Japan head coach Jamie Joseph has named his side to face the All Blacks at Tokyo's National Stadium tomorrow and said he has selected an experienced bench to give his side some momentum later in the test.
Japan rugby team, Tokyo Stadium 2019. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Japan will be led by hooker Atsushi Sakate, with prop Jiwon Gu returning for the first time since featuring against Portugal in November last year.
Former skipper, the New Zealand-born Michael Leitch will earn his 75th cap in the back row, alongside Kazuki Himeno and Tevita Tatafu.
Takeshi Hino returns on the bench for the first time since featuring in the first of Japan's two wins over Uruguay in June, where he will be joined by replacement props Craig Millar and Shuhei Takeuchi.
Miller and lock Warner Dearns are the other New Zealand-born players in the side.
"Coming into this weekend, the energy within the team has been really positive and we're excited for the match," Joseph said in a statement.
"This week we need to ensure we've got really experienced, highly competent players coming on during those tough parts of the match, so that's been a big driver with our selections on the bench."
Japan have failed to beat New Zealand in their six meetings, losing 69-31 when the teams last met in 2018.
After facing the All Blacks, Japan travel to Europe to face England and France in November.
Tomorrow's test in Tokyo will set a record for attendance of a one-off rugby test in Japan.
63,000 tickets have already been sold for the game at the National Stadium.
It surpasses the 57,000 who attended the Japan-France game earlier this year.
70,000 watched the World Cup final between South Africa and England in Yokohama in 2019.
Japan: 15-Ryohei Yamanaka, 14-Kotaro Matsushima, 13-Dylan Riley, 12-Ryoto Nakamura, 11-Siosaia Fifita, 10-Takuya Yamasawa, 9-Yutaka Nagare, 8-Tevita Tatafu, 7-Kazuki Himeno, 6-Michael Leitch, 5-Jack Cornelsen, 4-Warner Dearns, 3-Jiwon Gu, 2-Atsushi Sakate, 1-Keita Inagaki.
Replacements: 16-Takeshi Hino, 17-Craig Millar, 18-Shuhei Takeuchi, 19-Kanji Shimokawa, 20-Faulua Makisi, 21-Naoto Saito, 22-Seungsin Lee, 23-Gerhard Van Den Heever.
-Reuters
