JAPAN XV: Japan pick young side for Gloucester game

GLOUCESTER (Nov. 11) – Japan stand-in head coach Scott Wisemantel named the team Monday that will take on English Premiership side Gloucester at Kingsholm on Tuesday evening.

Wisemantel has made 14 changes from the side that lost 42-17 to Scotland at the weekend, as he looks to give the younger members of the squad some experience.

Takashi Kikutani, Japan’s skipper at Rugby World Cup 2011, leads a side that contains five uncapped players in the match-day 23.

Kikutani lines up at No. 8 with youngster Kyosuke Horie and Justin Ives in the back row.

“We want to play an aggressive and lively game and beat Gloucester, who are a Premiership powerhouse,” said Kikutani.

Lock Shinya Makabe is the only player who remains from Saturday’s starting XV. The 26 year old pairs up with Shoji Ito in the engine room with Yusuke Nagae, Yusuke Aoki and Hiroshi Yamashita in the front row.

In the backs, Atsushi Hiwasa and Yu Tamura, who both came off the bench at Murrayfield, pair up at halfback with Yasuki Hayashi and Seiichi Shimoura in the centres.

Yuta Imamura and Akihito Yamada are picked on the wings with Yoshikazu Fujita at fullback.

Wings Kotaro Matsushima and So Kilryong are both named on the bench after arriving in the U.K. at the weekend.

The other replacements are Shota Horie, Hisateru Hirashima and Takuma Asahara for the front row, Hitoshi Ono and Michael Broadhurst for lock and the back row and Kosei Ono, who will cover scrumhalf and flyhalf.