Brave Blossoms Side Set for USA Clash
Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones has named his side to take on the USA in their second Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Pool B match at Heart Health Park in Sacramento, California this Saturday, September 6. With an 18:05 late-afternoon kick off, fans back in Japan can enjoy watching the match on Sunday morning with a civilised 10:05 kick-off Japan time.
The Brave Blossoms come into the match having defeated Canada 57-15 in their opening round clash last weekend at home in Sendai. Jones will be looking for his side to make a faster start following their disjointed first half display against the Canadians. While their second half was near flawless, the Brave Blossoms’ first 40 was characterised by a faltering lineout, ill-discipline and an inability to make passes stick at key moments in attack.
The USA come into the match having succumbed to Canada 34-20 on the opening weekend of the tournament away in Calgary. Playing this weekend in front of their home fans ahead of hosting the finals series, they will be desperate to put in a strong performance to avoid finishing their tournament on the first weekend of the Finals Series by competing in the Fifth Place Payoff.
Meanwhile in Pool A, reigning Champions Fiji will take on Samoa this Saturday in Rotorua, New Zealand. This comes off the back of their 32-10 win over Tonga last weekend, at home in Suva. Like Japan, Fiji sit comfortably atop their pool with Tonga having defeated Samoa 30-16 in the opening weekend at home in Nuku’alofa.
Captained once again by lock Warner Dearns, Jones has stuck closely to his matchday 23 from the Canada match, with just two new players coming into the side. The uncapped pair of flanker Akito Okui and winger Haruto Kida have been named on the bench, with both players in line to earn their first Brave Blossoms caps.
The other changes see a straight bench swap at tight head with Kenta Kobayashi moving into the starting side, while Sena Kimura starts from the pine. There is also a straight swap at halfback with Kenta Fukuda set to start, while Shinobu Fujiwara moves to the bench. The other change sees Tomoki Osada move from the reserves bench to start this week on the left wing.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of taking our campaign forward against the USA in Sacramento. The ground is unusual in that it’s in a county fair showground. The crowd will be nice and close so it will be a robust atmosphere,” commented Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones.
“The players have settled in well. The heat is very evident, but it will be the same for both teams. We’re looking forward to taking on the physical contest against the USA. In my experience, they always fancy themselves against Japan, thinking they can physically bully us. But that won’t be the case on Saturday.”
The match against the USA will be broadcast live in Japan on J Sports 2 from 09:45 JST on Sunday, September 7 and streamed live and via catch-up on J Sports On-Demand.
Following the match, the group will remain in the USA for the Finals Series beginning on Sunday, September 14. The first weekend comprises the Fifth Place Playoff and Semi-Finals and will take place in Denver, Colorado. The remaining four teams will then battle it out on Saturday, September 20 in the Third Place Playoff and Final in Salt Lake City, Utah.
| No. | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Height cm | Weight kg | DOB | Cap |
| 1 | Kenta KOBAYASHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 181 | 113 | 1999/6/2 | 1 |
| 2 | Hayate ERA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Teikyo Univ. | 172 | 106 | 2001/9/18 | 2 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | 九州共立大学 Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/9 | 16 |
| 4 | Waisake RARATUBUA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Tokai Univ. | 193 | 120 | 1998/3/17 | 3 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. KASHIWA HS. | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 24 |
| 6 | Ben GUNTER | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Brisbane Boys’ College | 195 | 120 | 1997/10/24 | 12 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 15 |
| 8 | Amato FAKATAVA | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Daito Bunka Univ. | 195 | 118 | 1994/12/7 | 15 |
| 9 | Kenta FUKUDA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Meiji Univ. | 173 | 83 | 1996/12/19 | 2 |
| 10 | Seungsin LEE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Osaka Korean HS. | 176 | 86 | 2001/1/13 | 21 |
| 11 | Tomoki OSADA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 179 | 90 | 1999/11/25 | 18 |
| 12 | Charlie LAWRENCE | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Hamilton Boys’HS. | 170 | 89 | 1998/5/27 | 1 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Bond Univ. | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 31 |
| 14 | Kippei ISHIDA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Meiji Univ. | 167 | 75 | 2000/4/28 | 3 |
| 15 | Sam GREENE | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Brisbane Grammar HS. | 178 | 85 | 1994/8/16 | 2 |
| 16 | Kenji SATO | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 177 | 108 | 2003/1/4 | 1 |
| 17 | Sena KIMURA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Tokai Univ. | 175 | 105 | 1999/6/24 | 2 |
| 18 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 180 | 108 | 2001/9/3 | 12 |
| 19 | Akito OKUI | TOYOTA VERBLITZ |
Teikyo Univ. | 178 | 105 | 2001/9/17 | 0 |
| 20 | Faulua MAKISI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 187 | 112 | 1997/1/20 | 17 |
| 21 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 171 | 76 | 1999/2/8 | 13 |
| 22 | Yuya HIROSE | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 182 | 94 | 2001/4/7 | 1 |
| 23 | Haruto KIDA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY |
Ritsumeikan Univ. | 176 | 90 | 1999/4/9 | 0 |
*(C) Captain
Brave Blossoms 2025 Match Schedule
Saturday 30 August
Japan vs Canada
57-15 (W)
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (Pool B)
Yurtec Stadium, Sendai
Saturday 6 September
USA vs Japan
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (Pool B)
Heart Health Park, Sacramento
Saturday 25 October
Japan vs Australia
Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025
National Stadium, Tokyo
Saturday 1 November
Japan vs South Africa
Lipovitan D Tour 2025
London
Saturday 8 November
Ireland vs Japan
Autumn Nations Series
Dublin
Saturday 15 November
Wales vs Japan
Autumn Nations Series
Cardiff
Saturday 22 November
Georgia vs Japan
Venue TBC