Brave Blossoms Announce Refined Squad Ahead of Autumn Internationals
Brave Blossoms Head Coach Jamie Joseph has today announced the 41 players who will make up the Japan National Team Squad ahead of their upcoming series of Autumn internationals taking place in Japan and Europe.
An action-packed calendar for the remainder of 2022 sees the Japan VX host Australia A for the three match, Asahi Super Dry Japan Rugby Challenge Series 2022. The Brave Blossoms will then host the All Blacks in Tokyo for the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2022 before departing to Europe for the Lipovitan D Tour 2022, where they will play England and France.
Commenting on the squad selection, National Team Director, Yuichiro Fuji said:
“We’ve spent the last three weeks in camp, building depth, and refining our squad selections. We’re pleased with the consistent performance of many players and are excited to announce the 41-member squad ahead of the Australia A games, the test match in Tokyo against the All Blacks and our European tour to England and France. The squad includes a strong mix of experienced veterans and exciting young players. We’ve been working hard on building depth and believe that the players who missed out will remain ready to be called upon. Over the coming weeks we will further narrow down the squad and start working towards our core ‘one-team’ during our training camps.”
The Japan National Team Squad will assemble in Miyazaki, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, for a training camp from Saturday, September 24 in preparation for their upcoming matches.
The Japan XV will play three uncapped matches in the Asahi Super Dry Japan Rugby Challenge Series 2022 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 Squad:
| Position | Name | Club Team | Height | Weight | DOB | Caps |
| PR | Keita INAGAKI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 186 | 116 | 1990/06/02 | 42 |
| PR | ShinnosukeKAKINAGA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 180 | 115 | 1991/12/19 | 11 |
| PR | Yusuke KIZU | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 178 | 112 | 1995/12/02 | 5 |
| PR | Craig MILLAR | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 186 | 116 | 1990/10/29 | 6 |
| PR | Jiwon GU | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 184 | 122 | 1994/07/20 | 18 |
| PR | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | URAYASU D-Rocks | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/09 | 1 |
| PR | Shogo MIURA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 180 | 113 | 1995/06/08 | 9 |
| HO | Atsushi SAKATE | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 180 | 104 | 1993/06/21 | 30 |
| HO | Takeshi HINO | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | 172 | 100 | 1990/01/20 | 5 |
| HO | Kosuke HORIKOSHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 175 | 100 | 1995/06/02 | 5 |
| LO | Wimpie VANDERWALT | URAYASU D-Rocks | 188 | 112 | 1989/01/06 | 20 |
| LO | Yuya ODO | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | 187 | 104 | 1990/03/09 | 5 |
| LO | Naohiro KOTAKI | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 194 | 114 | 1992/06/13 | 11 |
| LO | Sanaila WAQA | HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS | 202 | 120 | 1995/07/17 | 2 |
| LO | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 195 | 110 | 1994/10/13 | 9 |
| LO | Warner DEARNS | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 201 | 117 | 2002/04/11 | 4 |
| FL | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 188 | 105 | 1999/01/17 | 0 |
| FL | Pieter LABUSCHAGNE | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | 189 | 106 | 1989/01/11 | 13 |
| FL | Masato FURUKAWA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 179 | 95 | 1996/12/06 | 3 |
| FL | Michael LEITCH | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 189 | 113 | 1988/10/07 | 75 |
| No.8 | Tevita TATAFU | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 183 | 124 | 1996/01/02 | 12 |
| No.8 | Kazuki HIMENO | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 187 | 108 | 1994/07/27 | 22 |
| No.8 | Faulua MAKISI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | 187 | 112 | 1997/01/20 | 4 |
| SH | Kaito SHIGENO | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | 170 | 77 | 1990/11/21 | 16 |
| SH | Naoto SAITO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 165 | 73 | 1997/08/26 | 8 |
| SH | Yutaka NAGARE | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 166 | 75 | 1992/09/04 | 27 |
| SO | Hayata NAKAO | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | 176 | 86 | 1995/01/20 | 0 |
| SO | Takuya YAMASAWA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 176 | 84 | 1994/09/21 | 4 |
| SO | Seungsin LEE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 176 | 85 | 2001/01/13 | 3 |
| CTB | Yusuke KAJIMURA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | 181 | 95 | 1995/09/13 | 2 |
| CTB | Shane GATES | URAYASU D-Rocks | 183 | 95 | 1992/09/27 | 4 |
| CTB | Shogo NAKANO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 186 | 98 | 1997/06/11 | 5 |
| CTB | Ryoto NAKAMURA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 182 | 92 | 1991/06/03 | 30 |
| CTB | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 187 | 102 | 1997/05/02 | 7 |
| WTB | Gerhard Van Den HEEVER | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | 192 | 102 | 1989/04/13 | 3 |
| WTB | Siosaia FIFITA | HANAZONO KINTETSU LINERS | 187 | 105 | 1998/12/20 | 9 |
| WTB | Koga NEZUKA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | 173 | 82 | 1998/09/15 | 1 |
| WTB | Kotaro MATSUSHIMA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 178 | 87 | 1993/02/26 | 44 |
| FB | Ryuji NOGUCHI | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | 177 | 83 | 1995/07/15 | 14 |
| FB | Taira MAIN | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | 178 | 89 | 2000/09/05 | 1 |
| FB | Ryohei YAMANAKA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | 188 | 98 | 1988/06/22 | 24 |