RWC 2015 Preview Magazine Special Edition | Page 20

Japan
Nickname: Cherry Blossoms
World Cup appearances: 7
World Cup Record: Third in
Pool, 1991

Coach: Eddie Jones
Captain: Michael Leitch
Union: Asia Rugby

Over the past few years. Japan
have been investing a lot of
money into rugby and slowly but
surely the results are starting to
show.
They have made a remarkable
progress since 2014 where they
climbed into the top ten of the
World Rugby Official Rankings
but have since slipped back to
13th place.
Japan tend to perform well
against low-ranked teams but
stutter against big guns on big
stages.
Blessed with enormous talent
such as Daisuke Ohata and
Michael Leitch, Eddie Jones’
side will make the necessary
adjustments to ensure that they
are not complete walkovers.
World Cup Squad: Michael Leitch (c), Justin Ives, Shoji Ito, Keita
Inagaki, Hitoshi Ono, Takeshi Kizu, Hendrik Tui, Luke Thompson,
Kensuke Hatakeyama, Michael Broadhurst, Ryu Holani, Shota
Horie, Shinya Makabe, AmanakiMafi, Masataka Mikami, Hiroshi
Yamashita, Hiroki Yuhara, Michael Leitch, Craig Wing, Kosei
Ono, Ayumu Goromaru, Male Sau, Harumichi Tatekawa, Fumiaki
Tanaka, Yu Tamura, Toshiaki Hirose, Atsushi Hiwasa, Kenki
Fukuoka, Yoshikazu Fujita, Karne Hesketh, Kotaro Matsushima,
Akihito Yamada.

Giant killers: With their recent form and
performances against rugby powerhouses,
one cannot write off this talented Japanese
team at this year’s World Cup.

RWC 2015 Fixtures:
19 Sept

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Have your say...

23 Sept

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With such talent, can the Japanese cause upsets in this year’s
Rugby World Cup showpiece?
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03 Oct

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11 Oct

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20 RWC 2015 Preview Magazine