Brave Blossoms Named to Face Wallabies in Tokyo
Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones has named his side to take on Australia in their Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 test match at Tokyo’s National Stadium this Saturday, October 25. Kicking off at 14:50 local time, the match comes 50 years since the first meeting between the two sides at the Sydney Cricket Ground back in August 1975.
Australia won that match 37 – 7 and since then has remained unbeaten against Japan. The closest margin between the two teams was during their last meeting in Oita back in 2021. In a tightly contested match, where Japan challenged the Aussies throughout, the hosts fell short 23-32 at the final whistle.
In the proceeding four years, both sides have changed their squads dramatically, with just three Japanese players and four Australians lining up this weekend who featured in that Oita match.
Following their match in Tokyo, both teams will depart for Europe for their four-match Autumn tours. Looking ahead to their gruelling tour, Australia has opted to rest several players who featured heavily across the Lions Series and the Rugby Championship. The team sees 13 changes to the starting lineup that took to the field against New Zealand in Perth on October 4.
Japan on the other hand have picked what looks to be their strongest side and will no doubt be looking to make history on the weekend with their first ever victory over the Aussies. With both teams having shown solid improvement across 2025, Saturday promises a hugely exciting match, no matter the outcome.
Brave Blossoms fans will be delighted by the return of Japan’s talisman, Michael Leitch. Set to earn his 90th test cap, Leitch will bring welcome starch and experience to this young Brave Blossoms side. While Leitch has captained the side regularly over recent years, Jones has opted to stick with Warner Dearns as Captain following the inspirational leadership and form he showed across Japan’s Pacific Nations Cup campaign.
The other big selection news is the return of young-gun fullback, Yoshitaka Yazaki. The 21-year-old, who plays his rugby for Waseda University in Japan’s University Championship, played last weekend for the JAPAN XV against Australia A. A standout in a side that lost heavily to the second-string Australian fifteen, Yazaki scored Japan’s sole try with a piece of individual brilliance, showing Jones enough to prove himself ready to add to his five test caps.
Commenting on the team selection, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“We’ve had really good preparation, so we feel well prepared for the game. Australia is coming back as a growing power in world rugby, and I’ve admired the way they’ve played this year. But we’re looking forward to taking them on, playing a Japanese style of rugby in what should be a really good game at the National Stadium. We’ve got a great referee in Ben O’Keeffe who likes the game to be open and flowing, so we’ve prepared for a game like that. It’s a big task for us but we feel like were up for it and we’re ready to take them on.”
The match will be broadcast live on Saturday, October 25 on Japan Television (日本テレビ ) from 14:30 and on J Sports 1 from 14:20 and streamed live and via catch-up on Hulu from 14:30 and J Sports On-Demand from 14:20. All times are Japan Standard Time (JST).
Tickets for Japan vs Australia are still available via the JRFU’s English-language ticketing website at: https://quick.pia.jp/japan-rugby_en/
| No. | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Height cm | Weight kg | DOB | Cap |
| 1 | Kenta KOBAYASHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 181 | 113 | 1999/6/2 | 4 |
| 2 | Hayate ERA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Teikyo Univ. | 172 | 106 | 2001/9/18 | 5 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/9 | 19 |
| 4 | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Univ. of Queensland | 195 | 110 | 1994/10/13 | 24 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS (C) | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. KASHIWA HS. | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 27 |
| 6 | Ben GUNTER | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Brisbane Boys’ College | 195 | 120 | 1997/10/24 | 14 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 18 |
| 8 | Michael LEITCH | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Tokai Univ. | 189 | 113 | 1988/10/7 | 89 |
| 9 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 171 | 76 | 1999/2/8 | 16 |
| 10 | Seungsin LEE (VC) | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Osaka Korean HS. | 176 | 86 | 2001/1/13 | 24 |
| 11 | Tomoki OSADA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 179 | 90 | 1999/11/25 | 21 |
| 12 | Shogo NAKANO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 186 | 100 | 1997/6/11 | 10 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY (VC) | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Bond Univ. | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 33 |
| 14 | Kippei ISHIDA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Meiji Univ. | 167 | 75 | 2000/4/28 | 5 |
| 15 | Yoshitaka YAZAKI | Waseda Univ. | Toin Gakuen HS. | 180 | 86 | 2004/5/12 | 5 |
| 16 | Kenji SATO | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 177 | 108 | 2003/1/4 | 4 |
| 17 | Ryosuke IWAIHARA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Meiji Univ. | 184 | 115 | 1996/10/6 | 2 |
| 18 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 180 | 108 | 2001/9/3 | 15 |
| 19 | Tyler PAUL | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Nelson Mandela Univ. | 195 | 111 | 1995/1/20 | 0 |
| 20 | Tiennan COSTLEY | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | International Pacific Univ. | 192 | 102 | 2000/6/14 | 9 |
| 21 | Kenta FUKUDA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Meiji Univ. | 173 | 83 | 1996/12/19 | 5 |
| 22 | Charlie LAWRENCE | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Hamilton Boys’HS. | 170 | 89 | 1998/5/27 | 4 |
| 23 | Sam GREENE | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Brisbane Grammar HS. | 178 | 85 | 1994/8/16 | 4 |
*(C) Captain
Japan National Team Autumn Match Schedule
Saturday 18 OctoberJAPAN XV vs Australia A (Uncapped)
7-71(L)
Asahi Super Dry CHALLENGE MATCH 2025
YODOKO Sakura Stadium, Osaka
Friday 24 October
Hong Kong China vs JAPAN XV (Uncapped)
Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong
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
Tbilisi