Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 Preview – Japan vs USA

rugbyasia247 Posted On September 10, 2026

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Asahi Pacific Nations Cup 2026 Preview - Japan vs USA

The Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 sees a double-header of semifinals kick off the tournament on Saturday, 12 September, at the Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka, with Fiji facing Canada and then Japan playing the USA.

Photo Credit – PNC – USA vs Japan 2025

Head Coach Eddie Jones will be targeting cup glory at home after two consecutive years of finishing behind Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup. They last won the title in 2019.

The Japanese will be favourites for several reasons in this semifinal against the USA Eagles: they are ranked higher (12th to the USA’s 14th), their recent record against the USA Eagles, and home advantage.

The overall head-to-head is close, with the USA having one more victory (13 vs 12 wins) and one draw in their Test history, but Japan have won the last four encounters and nine of the last ten!. USA’s last victory in Japan against the Brave Blossoms was in 2005.

When the USA and Japan met on North American soil at Heart Health Park, Sacramento, California, in the 2025 PNC, the Brave Blossoms ran out 47-21 victors after leading 28-14 at halftime. They also defeated them 41-24 in 2024.

Photo Credit – PNC – USA vs Japan 2025

Following that PNC loss last year, the USA went on to beat Samoa to clinch their Rugby World Cup 2027 spot.

In this year’s 2026 Nations Cup July fixtures, the USA are undefeated and sit on top of Pool A. They recorded home wins over Portugal (30-29), Zimbabwe (31-15), and Spain (29-22). They are a team on the up.

USA Head Coach Scott Lawrence will want to carry that positive momentum into this tournament and their second half of fixtures in the Nations Cup later this year.

He said via USA Rugby, “Japan is a Nations Championship team that will be a big step up for us in terms of their speed of play, physicality, and overall accuracy. Going into this next five-week block, we’re focused on building depth and competition across our squad through intentional improvements in individual and collective performance.

Every player has an opportunity to grow, develop, and demonstrate that they can perform at this level, and we’re excited to see how this domestic-based group continues to develop through the challenge Japan will provide.”

Japan convincingly beat Canada last week 57-12 at Denka Big Swan Stadium in Niigata City, but there were still ongoing issues for the Brave Blossoms in the match. Notably, the backline didn’t really fire; they still got turned over too easily in the opposition’s 22m area, and their execution was poor after they created great attacking opportunities.

These are all areas Eddie Jones will want to see improvements in this weekend, and if they do, they should win and secure a place in the final, where they are likely to face rivals Fiji who they have not beaten in some time.

The positives for Japan were their set piece, which was dominant, and the debut for Inoke Burua, who had a strong game all round and made the most line breaks in the match (three) from 15 carries.

He starts again this weekend in a familiar-looking team for Japan, with no new caps in the matchday squad and five changes, including one positional change to the starting line-up from the Canada win.

Sam Greene starts at fullback to earn his 8th cap, with, surprisingly, no Takurō Matsunaga on the bench. It’s a reasonably strong bench with a 6/2 split. Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara and Sena Kimura could earn their first caps this year.

Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones 2026

Photo Credit – JRFU – Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones said via the JRFU this week, “It’s clear that we’ve entered a period of about 12 months until the World Cup. Every match is an opportunity for growth and to build the squad (for the World Cup). For the players, it’s an opportunity to experience international rugby against national teams from various countries and to improve their ability to play at that level.”

The PNC squad does not include Warner Dearns, nor Michael Leitch, with scrumhalf Naoto Saito captaining the team as he did in the win over Canada.

Seito said, “As a team, our goal is, of course, to win the PNC. I believe that as captain and as part of the leadership group, it is necessary to guide the team in the right direction in every match towards that goal.”

The former Toulouse player will likely start alongside young Ito for a 7th consecutive game.

There are more potential caps in the PNC squad for the Brave Blossoms, but none have been selected for the USA match; Kanato HIRANO (Tochigi Honda Heat), Shin Takeuchi (Urayasu D-Rocks) & Ruan BOTHA (Kubota Spears Funabashi/Tokyo Bay) are all among the forwards. 17 of the 30-man squad have fewer than 10 caps.

For the USA, 2019 World Rugby player of the year nominee Joe Taufete’e is back in the PNC squad and starts on the bench against Japan. The hooker has not represented the USA since August 2023 due to injury struggles. He is now 33-years old, but rugby vets have shown in recent years that is just a number.

In the 32-player squad, reigning Major League Rugby (MLR) champions Chicago Hounds are represented by 8 players and the California Legion have 7. There are as many as 9 players unattached to teams due to the ongoing issue of clubs folding in the MLR. They have also listed 23 players unavailable for selection.

Asahi Pacific Nations Cup 2026 Japan vs USA

The PNC 2026 was announced at the start of August,

Match Permutations

If Fiji beat Canada, the best Japan can do this weekend is to close the gap on both Wales and Italy above them.
USA will remain 14th whatever happens, but if they win, they will close the gap on Portugal.
Japan will fall one place to 13th if beaten at home.