Japan names strong team for Canada test

 

Shota Horie, Fumiaki Tanaka and Male Sa’u all return to the starting XV following stints with their respective Super Rugby sides while Luke Thompson and Justin Ives are promoted off the bench.

 

 

Horie will pack down between Masataka Mikami and Kensuke Hatakeyama in the front row with Thompson joining Japan’s most capped player, Hitoshi Ono, in the second row.

 

 

Ives returns to the back row and will line up alongside captain Michael Leitch and Ryu Koliniasi Holani.

 

 

Tanaka – who makes his first appearance of the year in a Japan jersey having missed the Asian 5 Nations – partners Harumichi Tatekawa at halfback, with Sa’u joining Yu Tamura in the centres, after the injured Kotaro Matsushima was forced to return home.

 

 

The back three remains the same with Akihito Yamada and Yoshikazu Fujita on the wings and Ayumu Goromaru at fullback.

 

 

The reserve bench once again sees head coach Eddie Jones employ a 6:2 forwards, backs split.

 

 

Hisateru Hirashima, Takeshi Kizu and Hiroshi Yamashita cover the front row, Shoji Ito and Shinya Makabe the second row and Hendrik Tui the back row.

 

 

Atsushi Hiwasa is the reserve scrumhalf while former captain Toshiaki Hirose will cover the rest of the backs.

 

 

The game is Japan’s first in the newly formatted IRB Pacific Nations Cup, which sees the Brave Blossoms grouped with Canada and the United States.