JAPAN XV Team Announced to Take on Māori All Blacks
The JRFU has announced the JAPAN XV side to take on the Māori All Blacks this Saturday, June 27 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya in the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2026. Kicking off at 19:05 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 2024 meeting in Toyota City when Japan won 26-14.
The JAPAN XV will be captained by 12-cap hooker, Mamoru Harada who recently returned to JRLO side Toshiba Brave Lupus after having played the 2026 season with Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific. He will lead a team with a good balance of experienced players alongside a number of rising talents.
Within the matchday 23 there are 11 uncapped players and seven holding just 10 caps or fewer, while only three players hold more than 20 caps. Of the uncapped players, four have been drawn from Japan’s university competition.
The most experienced player in the team is Brave Blossoms centre Dylan Riley. Playing alongside an inexperienced backline, his 38 caps will bring welcome presence and poise at outside centre.
Of the four university players, flyhalf Ryunosuke Ito has been handed the starting playmaker duties at number 10. A standout player for Meiji University, Japanese fans will be looking for him step up and bring the promise he’s demonstrated at university level into the national team setup.
Commenting on the team selection, JAPAN XV Head Coach Neal Hatley said:
“We’ve put a lot of thought into this selection and we’re really pleased with the makeup of the team. There are some guys who haven’t played for a while, some who played in the League One playoffs and others who played for the Japan Select against Hong Kong. This is a chance for these guys who have been working hard to get an opportunity to play, and we think it’s our best team in terms of winning the game on the weekend. There is a good mix of experienced players, alongside some guys who did a great job in the Japan Talent Squad programme. It’s a really great opportunity for these young players.”
The match will be streamed live from 18:33 JST via J Sports 2 and available both live and via catch-up on J Sports On-Demand. Tickets for the match are still available through the JRFU’s English-language ticketing website at: https://quick.pia.jp/japan-rugby_en/. Fans can also use the site to pick up tickets for the Brave Blossoms’ upcoming Tokyo test matches against Italy and France.
JAPAN XV Team List:
| No | Name | Club Team | Graduate | Heightcm | Weightkg | DOB |
| 1 | Takato OKABE | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | 180 | 105 | 1995/2/19 |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA (C) | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Keio Univ. | 175 | 101 | 1999/4/15 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 115 | 1997/12/9 |
| 4 | Esei HAANGANA | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | St. Paul Catholic H.S. | 198 | 120 | 1999/4/21 |
| 5 | Michael STOLBERG | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Anglican Church Grammar School | 202 | 116 | 1992/3/27 |
| 6 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 |
| 7 | Tiennan COSTLEY | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | International Pacific Univ. | 192 | 102 | 2000/6/14 |
| 8 | Waisake RARATUBUA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Tokai Univ. | 193 | 120 | 1998/3/17 |
| 9 | Takuro HOJO | MIE Honda HEAT | Tenri Univ. | 174 | 80 | 2001/9/18 |
| 10 | Ryunosuke ITO | Meiji Univ. | Kokugakuin Univ. Tochigi HS. | 172 | 77 | 2004/11/20 |
| 11 | Inoke BURUA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. | 178 | 100 | 1999/5/30 |
| 12 | Jisu LEE | Korea Univ. | Osaka Chosen HS. | 180 | 82 | 2004/11/6 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Bond Univ. | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 |
| 14 | Kazuma UEDA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Kindai Univ. | 177 | 87 | 2002/12/4 |
| 15 | Takuro MATSUNAGA (VC) | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO | Tenri Univ. | 172 | 82 | 1998/8/13 |
| 16 | Kenji SATO | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 177 | 108 | 2003/1/4 |
| 17 | Sojiro OTSUKA | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | Kwansei Gakuin Senior HS. | 178 | 110 | 2004/7/5 |
| 18 | Izi SWORD | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Takushoku Univ. | 190 | 120 | 2001/6/7 |
| 19 | Shin TAKEUCHI | URAYASU D-Rocks | Meiji Univ. | 191 | 110 | 2000/8/7 |
| 20 | Aseri MASIVOU | MIE Honda HEAT | Takushoku Univ. | 189 | 113 | 1997/3/9 |
| 21 | Haruto WATANABE | Kindai Univ. | Hotoku Gakuen HS. | 171 | 76 | 2004/12/10 |
| 22 | Sam GREENE | SHIZUOKA BlueRevs | Brisbane Grammar HS. | 178 | 85 | 1994/8/16 |
| 23 | Taira MAIN | RICOH BlackRams Tokyo | Gose Industrial HS. | 178 | 90 | 2000/9/5 |
(C) Captain
(VC) Vice Captain
Japan XV vs Māori All Blacks (non-test matches)
6 matches, 1 win, 5 losses
28 June 2025: 20-53 (L) Tokyo
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)