Brave Blossoms to Face Fiji in Historic Centenary Double Header
Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones has named his Brave Blossoms side to take on Fiji this Saturday, October 24, in the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2026 at Tokyo’s Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground. Kicking off at 14:50 JST, the match forms part of an historic double header celebrating the Japan Rugby Football Union’s 100th anniversary, with the Sakura Fifteen taking on Wales later in the evening with an 18:30 JST kick off. To mark the occasion, both the Japan teams will wear a special commemorative jersey celebrating the centenary of the JRFU.
Saturday’s match sees the Brave Blossoms and Fiji renew their rivalry just five weeks after Japan’s 20-15 victory at the same venue to claim the Asahi Super Dry 2026 Pacific Nations Cup title. Having met in the last three PNC Finals, the teams know each other very well, and the Flying Fijians will no doubt be determined to avenge the September result.
The return of Warner Dearns sees the towering lock named as Co-Captain alongside halfback Naoto Saito. Dearns partners Jack Cornelsen in the second row, while Ben Gunter, Kanji Shimokawa and Faulua Makisi continue their combination in the back row. Up front, Yota Kamimori and Keijiro Tamefusa start at prop, with Mamoru Harada continuing at hooker.
In the backs, Saito again partners young gun flyhalf Ryunosuke Ito, with Charlie Lawrence and Samisoni Tua combining in midfield. Inoke Burua moves to the left wing, with Kazuma Ueda starting on the right and Takuro Matsunaga named at fullback.
The reserves see three uncapped players in Sanshiro Kihara, Ruan Botha and Chisu Lee. Their selection provides an opportunity for them to step up to the international stage as Jones continues to develop his squad ahead of Japan’s November Nations Championship matches against Wales, England and Scotland.
Kenji Sato and Sojiro Otsuka provide additional front-row cover, with Michael Stolberg and Esei Haangana completing the forward replacements. Shinobu Fujiwara provides cover as the replacement halfback.
The match will be broadcast live across Japan on Nippon TV from 14:30 and J SPORTS 1 from 14:10. It will also be streamed live and available for catchup on Hulu and J SPORTS On Demand
Fans looking to catch the double-header action live can still pick up the last remaining tickets 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 | Yota KAMIMORI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Kindai Univ. | 172 | 105 | 1999/4/26 | 2 |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS MUSASHI | Keio Univ. | 175 | 101 | 1999/4/15 | 19 |
| 3 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 180 | 108 | 2001/9/3 | 24 |
| 4 | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Univ. of Queensland | 195 | 110 | 1994/10/13 | 37 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS (CC) | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS MUSASHI | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. KASHIWA HS. | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 37 |
| 6 | Ben GUNTER | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Brisbane Boys’ College | 195 | 120 | 1997/10/24 | 25 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 29 |
| 8 | Faulua MAKISI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 187 | 112 | 1997/1/20 | 28 |
| 9 | Naoto SAITO (CC) | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 165 | 73 | 1997/8/26 | 36 |
| 10 | Ryunosuke ITO | Meiji Univ. | Kokugakuin Univ. Tochigi HS. | 172 | 77 | 2004/11/20 | 8 |
| 11 | Inoke BURUA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. | 178 | 100 | 1999/5/30 | 3 |
| 12 | Charlie LAWRENCE | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Hamilton Boys’HS. | 170 | 89 | 1998/5/27 | 9 |
| 13 | Samisoni TUA | URAYASU D-Rocks | Setsunan Univ. | 182 | 108 | 1995/5/24 | 8 |
| 14 | Kazuma UEDA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Kindai Univ. | 177 | 87 | 2002/12/4 | 8 |
| 15 | Takuro MATSUNAGA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS MUSASHI | Tenri Univ. | 172 | 82 | 1998/8/13 | 11 |
| 16 | Kenji SATO | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 177 | 108 | 2003/1/4 | 12 |
| 17 | Sojiro OTSUKA | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | Kwansei Gakuin Senior HS. | 178 | 110 | 2004/7/5 | 8 |
| 18 | Sanshiro KIHARA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Senshu Univ. | 181 | 108 | 2003/1/20 | 0 |
| 19 | Ruan BOTHA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Jeugland HS. | 205 | 120 | 1992/1/10 | 0 |
| 20 | Michael STOLBERG | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS MUSASHI | Anglican Church Grammar School | 202 | 116 | 1992/3/27 | 6 |
| 21 | Esei HAANGANA | URAYASU D-Rocks | St. Paul Catholic H.S. | 198 | 120 | 1999/4/21 | 4 |
| 22 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 171 | 76 | 1999/2/8 | 21 |
| 23 | Chisu LEE | Korea Univ. | Osaka Chosen HS. | 180 | 82 | 2004/11/6 | 0 |
(CC) Co-Captain