Japan Rugby - The Talent Fast-Track

New Era for Japan Rugby

We are one sleep away from the first game of a new era for Japan Rugby with Eddie Jones back at the helm.  This summer, Japan Rugby have five home games - England, Maori All Blacks (twice), Georgia and Italy.  First up is England, who Eddie Jones coached all the way to the final of RWC 2019 in Japan.

The England Team

522 caps in the starting XV.

Steve Borthwick went for the super confident play of naming his team 48 hours early.  Borthwick has picked a strong team with a big pack - Maro Itoje, George Martin, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl and Chandler Cunningham-South all starting.  Marcus Smith starts at 10 with elusive runners like Furbank, Freeman and Feyi-Waboso in the back three, but how much ball will they get and how will they cope with the weather? Rain and humid conditions are forecast.  Will England play as well as they did in the Six Nations against Ireland and France? Last time the two teams met, England score a try from a Joe Marler header, will there be any headers this time round?

The Japan Team

169 caps in the starting XV.

With 8 uncapped players in the match day 23 and 4 uncapped players in the starting XV, Eddie Jones is showing us all how to make an impact in a new leadership role by fast-tracking talent to give them as much exposure to international rugby before RWC 2027. The pack seems very light on experience, especially the front row.  Rikiya Matsuda has been benched, with Seungsin Lee start at fly-half.  The fullback, Yoshitaka Yazaki, is still studying at Waseda University in only his second year there.  Eddie Jones has already executed on his plan to bring talent through directly from University level. The previous regime did not do this but Eddie Jones did it in his previous stint leading Japan. The plan definitely seems to be to play super fast rugby, which should make it a very entertaining game. Many world-class players from New Zealand, South Africa and Australia now play in Rugby League One in Japan. There were even visits from Super Rugby teams to play Rugby League One teams mid-season in Japan and many junior Rugby League One players have been sent to New Zealand for the off season to hone their skills. Many Japan rugby fans maybe making a Super Saturday of it and watching the Super Rugby final between the Blues and the Chiefs straight after the Japan game.

The Crowd

The game will take place at the New National Stadium in the heart of the city, rebuilt for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a capacity of around 60,000.  It will be very interesting to see what the attendance is.  The strength and popularity of the All Blacks in Japan can fill the stadium but how interested are Japan Rugby fans are in watching England play? Although during RWC 2019 many Japanese fans enjoyed the England vs All Blacks semi final and the way Owen Farrell in particular faced up to the haka with that smug grin (ドヤ顔）on his face.  If it is a big crowd I am sure they will play a part in making it a tough day for England.  The noise in Shizuoka when Japan beat Ireland in RWC 2019 was incredible and definitely played a part in the result on the day.

TV Coverage

The game will be available to watch live and free in Japan on Nihon Terebi (Channel 4) and also available to watch live and free on Rugby Pass TV in the UK.  It's a bit surprising the game is not being shown on any major TV networks in the UK but I guess the Euros football is dominating the sporting agenda at the moment.

The Barbarians vs Fiji

Final mention to The Barbarians vs Fiji game at Twickenham this Sunday.  Robbie Deans, Panasonic Wild Knights coach, will coach the team which includes five Panasonic Wild Knights players including Shota Horie.  It’s great to see such a solid Japanese rugby contingent in this Barbarians squad and I hope they have a great time in London.

Enjoy the first game of this new Japan Rugby era.!