumhalf, Naoto Saito, centre Tomoki Osada and the versatile Lomano Lava Lemeki who can cover every position across the backline.
Commenting on the Brave Blossoms’ team selection, Japan Head Coach Jamie Joseph said:
“We’ll be looking to go out and start well. Chile are new to the World Cup but this will be their World Cup final, a game they’ve targeted with their players all available and motivated to have a very good performance and put us under pressure. Rightfully so, they should have confidence and they will look to put the pressure on in the first 20 minutes. So we’ll be focusing on ensuring that doesn’t happen.
“The draw we have is very similar to 2019 in that we had Russia first up and then matches against progressively more difficult opposition. We’re not getting too far ahead around anything. Our first focus is ourselves. Chile is the opposition, but we’re focusing on ourselves and getting back to playing our best rugby.
“It’s going to be hot, but the last six or seven games we’ve played have been similar and our boys are used to the heat. With the heat you get a slippery ball and the way we play, with the amount of passes we execute, nearly double the amount of other teams, it puts a lot of pressure on our skillset. We’ve trained very well this week, so whatever comes on Sunday, the focus will be to get on with the business and play for Inagaki in his 50th test and give a performance we can all be proud of.”
The match will be broadcast live, nationwide on NHK & NHK PLUS, as well as on J Sports One. It will also be available for streaming and catch-up through J Sports On Demand.
Following their match against Chile, the Brave Blossoms will head to Nice, on the French Riviera to face England on Sunday, 17 September at Stade de Nice, before returning to Stadium de Toulouse to take on Samoa on Thursday, 28 September. Japan’s final pool match will be against Argentina on Sunday, 8 October at Stade de la Beaujoire, in Nantes.
TEAM LIST
| No. | Name | Team | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Caps |
| 1 | Keita INAGAKI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 186 | 116 | 1990/6/2 | 49 |
| 2 | Atsushi SAKATE | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 180 | 104 | 1993/6/21 | 37 |
| 3 | Jiwon GU | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 183 | 117 | 1994/7/20 | 25 |
| 4 | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 195 | 110 | 1994/10/13 | 16 |
| 5 | Amato FAKATAVA | RICOH BLACKRAMS TOKYO | 195 | 118 | 1994/12/7 | 3 |
| 6 | Michael LEITCH | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 189 | 113 | 1988/10/7 | 80 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 2 |
| 8 | Kazuki HIMENO | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 187 | 108 | 1994/7/27 | 29 |
| 9 | Yutaka NAGARE | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 166 | 75 | 1992/9/4 | 34 |
| 10 | Rikiya MATSUDA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 181 | 92 | 1994/5/3 | 33 |
| 11 | Jone NAIKABULA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 177 | 95 | 1994/4/12 | 4 |
| 12 | Ryoto NAKAMURA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 182 | 92 | 1991/6/3 | 35 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 14 |
| 14 | Kotaro MATSUSHIMA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 178 | 88 | 1993/2/26 | 51 |
| 15 | Semisi MASIREWA | HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS | 181 | 93 | 1992/6/9 | 5 |
| 16 | Shota HORIE | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 180 | 104 | 1986/1/21 | 72 |
| 17 | Craig MILLAR | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 186 | 116 | 1990/10/29 | 13 |
| 18 | Asaeli Ai VALU | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 187 | 115 | 1989/5/7 | 26 |
| 19 | Warner DEARNS | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 7 |
| 20 | Shota FUKUI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 186 | 101 | 1999/9/28 | 2 |
| 21 | Naoto SAITO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 165 | 73 | 1997/8/26 | 15 |
| 22 | Tomoki OSADA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 179 | 90 | 1999/11/25 | 4 |
| 23 | Lomano Lava LEMEKI | NEC GREEN ROCKETS TOKATSU | 178 | 96 | 1989/1/20 | 16 |
