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Japan head coach Eddie Jones has selected a 39-man squad for the Rugby World Cup, with 37 set to take part in the Pacific Nations Cup. Dynamic no8 Amanaki Mafi and classy midfielder Male Sa’u will miss the PNC due to injury, but are expected to return in time for August’s World Cup warm-up matches.
In addition, five players – Keita Inagaki, Shinya Makabe, Hendrik Tui, Craig Wing, and captain Michael Leitch – will miss the match against Canada on July 18 to undergo fitness assessments. Highlanders scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka has Super Rugby commitments and it’s unclear when he will be available again for international duty.
Former Australia u20 midfielder Tim Bennetts is the only uncapped player in the squad, having completed his three year residency requirements last month.
Jones continues to employ former England captain Steve Borthwick as lineout coach, and former France hooker Marc Dal Maso as scrum coach. Former Wales assistant coach and Hong Kong head honcho Leigh Jones is tasked with fine tuning the defense.
The Brave Blossoms will play Canada, USA, and Fiji in the round robin stage of the Pacific Nations Cup, followed by a fourth test against an opponent yet to be determined. They depart for Canada on July 12.
FORWARDS
Kensuke Hatakeyama (Suntory), Hisateru Hirashima (Kobe Steel), Keita Inagaki (Panasonic / Rebels), Shinnosuke Kakinaga (Suntory), Masataka Mikami (Toshiba), Hiroshi Yamashita (Kobe Steel), Shota Horie (Panasonic), Takeshi Kizu (Kobe Steel), Hiroki Yuhara (Toshiba), Shoji Ito (Kobe Steel), Shinya Makabe (Suntory), Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba), Luke Thompson (Kintetsu), Kazuhiko Usami (Canon), Michael Broadhurst (Ricoh), Justin Ives (Canon), Koliniasi Holani (Panasonic), Hayden Hopgood (Kamaishi), Michael Leitch (capt., Toshiba / Chiefs), Amanaki Mafi (NTT Shining Arcs), Tsuyoshi Murata (NEC), Hendrik Tui (Suntory / Reds)
BACKS
Atsushi Hiwasa (Suntory), Fumiaki Tanaka (Panasonic / Highlanders), Keisuke Uchida (Panasonic), Kosei Ono (Suntory), Yu Tamura (NEC), Ryohei Yamanaka (Kobe Steel), Tim Bennetts (Canon), Karne Hesketh (Sanix), Male Sa’u (Yamaha), Harumichi Tatekawa (Kubota), Craig Wing (Kobe Steel), Yoshikazu Fujita (Waseda / Crusaders), Kenki Fukuoka (Tsukuba), Toshiaki Hirose (Toshiba), Kotaro Matsushima (Suntory / Waratahs), Akihito Yamada (Panasonic / Force), Ayumu Goromaru (Yamaha)
