Brave Blossoms Named to Face England at Twickenham
Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones has named his side to face England this Saturday, November 14, at London’s Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, in the latest round of the Nations Championship 2026. The match kicks off at 16:40 local time (01:40 JST on Sunday, November 15), as Japan look to build on last weekend’s spirited performance against Wales in Cardiff.
Japan head into the encounter following a narrow 28–21 defeat to Wales, in which the Brave Blossoms showed plenty of attacking intent and resilience, twice drawing level with their hosts before coming close to securing a draw in the closing stages. Facing a powerful England side on their home turf will present another significant challenge for Jones’ squad, as they seek to turn encouraging performances into results against the world’s leading rugby nations.
Jones has opted for continuity in his selection, making just one change to the starting XV that faced Wales. Uncapped winger Riku Tokito comes into the side on the left wing, replacing the injured Inoke Burua. The 23-year-old Toshiba Brave Lupus player has represented Japan in sevens and will be looking to make his mark on the international fifteens stage.
At flyhalf, Riku Kitahara retains the number ten jersey following his international debut against Wales. The Honda Heat playmaker will again partner Naoto Saito at scrumhalf, with the latter continuing as Co-Captain alongside lock Warner Dearns. The established midfield combination of Samisoni Tua and Dylan Riley is retained, while Kippei Ishida starts on the right wing and Kazuma Ueda at fullback.
The forward pack remains unchanged from Cardiff, with Yota Kamimori, Mamoru Harada and Shuhei Takeuchi forming the front row. Harry Hockings partners Dearns in the second row, while Ben Gunter, Kanji Shimokawa and Jack Cornelsen complete the back row.
Among the replacements, scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara returns to the matchday squad in the only change to the bench. He joins a group that includes experienced forwards Michael Stolberg and Tiennan Costley, along with backs Shinya Komura and Jisu Lee.
Commenting ahead of the match, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie
Jones said:
“It’s a big week for Japanese rugby this week. England is a nation we’ve never
been able to beat and everybody knows that record. We want to try and do
something a bit different this weekend. We’ve trained like that, so I’m really
pleased with the team and I’m looking forward to Saturday.”
The match will be broadcast live in Japan on NHK from 01:30 JST and WOWOW Prime and J SPORTS 1 from 01:10 JST on Sunday, November 15. Live streaming and catch up will also be available via NHK ONE from 01:30 JST and WOWOW On Demand, Lemino and J SPORTS On Demand from 01:10 JST.
Following Saturday’s match, Japan will travel to Edinburgh to face Scotland at Murrayfield on November 21, before concluding their Nations Championship campaign on Finals Weekend back at Twickenham on November 27–29.
Weekend back at Twickenham on November 27–29.
| 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 | 4 |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS MUSASHI | Keio Univ. | 175 | 101 | 1999/4/15 | 21 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUCHI | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ. | 183 | 120 | 1997/12/9 | 32 |
| 4 | Harry HOCKINGS | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Univ. of Queensland | 208 | 124 | 1998/7/28 | 11 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS (CC) | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS MUSASHI | Ryutsu Keizai Univ. KASHIWA HS. | 201 | 117 | 2002/4/11 | 39 |
| 6 | Ben GUNTER | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Brisbane Boys’ College | 195 | 120 | 1997/10/24 | 27 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 188 | 105 | 1999/1/17 | 31 |
| 8 | Jack CORNELSEN | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Univ. of Queensland | 195 | 110 | 1994/10/13 | 39 |
| 9 | Naoto SAITO (CC) | TOKYO SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH | Waseda Univ. | 165 | 73 | 1997/8/26 | 38 |
| 10 | Riku KITAHARA | TOCHIGI Honda HEAT | Univ. of Otago | 170 | 78 | 1999/3/30 | 1 |
| 11 | Riku TOKITO | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS MUSASHI | Fukuoka Institute of Technology | 184 | 86 | 2003/7/10 | 0 |
| 12 | Samisoni TUA | URAYASU D-Rocks | Setsunan Univ. | 182 | 108 | 1995/5/24 | 10 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Bond Univ. | 187 | 102 | 1997/5/2 | 47 |
| 14 | Kippei ISHIDA | YOKOHAMA CANON EAGLES | Meiji Univ. | 167 | 75 | 2000/4/28 | 12 |
| 15 | Kazuma UEDA | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | Kindai Univ. | 177 | 87 | 2002/12/4 | 10 |
| 16 | Kenji SATO | SAITAMA Panasonic WILD KNIGHTS | Waseda Univ. | 177 | 108 | 2003/1/4 | 14 |
| 17 | Sojiro OTSUKA | Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | Kwansei Gakuin Senior HS. | 178 | 110 | 2004/7/5 | 10 |
| 18 | Opeti HELU | Lyon Olympique Universitaire | Newington College | 190 | 127 | 1998/7/22 | 3 |
| 19 | Michael STOLBERG | TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS MUSASHI | Anglican Church Grammar School | 202 | 116 | 1992/3/27 | 8 |
| 20 | Tiennan COSTLEY | KOBELCO KOBE STEELERS | International Pacific Univ. | 192 | 102 | 2000/6/14 | 20 |
| 21 | Shinobu FUJIWARA | Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY | Tenri Univ. | 171 | 76 | 1999/2/8 | 22 |
| 22 | Shinya KOMURA | TOYOTA VERBLITZ | Teikyo Univ. | 180 | 92 | 2002/5/28 | 4 |
| 23 | Jisu LEE | Korea Univ. | Osaka Chosen HS. | 180 | 82 | 2004/11/6 | 2 |
(CC) Co-Captain