JAPAN XV Team Announced to Take on Māori All Blacks
The JRFU have announced the JAPAN XV side to take on the Māori All Blacks this Saturday, June 28 at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in their Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 match.
Kicking off at 18:00 JST, this non-capped fixture will be the JAPAN XV’s seventh match against the Māori, with Japan having tasted victory on just the one occasion – their most recent meeting last July where they won 26-14 in Toyota City.
The match will be the JAPAN XV’s fourth this year after having already faced New Zealand Universities twice, followed by a one-off match against Hong Kong China. While Japan posted solid victories in all three of these fixtures, the team will be under no illusion as to the step-up in competition when they take to the hallowed turf of Chichibunomiya this Saturday to face the mighty Māori All Blacks.
With last month’s fixture against Hong Kong China designated as a practice match, the JAPAN XV team that day saw a significant rotation of players into the matchday 23 from the sides that faced New Zealand Universities two weeks earlier. The JAPAN XV coaching team have opted for a similar approach this weekend with only seven players retained from the Hong Kong China match set to line up against the Māori All Blacks.
The JAPAN XV will be captained by the 13 test-cap backrow dynamo, Kanji Shimokawa on the openside flank. He will be assisted in his captaining duties by starting halfback, Kenta Fukuda as Vice-Captain.
While Japan will field a physically imposing starting forward pack, in contrast, the backline will be relatively light. The exception will be the inclusion of hard-running, 15 test-cap Siosaia Fifita who will add his 105kg of physical presence at outside centre, while the similarly built Halatoa Vailea will start from the bench as a utility back.
The match will be streamed live from 17:30 JST via J Sports 1 and available via catch-up on J Sports On-Demand. It will also be broadcast from 18:00 live on BS NTV and via live streaming on Hulu.
JAPAN XV Team List:
| No | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Height cm | Weight kg | DOB |
| 1 | Kenta KOBAYASHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 181 | 113 | 1999/6/2 |
| 2 | Hayate ERA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Teikyo Univ. | 172 | 106 | 2001/9/18 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | ― | Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/9 |
| 4 | Epineri ULUIVITI | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Ratu Kadavulevu School | 196 | 122 | 1996/7/7 |
| 5 | Waisake RARATUBUA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Tokai Univ. | 193 | 120 | 1998/3/17 |
| 6 | VUETI TUPOU | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs |
Setsunan Univ. | 190 | 121 | 2000/4/2 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA (C) | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 |
| 8 | Keito AOKI | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Teikyo Univ. | 187 | 110 | 2002/6/14 |
| 9 | Kenta FUKUDA (VC) | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Meiji Univ. | 173 | 83 | 1996/12/19 |
| 10 | Sam GREENE | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Brisbane Grammar HS. | 178 | 85 | 1994/8/16 |
| 11 | Kazuma UEDA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Kindai Univ. | 177 | 87 | 2002/12/4 |
| 12 | Charlie LAWRENCE | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | Hamilton Boys’HS. | 171 | 90 | 1998/5/27 |
| 13 | Siosaia FIFITA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Tenri Univ. | 187 | 105 | 1998/12/20 |
| 14 | Taira MAIN | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Gose Industrial HS. | 178 | 90 | 2000/9/5 |
| 15 | Jingo TAKENOSHITA | Meiji Univ. | Hotoku Gakuen HS. | 180 | 86 | 2004/6/11 |
| 16 | Kenji SATO | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 177 | 108 | 2003/1/4 |
| 17 | Sena KIMURA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Tokai Univ. | 175 | 105 | 1999/6/24 |
| 18 | Sanshiro KIHARA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Senshu Univ. | 181 | 108 | 2003/1/20 |
| 19 | Shu YAMAMOTO | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Kindai Univ. | 190 | 96 | 1999/6/1 |
| 20 | Taishiro KIDO | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Meiji Univ. | 186 | 103 | 2002/7/26 |
| 21 | Shuntaro KITAMURA | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Ritsumeiken Univ. | 168 | 77 | 2002/3/28 |
| 22 | Ichigo NAKAKUSU | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Keio Univ. | 174 | 84 | 2000/6/1 |
| 23 | Halatoa VAILEA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | 185 | 104 | 1999/2/14 |
(VC) Vice Captain
Japan XV vs Māori All Blacks (non-test matches)
5 matches, 1 win, 4 losses
6 July 2024: 26-14 (W) Toyota City
29 June 2024: 36-10 (L) Tokyo
8 November 2014: 18-20 (L) Tokyo
1 November 2014: 21-61 (L) Hyogo
28 June 2008: 65-22 (L) Napier, New Zealand)