Japan U20 Team Named to Face Spain in 13th Place Playoff
The JRFU is happy to announce the Japan U20 side to face Spain in their 13th place playoff match at the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championships in Georgia this Friday, July 17. Kicking off at 20:30 local time in Kutaisi, the match will play on Saturday morning at 01:30 Japan time.
The match will be Japan’s fifth and final fixture of the tournament and caps off a gruelling schedule in which every team gets just four days rest between each match.
Japan come into the match off the back of their 71-21 win over the USA last Sunday in their 13th Place Semi Final. They will face Spain who dispatched of Uruguay 57-6 in the other semi as both sides aim to finish as high as possible in the 16-team competition.
Head Coach Naoya Okubo has made several changes to his matchday-23 as he looks to manage his squad, while also picking the best possible side available to him ahead of Japan’s final match.
Commenting ahead of the match, Japan U20 Head Coach Naoya Okubo said:
“Since the very start of the tournament, I’ve witnessed the progress made by both the team, as well as each individual player. For this last match, we want to come together as a team and give it our all to secure victory.
“Spain have strong forwards and are a dangerous side if you allow them to build momentum. We will need to fight hard in the forward battles, particularly during the set piece and at the breakdown.”
Fans in Japan looking to catch the match live can tune in to J Sports Three from 01:20 JST on Saturday, July 18 or stream the match live or watch via catch-up through J Sports On-Demand.
Running from June 27 to July 19, the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championships brings together the world’s best U20 national teams to fight it out for the right to be crowned 2026 Junior World Champions.
| No. | Name | Club Team | Height (cm) | Weight(kg) | DOB |
| 1 | Songha RI | Doshisha Univ. | 178 | 103 | 2006/2/28 |
| 2 | Sota MIURA | Teikyo Univ. | 177 | 102 | 2006/10/2 |
| 3 | Haruto SASAKI | Meiji Univ. | 176 | 111 | 2006/5/2 |
| 4 | Kotaro KUMAGAE | Meiji Univ. | 196 | 105 | 2006/10/30 |
| 5 | Masato HYAKUTAKE | Meiji Univ. | 187 | 108 | 2006/4/24 |
| 6 | Riku FUJIKUBO | Teikyo Univ. | 181 | 100 | 2006/7/17 |
| 7 | Yuta OTABE | Chuo Univ. | 176 | 88 | 2008/4/1 |
| 8 | Akihiro TSUBONE (C) | Teikyo Univ. | 185 | 105 | 2006/3/14 |
| 9 | Keigo SATO | Chuo Univ. | 169 | 68 | 2008/2/24 |
| 10 | Takeru NIWA | Doshisha Univ. | 172 | 75 | 2006/10/1 |
| 11 | Isa FUKADA | Tsukuba Univ. | 172 | 80 | 2006/12/12 |
| 12 | Tsunehidemichi FUKUDA | Teikyo Univ. | 171 | 76 | 2007/5/17 |
| 13 | Rio IWAKURA | Yamanashi Gakuin Univ. | 177 | 90 | 2006/8/5 |
| 14 | Shinnosuke UCHIDA | Tsukuba Univ. | 167 | 73 | 2006/7/6 |
| 15 | Ryuto KOGA | Meiji Univ. | 184 | 86 | 2006/7/17 |
| 16 | Koshi TSUMURA | Teikyo Univ. | 176 | 96 | 2007/6/20 |
| 17 | Keigo ARUGA | Teikyo Univ. | 171 | 102 | 2006/7/18 |
| 18 | Keitatsu MOTOYAMA | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | 188 | 113 | 2006/12/26 |
| 19 | Taiga YAMAZAKI | Keio Univ. | 189 | 103 | 2006/10/5 |
| 20 | Masato YANASE | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | 184 | 102 | 2006/6/28 |
| 21 | Kohaku SUDA | Hosei Univ. | 172 | 78 | 2007/12/14 |
| 22 | Yuki KOBAYASHI | Keio Univ. | 168 | 75 | 2007/2/19 |
| 23 | Gentaro SAKATA | Kindai Univ. | 172 | 72 | 2008/1/23 |
(C) Captain