Japan’s chances of victory in their first-ever meeting with the British & Irish Lions are being written off by the bookmakers, who quote them as big as 4/1 for the match at Murrayfield in a month’s time, on June 26.
Much of the thinking will be based around the fact the Brave Blossoms haven’t played together since they exited the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals in October 2019.
By the same token though, the British & Irish Lions have never played together and to dismiss the credentials of the world’s Number 10 ranked team so readily appears a bit misguided.
Anyone who remembers the Lions’ 25-25 draw against an Argentina side that had yet to properly announce its arrival on the world stage in 205 will know that first up fixtures don’t always go to plan when it comes to the best of British and Irish.
Japan have selected an experienced squad, too, with 19 of their Rugby World Cup 2019 contingent onboard, including iconic skipper Michael Leitch.
The squad includes 23 capped players with a total of 476 Test caps. It also contains 16 players who took part in the Japan Top League club final on Sunday, including seven from the Panasonic Wild Knights, who were crowned domestic champions.
In a game that is inevitably going to be loose, Japan have the counterattacking ability to make the most of any handling errors and give the Lions a real run for their money.
The Lions will play against Japan ahead of leaving for their tour to South Africa, with the Test to be played in front of a crowd of 16,500 fans – a quarter of the capacity of Murrayfield, but the largest crowd for a rugby match in Britain in 16 months.
After the Lions Test, Japan will fly to Dublin to take on Ireland the following weekend.
Japan squad:
Forwards (21): Keita Inagaki, Asaeli Ai Valu, Shinnosuke Kakinaga, Jiwon Koo, Craig Millar, Yukio Morikawa, Atsushi Sakate, Shunta Nakamura, Kosuke Horikoshi, Mark Abbot, Wimpie van der Walt, Uwe Helu, James Moore, Naoki Ozawa, Ben Gunter, Jack Cornelsen, Pieter Labushagne, Michael Leitch (captain), Tevita Tatafu, Amanaki Lelei, Kazuki Himendo;
Backs (15): Koki Arai, Naoto Saito, Kaito Shigeno, Yu Tamura, Rikiya Matsuda, Shota Emi, Siosaia Fifita, Semisi Masirewa, Kotaro Matsushima, Lomano Lava Lemeki, Shane Gates, Ryoto Nakamura, Timothy Lafaele, Gerhard vand den Heever, Ryohei Yamanaka.
