Brave Blossoms Team to Face Samoa in PNC Semi Final
Brave Blossoms Head Coach, Eddie Jones has named his side to take on Samoa in one of two Semi Finals taking place this weekend in the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2024. The match kicks off at 15:05 this Sunday, September 15 at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium with Japan enjoying a two-match winning streak following their 28-55 victory over Canada and 41-24 win over the USA in their two earlier pool matches.
After fielding a near identical side in their matches against Canada and the USA, Jones has opted for a number of changes across his matchday 23. Only nine players line up in their same positions as last week, while another nine have either changed position or moved in or out of the starting 15. Three new players come into the side, while another two, starting second row, Epineri Uluiviti and reserve rake, Kenta Matsuoka are in line to win their first test caps for their country, as the two debutants in the team.
Arguably the biggest change in the lineup is the promotion of Captain, Harumichi Tatekawa from the reserves bench into the starting playmaker role at number 10. He replaces Seungsin Lee, who moves to fullback after having started the last two tests in the number 10 jersey.
Commenting on the Brave Blossoms’ team selection, Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“We were forced to make a few changes through injury and for personal reasons, but for us it’s all about the next man up. We’ve got a really strong squad and we’re looking forward to play against Samoa which is a step up in terms of opposition. We’ve played two teams ranked below us and now we’re playing a team ranked above us. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to show that we can be physical and play fast. The conditions are going to be difficult for both teams with temperatures around 30 degrees, but we’ve prepared well for that.”
The match will be broadcast from 14:35 on J Sports4 and via J Sports On-Demand, both live and via catch-up, as well as live from 15:00 on Nippon Television and via live streaming on Hulu. It will also be broadcast on Lemino from 14:35.
The winner of Sunday’s match will play in the Final next weekend in Higashi Osaka against the winner of the other Semi Final which will be played on Saturday 14between the USA and Fiji. The losers of both Semi Finals will meet in the Third Place Play-Off which will be played as the curtain raiser to the Final.
For ticket information for the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2024 Finals Series in English, check https://www.rugby-japan.jp/lp/pnc2024/en/ticket/.
To purchase tickets in English, go to http://en.rugby-japan.jp/ticket/.
*(C) Captain
| No | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Height (cm) | Weight (kg) | DOB | Cap |
| 1 | Shogo MIURA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Tokai Univ. | 180 | 115 | 1995/6/8 | 12 |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Keio Univ. | 175 | 101 | 1999/4/15 | 5 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | URAYASU D-Rocks | Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/9 | 8 |
| 4 | Epineri ULUIVITI | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Ratu Kadavulevu School | 196 | 122 | 1996/7/7 | 0 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. KASHIWA HS. | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 16 |
| 6 | Amato FAKATAVA | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Daito Bunka Univ. | 195 | 118 | 1994/12/7 | 8 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 8 |
| 8 | Faulua MAKISI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 187 | 112 | 1997/1/20 | 10 |
| 9 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 171 | 76 | 1999/2/8 | 4 |
| 10 | Harumichi TATEKAWA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 180 | 94 | 1989/12/2 | 58 |
| 11 | Malo TUITAMA | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Scots College | 182 | 91 | 1996/3/23 | 2 |
| 12 | Nicholas MCCURRAN | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Teikyo Univ. | 188 | 93 | 1996/6/13 | 2 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Bond Univ. | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 22 |
| 14 | Tomoki OSADA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 179 | 90 | 1999/11/25 | 12 |
| 15 | Seungsin LEE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Osaka Korean HS. | 176 | 86 | 2001/1/13 | 16 |
| 16 | Kenta MATSUOKA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Meiji Univ. | 175 | 100 | 1997/6/6 | 0 |
| 17 | Takato OKABE | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | 180 | 105 | 1995/2/19 | 2 |
| 18 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 180 | 108 | 2001/9/3 | 5 |
| 19 | Isaiah MAPUSUA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Keio Univ. | 191 | 112 | 2000/12/21 | 2 |
| 20 | Tiennan COSTLEY | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | International Pacific Univ. | 192 | 102 | 2000/6/14 | 4 |
| 21 | Taiki KOYAMA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Daito Bunka Univ. | 171 | 74 | 1994/10/31 | 4 |
| 22 | Yusuke KAJIMURA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Meiji Univ. | 181 | 95 | 1995/9/13 | 2 |
| 23 | Taichi TAKAHASHI | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Meiji Univ. | 180 | 91 | 1996/6/24 | 1 |