Brave Blossoms vs South Africa Match Preview

rugbyasia247 Posted On October 31, 2025

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Brave Blossoms vs South Africa Match Preview

The Japan Brave Blossoms begin their four-match Lipovitan D Tour 2025 to Europe and the UK by facing the world champion Springboks on Saturday, 1st November at Wembley Stadium – a match which was announced as far back as July and has generated a lot of interest as it’s also been a decade since Japan’s only win over South Africa in Brighton at RWC 2015.

Feature Photo Credit – JRFU

For Japan, the matches are hugely important as they jostle for the best possible position in World Rugby’s rankings before the Rugby World Cup 2027 draw on the 3rd December. Currently ranked 13th, and the South Africans are ranked number one, then Japan face third-ranked Ireland, 12th-ranked Wales in Cardiff and 11th-ranked Georgia.

This is the first rugby event to be held at Wembley since 2016, and only the fourth meeting between South Africa and Japan.

The Japanese come into the match after nearly toppling the Wallabies in Tokyo last weekend. Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones announced a 38-member Brave Blossoms squad for this tour, and 11 of the players in the touring squad also featured for the JAPAN XV win over Hong Kong China last weekend. There are a dozen players yet to make their debut in the touring group.

Eddie Jones has made two changes to his starting line-up from the side that narrowly lost to Australia in Tokyo last weekend.

Warner Dearns captains the side, which includes the impact and experience of Michael Leitch (90th cap), Ben Gunter and vice-captains Seungsin Lee and Dylan Riley. South African-born Tyler Paul is among the reserves to earn his second cap, while Shodai Hirao will earn his debut off the bench.

The starting front row for Japan collectively has 30 caps, with Kenta Kobayashi and Kenji Sato (making his maiden test start after appearances off the bench) only having 5 Test caps. A similar story among the backline with Waseda University fullback Yoshitaka Yazaki set to earn only his 7th cap, the same for wing Kippei Ishida, and centre Charlie Lawrence earning his 6th cap.

Springboks Head Coach Rassie Erasmus

Photo Credit – Springboks/SARU

Springboks Head Coach Rassie Erasmus announced his team on a Tuesday. The number of caps in the starting line-up is 781, and that includes the selection of former Junior Springbok captain Zachary Porthen, who will become the youngest prop to make his Test debut for the Springboks in the professional era.

There are 8 Springboks in the matchday squad who play in Japan: Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners).

Kurt-Lee Arendse, Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager return to the Boks starting XV, and the Japanese will have to front up to a daunting pack. Ox Nche, Porthen and Malcolm Marx are in the front row with RG Snyman and De Jager behind them and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi (in his 99th match), Mostert and Jasper Wiese completing the back row.

Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu pair up as scrumhalf and flyhalf, while Arendse, Ethan Hooker and Cheslin Kolbe are the back three, with Kolbe starting at fullback, where he has played several times for his club side Tokyo Sungoliath in the JRLO. Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel start in the midfield.

Erasmus said, “Six players in the group are currently plying their trade in Japan, and we believe their experience of playing in that league and either with or against some of their players will be a bonus for us, but I’m sure Japan will also tap into their knowledge of those players as they prepare for the match.”

(It’s actually 8, but six in the starting XV).

Among the reserves are Grobbelaar, Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortje, Esterhuizen, Kwagga Smith, Grant Williams and Manie Libbok.

Erasmus said of the Brave Blossoms, “They are a quality team, and they have a top coach in Eddie Jones, so we have no doubt they’ll throw everything at us. They beat us in 2015, and they showed what a quality outfit they are in the first half of our 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final against them, so we are expecting them to come out guns blazing.”

Five of the current Springbok touring squad played in the ‘Miracle of Brighton’ match at RWC 2015: Handre Pollard, Jesse Kriel, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit.
There are two South Africans among the Brave Blossoms management: Gary Gold and Victor Matfield, but the latter is believed not to be involved for this fixture.

Photo Credit – JRFU – Gary Gold

In Tokyo this weekend, the JRFU are celebrating the Brighton victory from 2015 with several events planned, such as a memorial exhibit and a panel discussion.

Masato Tsuchida, President of JRFU, said when this fixture was announced earlier this year, “Ten years since the Miracle of Brighton, it’s a great honour to once again play South Africa on English soil. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved in making this game happen. Our victory over the Springboks at the Rugby World Cup 2015 was a historic match that redefined the history of Japanese rugby and marked the beginning of a new era for the JRFU.

The game is being promoted and organised by Pitch International, a London-based sports marketing agency, and its Chief Commercial Officer is Andy Marinos, said: “Bringing South Africa and Japan together at Wembley Stadium, one of the most iconic sporting venues in the world, is a fantastic milestone for Pitch International.”

Match Permutations – Japan vs Springboks

South Africa will stay as the number #1 ranked team if they beat Japan.
If Japan win, South Africa will lose their number one ranking to the winning team in Chicago between Ireland and NZ
A draw would move Japan would move them to #12
If Japan wins, they will climb to #11

The rankings will be used to place the 24 RWC 2027 teams into bands for the draw in Sydney on 3 December, with those ranked 1-6 in Band 1, 7-12 in Band 2 and so on.