JAPAN XV Team to Face Hong Kong China
The JRFU have announced the JAPAN XV side to take on Hong Kong China in their non-capped training match on Saturday, May 31 at Beppu Municipal Jissoji Ground in Beppu City. The match is a direct result of the MOU signed between the Japan Rugby Football Union and Hong Kong China Rugby back in March.
Kicking off at 15:30 JST, the match is the third fixture in as many weeks for the JAPAN XV following their two-match series against New Zealand Universities. The Japan XV will be looking to continue the strong form which saw them defeat NZU 78-28 in their opening fixture and 30-21 in the return leg.
With the match against Hong Kong China classified as a training match, the JAPAN XV coaching team have opted to rotate a number of players into the side with 11 new members coming into the matchday 23 from the side that last faced NZU.
The match will be streamed live from 15:20 JST and available via catch-up on J Sports On-Demand. A delayed broadcast will also be shown on J Sports 1 from 21:00 JST on Tuesday, 3 June.
JAPAN XV Team List:
| No | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Height cm | Weight kg | DOB |
| 1 | Taishi TSUMURA | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Teikyo Univ. | 173 | 108 | 2001/4/30 |
| 2 | Shoma SAGAWA | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Nihon Univ. | 180 | 103 | 2002/1/20 |
| 3 | Sanshiro KIHARA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Senshu Univ. | 181 | 108 | 2003/1/20 |
| 4 | Epineri ULUIVITI | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Ratu Kadavulevu School | 196 | 122 | 1996/7/7 |
| 5 | Shu YAMAMOTO | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Kindai Univ. | 190 | 96 | 1999/6/1 |
| 6 | Keito AOKI | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Teikyo Univ. | 187 | 110 | 2002/6/14 |
| 7 | Akito OKUI | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Teikyo Univ. | 178 | 105 | 2001/9/17 |
| 8 | Kyo YOSHIDA (VC) | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Teikyo Univ. | 188 | 108 | 1995/6/30 |
| 9 |
Asahi DOEI | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Kyoto Sangyo Univ. | 170 | 73 | 2003/1/9 |
| 10 | Ichigo NAKAKUSU (C) | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Keio Univ. | 174 | 84 | 2000/6/1 |
| 11 | Tomu TAKAMOTO | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Teikyo Univ. | 182 | 92 | 2001/10/10 |
| 12 | Charlie LAWRENCE | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Hamilton Boys’HS. | 171 | 90 | 1998/5/27 |
| 13 | PJ LATU | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Daito Bunka Univ. | 188 | 105 | 2000/10/24 |
| 14 | Taira MAIN | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Gose Industrial HS. | 178 | 90 | 2000/9/5 |
| 15 | Kotaro ITO | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Meiji Univ. | 177 | 86 | 2001/11/15 |
| 16 | Shodai HIRAO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | 174 | 103 | 2002/10/11 |
| 17 | yuji CHAE | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Kindai Univ. | 175 | 105 | 2003/2/9 |
| 18 | Shohei OYAMA | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Keio Univ. | 186 | 115 | 1998/11/15 |
| 19 | Rikuto NAKAYA | Doshisha Univ. | Osaka Toin HS. | 180 | 102 | 2005/4/15 |
| 20 | Masato FURUKAWA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Ritsumeikan Univ. | 179 | 94 | 1996/12/6 |
| 21 | Sena HOSOYA | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Waseda Univ. | 162 | 63 | 2003/3/16 |
| 22 | Shinya KOMURA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Teikyo Univ. | 180 | 92 | 2002/5/28 |
| 23 | Masayoshi TAKEZAWA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Nihon Univ. | 176 | 86 | 1995/5/5 |
(C) Captain
(VC) Vice Captain