Jones Names Brave Blossoms Side to Face Wales
Brave Blossoms Head Coach, Eddie Jones has named his side to take on Wales this
Saturday, July 5 in the first of their two-test, Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 series. Kicking off at 14:00 local time at Mikuni World Stadium in Kitakyushu, the fixture will be the Brave Blossom’s first test match of 2025.
Jones’ matchday 23 sees the much-anticipated return of the talismanic Michael Leitch as Captain. Having recently led the Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo to back-to-back Division One JRLO Championships, the 87-test cap veteran will play his first test for Japan in nearly 12 months, having last played against Italy back in July 2024.
Sticking to his mantra of ushering in Japan’s next generation of national team talent, Jones has selected eight uncapped players, alongside a further eight with just 10 caps or less. After Micheal Lietch, the next most capped player is 28-cap Dylan Riley at outside-centre.
With Wales being in a similar rebuilding phase and also expected to field a young and inexperienced side, the match is likely to be decided by who handles the hot and humid conditions the best. The weather on Saturday is expected to hit a high of 32 degrees, with more than 80% humidity.
Commenting on the team selection, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“I’m really pleased to name the team for this first test and delighted to name Leitch as Captain for the series. He’s the most experienced and influential player in Japan, and even in the short period we’ve been together, his presence has galvanized the team.
“There are eight new caps, which has come about due to a number of players being unavailable and the great performances of these young guys at training. We’re looking forward to playing against a Welsh side that’s in a similar situation to us in having a young team rebuilding. We know Kitakyushyu is going to offer difficult conditions for both teams and the team that handles the conditions best will win the game.”
Playing the match in Kitakyushu will be a homecoming of sorts for the Welsh. The rugby loving locals adopted the side as their second team during Rugby World Cup in 2019 when Wales held their pre-tournament camp in the city. The visitors were left stunned when a completely packed open training session saw the locals singing rousing renditions of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau or Land of Our Fathers, the Welsh National Anthem.
When asked by a member of the Japanese media about the potential for split loyalties among the fans and the effect this might have on the team, Jones commented: “We’re just concerned about ourselves. We’ve made sure that in the 20 days we’ve had the team together, that we’ve used every day to maximise our ability to take every opportunity against Wales. If the crowd sings the Welsh national anthem, I’m sure it’s going to make the pride in our players even stronger.”
The match will be broadcast live in Japan on NHK and via live streaming on NHK Plus. It will also be available live on J Sports 1 from 13:30 and streamed live and via catch-up on J Sports On-Demand.
| No. | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Heightcm | Weightkg | DOB | Cap |
| 1 | Yota KAMIMORI | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Kindai Univ. | 172 | 105 | 1999/4/26 | 0 |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA | ― | Keio Univ. | 175 | 101 | 1999/4/15 | 10 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | ― | Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/9 | 13 |
| 4 | Epineri ULUIVITI | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars | [FIJ]Ratu Kadavulevu School | 196 | 122 | 1996/7/7 | 6 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS | Hurricanes (NZ) | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. KASHIWA HS. | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 21 |
| 6 | Michael LEITCH (C) | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Tokai Univ. | 189 | 113 | 1988/10/7 | 87 |
| 7 | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Univ. of Queensland | 195 | 110 | 1994/10/13 | 20 |
| 8 | Amato FAKATAVA | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Daito Bunka Univ. | 195 | 118 | 1994/12/7 | 13 |
| 9 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 171 | 76 | 1999/2/8 | 10 |
| 10 | Seungsin LEE | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Osaka Korean HS. | 176 | 86 | 2001/1/13 | 18 |
| 11 | Malo TUITAMA | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Scots College. | 182 | 91 | 1996/3/23 | 7 |
| 12 | Shogo NAKANO | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 186 | 100 | 1997/6/11 | 7 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Bond Univ. | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 28 |
| 14 | Kippei ISHIDA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Meiji Univ. | 167 | 75 | 2000/4/28 | 0 |
| 15 | Takuro MATSUNAGA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Tenri Univ. | 172 | 82 | 1998/8/13 | 4 |
| 16 | Hayate ERA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Teikyo Univ. | 172 | 106 | 2001/9/18 | 0 |
| 17 | Sena KIMURA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Tokai Univ. | 175 | 105 | 1999/6/24 | 0 |
| 18 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Meiji Univ. | 180 | 108 | 2001/9/3 | 10 |
| 19 | Waisake RARATUBUA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Tokai Univ. | 193 | 120 | 1998/3/17 | 0 |
| 20 | Ben GUNTER | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Brisbane Boys College | 195 | 120 | 1997/10/24 | 9 |
| 21 | Shuntaro KITAMURA | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Ritsumeikan Univ. | 168 | 77 | 2002/3/28 | 0 |
| 22 | Ichigo NAKAKUSU | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Keio Univ. | 174 | 84 | 2000/6/1 | 0 |
| 23 | Halatoa VAILEA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | 185 | 104 | 1999/2/14 | 0 |
*(C) Captain
Japan v Wales Historic Match Results
14 matches, 1 win and 13 losses
19 November 2016: 33-30 (L) Cardiff, Wales
15 June 2013: 23-8 (W) Tokyo
8 June 2013: 18-22 (L) Osaka
20 September 2007: 72-18 (L) Cardiff, Wales
26 November 2004: 98-0 (L) Cardiff, Wales
17 June 2001: 30-53 (L) Tokyo
10 June 2001: 10-64 (L) Osaka
9 October 1999: 64-15 (L) Cardiff, Wales (RWC)
27 May 1995: 10-57 (L) Bloemfontein, South Africa (RWC)
16 Oct 1993: 55-5 (L) Cardiff, Wales
22 Oct 1983: 29-24 (L) Cardiff, Wales
24 September 1975: 6-82 (L) Tokyo
21 September 1975: 12-56 (L) Osaka
6 October 1973: 62-14 (L) Cardiff, Wales
Brave Blossoms 2025 Match Schedule
Saturday 5 July
Japan vs Wales
Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025
Mikuni World Stadium, Kitakyushu
Saturday 12 July
Japan vs Wales
Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025
Noevir Stadium, Kobe
Saturday 30 August
Japan vs Canada
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (Pool B)
Yurtec Stadium, Sendai
Saturday 6 September
USA vs Japan
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (Pool B)
Heart Health Park, Sacramento
Saturday 25 October
Japan vs Australia
Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025
National Stadium, Tokyo
Lipovitan D Tour 2025.
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
Venue TBC