{"id":233898,"date":"2025-10-23T02:05:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T02:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/233898\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T02:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T02:05:08","slug":"japan-xv-named-to-take-on-rugby-world-cup-bound-hong-kong-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/233898\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan XV named to take on Rugby World Cup-bound Hong Kong China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Toyota Verblitz<\/a> flanker Akito Okui<\/a> will captain the Japan<\/a> XV in their second-ever match against Hong Kong China, with five new players coming into the matchday 23 after last weekend\u2019s loss to Australia<\/a> A in Osaka.<\/p>\n

Japan XV<\/a> claimed a 64-12 win in Beppu City last May, but Hong Kong China<\/a> have since gone on to qualify for the 2027 Men\u2019s Rugby World Cup. They defeated South Korea 70-22 in the final round of the Asia Rugby Championship<\/a> to book their place at the showpiece event.<\/p>\n

Nine Wallabies featured in the Australia A<\/a> side that secured a comfortable win over the Japanese side last Saturday, with Darcy Swain<\/a> scoring twice and Ben Donaldson<\/a> proving reliable off the goal-kicking tee.<\/p>\n

Sign up for RugbyPass TV HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Okui will captain the Japan XV yet again, following an impressive performance against the Aussie side last time out. The captain joins Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo\u2019s Shohei Ito<\/a> and Rikuto Nakaya<\/a> from Doshisha University in the starting backrow.<\/p>\n

Sho Furuhata will pack down alongside Shodai Hirao and Yuta Kokaji<\/a> in a Japan Rugby League One<\/a> front-row, while Epineri Uluiviti<\/a> and David Van Zeeland make up the second-row pairing \u2013 both locks standing at 196 centimetres tall.<\/p>\n

Asahi Doei from Yokohama Canon Eagles<\/a> will link up with Toyota Verblitz\u2019s Shinya Komura<\/a> in the halves, with Yuto Mori<\/a> and Yuya Hirose<\/a> in the midfield. Tomu Takamoto<\/a> and Kazuma Ueda<\/a> will line up on a wing each, with Takuro Matsunaga<\/a> at fullback.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince our match against Australia A, there have been a few changes in the lineup due to injuries and other reasons,\u201d Acting Head Coach Ippei Asada said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like last week, it\u2019s still a young squad, but it\u2019s one full of promise and personally, I have high expectations for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past week we\u2019ve identified a number of issues to work on, but the players and coaches are united in moving forward together and we\u2019ve been able to prepare well for the upcoming match against Hong Kong China.\u201d<\/p>\n

This match will be broadcast on RugbyPass TV.<\/p>\n

It will kick off at 7:00 pm local time (8 pm JST) on Friday, October 24, at Hong Kong China\u2019s Kai Tak Stadium.<\/p>\n

Japan XV to take on Hong Kong China<\/p>\n

1. Sho FURUHATA \u2013 Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights
Graduate: Daito Bunka Univ. | Height: 185cm | Weight: 118kg | DOB: 1996\/12\/10<\/p>\n

2. Shodai HIRAO \u2013 Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath
Graduate: Kwansei Gakuin Univ. | Height: 174cm | Weight: 103kg | DOB: 2002\/10\/11<\/p>\n

3. Yuta KOKAJI \u2013 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Graduate: Tenri Univ. | Height: 176cm | Weight: 109kg | DOB: 1998\/7\/8<\/p>\n

4. Epineri ULUIVITI \u2013 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars
Graduate: Ratu Kadavulevu School | Height: 196cm | Weight: 122kg | DOB: 1996\/7\/7<\/p>\n

5. David VAN ZEELAND \u2013 Kubota Spears<\/a> Funabashi Tokyo-Bay
Graduate: Takushoku Univ. | Height: 196cm | Weight: 116kg | DOB: 2000\/2\/11<\/p>\n

6. Shohei ITO \u2013 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Graduate: Kyoto Sangyo Univ. | Height: 190cm | Weight: 115kg | DOB: 1997\/5\/1<\/p>\n

7. Akito OKUI (C) \u2013 Toyota Verblitz
Graduate: Teikyo Univ. | Height: 178cm | Weight: 105kg | DOB: 2001\/9\/17<\/p>\n

8. Rikuto NAKAYA \u2013 Doshisha Univ.
Graduate: Osaka Toin HS | Height: 180cm | Weight: 102kg | DOB: 2005\/4\/15<\/p>\n

9. Asahi DOEI \u2013 Yokohama Canon Eagles
Graduate: Kyoto Sangyo Univ. | Height: 170cm | Weight: 73kg | DOB: 2003\/1\/9<\/p>\n

10. Shinya KOMURA \u2013 Toyota Verblitz
Graduate: Teikyo Univ. | Height: 180cm | Weight: 92kg | DOB: 2002\/5\/28<\/p>\n

11. Tomu TAKAMOTO \u2013 Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo
Graduate: Teikyo Univ. | Height: 182cm | Weight: 92kg | DOB: 2001\/10\/10<\/p>\n

12. Yuto MORI \u2013 Yokohama Canon Eagles
Graduate: Meiji Univ. | Height: 174cm | Weight: 85kg | DOB: 1998\/11\/1<\/p>\n

13. Yuya HIROSE \u2013 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo-Bay
Graduate: Meiji Univ. | Height: 182cm | Weight: 94kg | DOB: 2001\/4\/7<\/p>\n

14. Kazuma UEDA \u2013 Kobelco Kobe Steelers
Graduate: Kindai Univ. | Height: 177cm | Weight: 87kg | DOB: 2002\/12\/4<\/p>\n

15. Takuro MATSUNAGA \u2013 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Graduate: Tenri Univ. | Height: 172cm | Weight: 82kg | DOB: 1998\/8\/13<\/p>\n

Replacements<\/p>\n

16. Shoma SAGAWA \u2013 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara Dynaboars
Graduate: Nihon Univ. | Height: 180cm | Weight: 103kg | DOB: 2002\/1\/20<\/p>\n

17. Yuichiro TANIGUCHI \u2013 Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo
Graduate: Tenri Univ. | Height: 180cm | Weight: 109kg | DOB: 1998\/6\/4<\/p>\n

18. Sanshiro KIHARA \u2013 Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath
Graduate: Senshu Univ. | Height: 181cm | Weight: 108kg | DOB: 2003\/1\/20<\/p>\n

19. Shu YAMAMOTO \u2013 Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo
Graduate: Kindai Univ. | Height: 190cm | Weight: 96kg | DOB: 1999\/6\/1<\/p>\n

20. Keito AOKI \u2013 Toyota Verblitz
Graduate: Teikyo Univ. | Height: 187cm | Weight: 110kg | DOB: 2002\/6\/14<\/p>\n

21. Shuntaro KITAMURA \u2013 Shizuoka BlueRevs
Graduate: Ritsumeikan Univ. | Height: 168cm | Weight: 77kg | DOB: 2002\/3\/28<\/p>\n

22. Ichigo NAKAKUSU \u2013 Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo
Graduate: Keio Univ. | Height: 174cm | Weight: 84kg | DOB: 2000\/6\/1<\/p>\n

23. Kotaro ITO \u2013 Ricoh BlackRams Tokyo
Graduate: Meiji Univ. | Height: 177cm | Weight: 86kg | DOB: 2001\/11\/15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toyota Verblitz flanker Akito Okui will captain the Japan XV in their second-ever match against Hong Kong China,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-233898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}