Brave Blossoms Side Named to Face Canada in Niigata
Head Coach Eddie Jones has named his Brave Blossoms side to take on Canada this Saturday, September 5 in their Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2026 match at Denka Big Swan Stadium in Niigata. Kicking off at 14:50 Japan time, the match will be the 34th meeting between the two nations and sees the return of the Brave Blossoms to Niigata City for the first time in 18 years.
Japan and Canada share a long history dating back to their first meeting in Vancouver in 1930. The Brave Blossoms currently hold bragging rights with 19 wins, 10 losses and 4 draws across their 33 matches to date. Interestingly, two of their drawn matches took place during their two Rugby World Cup meetings in 2007 in France, and 2011 in New Zealand. When they last met in Sendai in 2025, Japan ran out comfortable winners, 57-15.
Keen to rotate his squad, Jones has opted to make several key changes to his matchday 23 from the team that faced Australia three weeks ago in Townsville. Captain Warner Dearns will get a well-earned rest as he watches the match from the stands, with scrumhalf Naoto Saito named as Captain.
Dearns is one of five changes to the starting side that sees Jack Cornelsen move from the bench into the second row, with Michael Stolberg coming into the side for his 4th cap as the replacement lock. The effervescent Kanji Shimokawa also returns to the starting side at openside flanker, with the versatile Tiennan Costley moving to the bench.
Japan will also use the opportunity to blood two new players with Kobe Steeler’s try scoring machine Inoke Burua earning his first start on the wing following an outstanding season in which he scored 15 tries for the 2026 League One Champions. He is joined by tighthead prop Takumi Inaba from the Shizuoka BlueRevs who is set to earn his first cap from the reserves bench.
Meanwhile Esei Haangana earns the opportunity to add to his sole test cap after being named as a reserve backrow forward alongside utility backrower Tiennan Costley who also provides cover to Japan’s backline. The 27-year-old, 120kg Haangana will be looking to establish himself in the national team set up by bringing his significant physical presence alongside the impressive form he showed throughout League One.
Commenting ahead of the match, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“We’re really working on developing cohesion in the team. Rugby is a huge cohesion game and the more our best players play together, learn how to fight together, the better it is. We’re pleased with the selection for this game. Canada is one of those teams that never goes away, they’ve got a proud history in international rugby, and they have a good record against Japan. We want to put on a good show in Niigata on Saturday and make sure that every fan who comes really enjoys the game.”
Famous for the quality of its rice harvest and known internationally as a world-class winter sports destination, Niigata sits some 320 kilometres north of Tokyo, on the west coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu. Having last watched Japan take on Hong Kong in the 2008 Asia Five Nations tournament, local rugby fans will be delighted to see the Brave Blossoms turn out once again in their town after such a long break.
Fans
looking to catch the action live at the stadium can pick up tickets via
the JRFU’s English-language ticketing website at: https://quick.pia.jp/japan-rugby_en/.
The match will be broadcast live in Japan from 14:30 on Nippon
TV and J Sports One from 14:20. It will be streamed live and available via
catch-up on Hulu from 14:30 and J SPORTS On Demand from 14:20.