Japan team for RWC opener announced

BRIGHTON, England (Sept. 17) – Japan coach Eddie Jones has named his 23-man squad to take on South Africa on Saturday in the opening game of Pool B at the Rugby World Cup.

Michael Leitch will lead the side against the two-time world champions in the first ever test between the two sides.

“He is a terrific guy and a bloody good player,” Jones said of his captain. “He is one of our most important ball carriers, is captain of the team and carries a lot of weight,”

Leitch lines up in the back row along with Michael Broadhurst and Hendrik Tui with the veteran pair of Luke Thompson and Hitoshi Ono in the second row.

The front row sees props Masataka Mikami and Kensuke Hatakeyama packing down either side of Shota Horie.

“The central piece to any game is the set piece and it’s an area of the game we must compete in,” Jones said.

In the backs, Fumiaki Tanaka lines up with Kosei Ono at halfback with Male Sa’u and Craig Wing in the centres.

Kotaro Matsushima and Akihito Yamada are named on the wings with Ayumu Goromaru at fullback.

“It’s no secret we want to play with ball in hand and we want to run them around,” Jones said.

The bench sees Takeshi Kizu, Keita Inagaki and Hiroshi Yamashita as the back-up front row. Shinya Makabe and Amanaki Lelei Mafi provide a powerful option in the second and back row, while Atsushi Hiwasa, Harumichi Tatekawa and Karne Hesketh are the reserve backs.

“It’s a real David versus Goliath game,” Jones said. “South Africa have the greatest winning record in World Cup history. They are a massive physical team with plenty of experience. Japan have the least winning record in the World Cup and have the smallest team. But it is a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to it.”

 

No

Name

Club Team

Graduate

cm

kg

D/O/B

Caps

1

Masataka MIKAMI

TOSHIBA Brave Lupus

Tokai Univ.

178 115 1988/6/4 29
2

Shota HORIE

PANASONIC Wild Knights

Teikyo Univ.

180 105 1986/1/21 38
3

Kensuke HATAKEYAMA

SUNTORY Sungoliath

Waseda Univ.

178 115 1985/8/2 68
4

Luke THOMPSON

KINTETSU Liners

Lincoln Univ.

196 108 1981/4/16 59
5 Hitoshi ONO TOSHIBA Brave Lupus Nihon Univ. 192 106 1978/5/6 94
6 *

Michael LEITCH

TOSHIBA Brave Lupus Tokai Univ. 190 105 1988/10/7 43
7

Michael BROADHURST

RICOH BlackRams

Campion College

196 111 1986/10/30 22
8

Hendrik TUI

SUNTORY Sungoliath

Teikyo Univ.

189 107 1987/12/13 32
9

Fumiaki TANAKA

PANASONIC Wild Knights

Kyoto Sangyo Univ.

166 71 1985/1/3 49
10

Kosei ONO

SUNTORY Sungoliath

Christchurch Boys HS

171 83 1987/4/17 29
11

Kotaro MATSUSHIMA

SUNTORY Sungoliath

Toin Gakuen HS

175 88 1993/2/26 12
12

Craig WING

KOBE STEEL Kobelco Steelers

Univ. of New South Wales

180 90 1979/12/26 10
13

Male SAU

YAMAHA Jubilo

Tangaroa College

183 97 1987/10/13 23
14

Akihito YAMADA

PANASONIC Wild Knights

Keio Univ.

181 90 1985/7/26 13
15

Ayumu GOROMARU

YAMAHA Jubilo

Waseda Univ.

185 99 1986/3/1 53
16

Takeshi KIZU

KOBE STEEL Kobelco Steelers

Tokai Univ.

183 114 1988/7/15 37
17

Keita INAGAKI

PANASONIC Wild Knights

Kanto Gakuin Univ.

183 115 1990/6/2 6
18

Hiroshi YAMASHITA

KOBE STEEL Kobelco Steelers

Kyoto Sangyo Univ.

183 122 1986/1/1 45
19

Shinya MAKABE

SUNTORY Sungoliath

Chuo Univ.

192 118 1987/3/26 31
20

Amanaki Lelei MAFI

NTT COMMUNICATIONS Shining Arcs

Hanazono Univ.

189 112 1990/1/11 3
21 Atsushi HIWASA SUNTORY Sungoliath Hosei Univ. 166 72 1987/5/22 47
22

Harumichi TATEKAWA

KUBOTA Spears

Tenri Univ.

181 94 1989/12/2 39
23

Karne HESKETH

Munakata SANIX Blues

Univ. of Otago

178 98 1985/8/1 10

 *Captain

 

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