Brave Blossoms Side to Face Fiji in PNC Final
Brave Blossoms Head Coach, Eddie Jones has named his side to take on Fiji in the Final of the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2024. The match kicks off at 19:05 JST this Saturday, September 21, at the historic Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashi-Osaka and follows the Third Place Play-Off between the USA and Samoa at 16:00 JST, at the same venue.
Japan stormed into the Final after an unbeaten run in Pool B, comfortably beating Canada, away in Vancouver and the USA at home in Kumagaya. Last weekend in Tokyo, Japan brought their pool form into the Semi-finals with a solid win over Samoa at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, defeating their Pacific Island rivals 49-27.
Fiji also arrive at the Final unbeaten having moved in a similarly dominant fashion through Pool A, with comfortable victories over Samoa and Tonga. They then backed this up last weekend in their Semi-Final in Tokyo, with a solid 22-3 victory over the USA.
Just like last weekend, conditions are expected to be hot and wet in Osaka, with the chance of showers in the evening. While both sides will be expecting a highly physical contest, the team that can handle the conditions best will put themselves in the strongest position to win the match.
Jones has gone for a near identical matchday 23 to the team that defeated Samoa in Tokyo. The one change to the side captained by veteran number 10, Harumichi Tatekawa is the introduction of test debutant Junta Hamano as the reserve outside back. The Kobe Steelers flyer comes into the team following the injury sustained last weekend to reserve back, Taichi Takahashi.
Commenting on the Brave Blossoms’ team selection, Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“We’ve had a good, short preparation for Fiji, a little shorter than we normally have, but we’ve made up for that with our enthusiasm and energy. We’re such a young team, and we’re all looking forward to the match on Saturday. Fiji are a very good side that have improved a lot over the last 24 months particularly and they deserve their ranking of tenth in the world. But this is the sort of challenge we want. Having beaten Canada, the USA, and Samoa on the weekend, we’re now looking forward to taking on Fiji.”
The match will be broadcast from 18:35 on J Sports1 and via J Sports On-Demand, both live and via catch-up, as well as live from 19:00 on Nippon Television and via live streaming on Hulu. It will also be broadcast on Lemino from 18:35.
The earlier Third Place Play-Off match between the USA and Samoa will be broadcast from 15:50 on J Sports1 and via J Sports On-Demand, both live and via catch-up
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 | 13 |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Keio Univ. | 175 | 101 | 1999/4/15 | 6 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | URAYASU D-Rocks | Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/9 | 9 |
| 4 | Epineri ULUIVITI | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Ratu Kadavulevu School | 196 | 122 | 1996/7/7 | 1 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. KASHIWA HS. | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 17 |
| 6 | Amato FAKATAVA | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Daito Bunka Univ. | 195 | 118 | 1994/12/7 | 9 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 9 |
| 8 | Faulua MAKISI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 187 | 112 | 1997/1/20 | 11 |
| 9 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 171 | 76 | 1999/2/8 | 5 |
| 10 | Harumichi TATEKAWA (C) | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 180 | 94 | 1989/12/2 | 59 |
| 11 | Malo TUITAMA | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Scots College | 182 | 91 | 1996/3/23 | 3 |
| 12 | Nicholas MCCURRAN | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Teikyo Univ. | 188 | 93 | 1996/6/13 | 3 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Bond Univ. | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 23 |
| 14 | Tomoki OSADA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 179 | 90 | 1999/11/25 | 13 |
| 15 | Seungsin LEE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Osaka Korean HS. | 176 | 86 | 2001/1/13 | 17 |
| 16 | Kenta MATSUOKA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Meiji Univ. | 175 | 100 | 1997/6/6 | 1 |
| 17 | Takato OKABE | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | 180 | 105 | 1995/2/19 | 3 |
| 18 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 180 | 108 | 2001/9/3 | 6 |
| 19 | Isaiah MAPUSUA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Keio Univ. | 191 | 112 | 2000/12/21 | 3 |
| 20 | Tiennan COSTLEY | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | International Pacific Univ. | 192 | 102 | 2000/6/14 | 5 |
| 21 | Taiki KOYAMA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Daito Bunka Univ. | 171 | 74 | 1994/10/31 | 5 |
| 22 | Yusuke KAJIMURA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Meiji Univ. | 181 | 95 | 1995/9/13 | 3 |
| 23 | Junta HAMANO | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Rotorua Boys HS. | 180 | 93 | 2001/5/2 | 0 |
