Brave Blossoms Announced for PNC Semi-Final Against Tonga
Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones has named his side to take on Tonga in their Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Semi Final on Sunday, September 14 at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver, Colorado. Having topped Pool B, Japan face Tonga who finished second in Pool A behind a Fijian side who will take on Canada in the other Semi-Final. Kicking off at 15:35 local time, the match will play from 06:35 Japan time on Monday morning, September 15.
The Brave Blossoms come into the match in solid form having defeated Canada 57-15 in their opening round clash at home in Sendai and their 21-47 win over the USA last weekend in Sacramento, California. This weekend’s match will present a different challenge for Japan with a physically imposing Tongan side likely to run hard and straight in attack, while always looking to land their trademark heavy shots in defence.
Captained by lock Warner Dearns, the most notable change in Jones’ matchday 23 is the selection of a rare 6-2 forwards-to-backs split on the bench. This sees the inclusion of backrower Tiennen Costley who moves onto the bench after sitting out the USA game, while lock Jack Cornelsen moves into the starting side for his first game in this year’s PNC.
Commenting on the team selection, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“We’ve had good preparation in Denver, lightening the load a little bit earlier in the week as it’s our third game in a row and because of travel. Physically we feel like we’re in a good position. Looking at the Tongan side, it’s one of their most experienced I’ve seen. They’ve had great preparation with four weeks prep going into the PNC and an extra week in Denver. We know it’s going to be a very tough game and a great Semi Final for our boys to play in.
“We’ve been lucky to have fair consistency in our selection, and there are a number of players who are unlucky not to be selected. The squad is very competitive and that’s been shown by the quality of training over the last couple of days.”
Commenting on the 6-2 bench split, Jones added:
“The game is being played at altitude so the work rate for the forwards will be high. Having six forwards on the bench will help us play a really good 80 minutes. The way rugby is played at the moment, whilst the media looks at the starting players closely, we look at the finishing players just as closely. Players who are able to come on at the end of the game and adapt to the situation.”
The match against Tonga will be broadcast live in Japan on J Sports 1 from 06:15 JST on Monday, September 15 and streamed live and via catch-up on J Sports On-Demand. Should Japan win on Sunday, they will move into the Final, while a loss will confine them to the Third Place Playoff. Both matches take place on Saturday, September 20 at America First Field in Salt Lake City, Utah.
| No. | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Height cm | Weight kg | DOB | Cap |
| 1 | Sena KIMURA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Tokai Univ. | 175 | 105 | 1999/6/24 | 3 |
| 2 | Hayate ERA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Teikyo Univ. | 172 | 106 | 2001/9/18 | 3 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/9 | 17 |
| 4 | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Univ. of Queensland | 195 | 110 | 1994/10/13 | 22 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS (C) | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. KASHIWA HS. | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 25 |
| 6 | Ben GUNTER | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Brisbane Boys’ College | 195 | 120 | 1997/10/24 | 13 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 16 |
| 8 | Amato FAKATAVA | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Daito Bunka Univ. | 195 | 118 | 1994/12/7 | 16 |
| 9 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 171 | 76 | 1999/2/8 | 14 |
| 10 | Seungsin LEE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Osaka Korean HS. | 176 | 86 | 2001/1/13 | 22 |
| 11 | Tomoki OSADA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 179 | 90 | 1999/11/25 | 19 |
| 12 | Charlie LAWRENCE | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Hamilton Boys’HS. | 170 | 89 | 1998/5/27 | 2 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Bond Univ. | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 32 |
| 14 | Kippei ISHIDA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Meiji Univ. | 167 | 75 | 2000/4/28 | 4 |
| 15 | Sam GREENE | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Brisbane Grammar HS. | 178 | 85 | 1994/8/16 | 3 |
| 16 | Kenji SATO | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 177 | 108 | 2003/1/4 | 2 |
| 17 | Kenta KOBAYASHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 181 | 113 | 1999/6/2 | 2 |
| 18 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 180 | 108 | 2001/9/3 | 13 |
| 19 | Waisake RARATUBUA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Tokai Univ. | 193 | 120 | 1998/3/17 | 4 |
| 20 | Tiennan COSTLEY | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | International Pacific Univ. | 192 | 102 | 2000/6/14 | 7 |
| 21 | Faulua MAKISI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 187 | 112 | 1997/1/20 | 18 |
| 22 | Kenta FUKUDA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Meiji Univ. | 173 | 83 | 1996/12/19 | 3 |
| 23 | Yuya HIROSE | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 182 | 94 | 2001/4/7 | 2 |
*(C) Captain
Brave Blossoms PNC 2025
Saturday 30 August
Japan vs Canada
57-15 (W)
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (Pool B)
Yurtec Stadium, Sendai
Saturday 6 September
USA vs Japan
21-47 (W)
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (Pool B)
Heart Health Park, Sacramento
Sunday 14 September
Japan vs Tonga
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Semi-Final
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Denver
Sunday 21 September
Japan vs TBC
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Final Round (TBC)
America First Field, Salt Lake City
Brave Blossoms 2025 Match Schedule
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