Japan Brave Blossoms vs Wales Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 Preview
rugbyasia247
Posted On July 4, 2025
The Japan Brave Blossoms face Wales for a two-test series in with this weekend’s opener being played in Kitakyushu at the Mikuni World Stadium on July 5 and the second test in Kobe on July 12. This weekend’s match is also a confirmed sell-out.
The Kitakyushu match takes on significance for a few reasons – the Welsh used the city as their base training camp during the Rugby World Cup 2019, although no matches were played there. Interim senior men’s head coach Matt Sherratt is in charge as a permanent replacement for Warren Gatland has still not been announced.
Japan and Wales have faced each other 10 times, and the Brave Blossoms have only one win while the Welsh have 9 victories.
The Brave Blossoms’ defensive record in 2024 does not make for good reading; they conceded 52 points against England in June, 42 points against Italy in July, and 64 points against the All Blacks, as well as 52 points and 59 points against France and England on the end-of-year tour.
The big news is that talisman Michael Leitch is back and captains the Brave Blossoms. The 36-year-old with 87 caps, will also captain the team for the second test, confirmed Head Coach Eddie Jones, who said of Leitch, “I’m really pleased to name the team for this first test and delighted to name Leitch as Captain for the series. He’s the most experienced and influential player in Japan, and even in the short period we’ve been together, his presence has galvanised the team.
There are a number of regular stalwarts in the side, including Hurricanes-bound Warner Dearns, Dylan Riley, Seungsin Lee at flyhalf, with exciting winger Kippei Ishida on the right wing. Ishida and Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay prop Yota Kamimori will both make their debuts.
Kippei Ishida was awarded the number 14 jersey. (Photo by Kaori Matsumoto)
Jones has lauded Ishida previously saying he could be the next Cheslin Kolbe, but said of the front-rower Kamimori, “He has benefited greatly from playing with Springbok Malcolm Marx, and he is trying to improve his work rate in both attack and defence during the Miyazaki training camp.”
Notable on the bench are Ben Gunter, who will add impact, and another good prospect in Shuntaro Kitamura from the Shizuoka Blue Revs, who was the joint top try scorer in the JRLO regular season. There are as many as six potential debutants on the bench: Hayate Era, Sena Kimura, Waisake Raratubua, Shuntaro Kitamura, Ichigo Nakakusu, and Halatoa Vailea.
Jones said the high number of debuts, “There are eight new caps, which have come about due to a number of players being unavailable and the great performances of these young guys at training.”
Unsurprisingly, the talented scrumhalf Naoto Saito is not included in the matchday squad after winning the French Top 14 with Toulouse last week (although he did not play the final but was part of the celebrations), but has been with the team in Japan over the recent days.
Saito did say of the Welsh to local Japanese media, “I have the impression that they play a style of rugby that focuses on set pieces and kicking, and they attack wide (with their backs). In order to win, we have to attack, but I think it’s also important to value the balance and to push back opponents who are bigger than us with our kicking game”.
Japan have played 11 tests since the conclusion of RWC 2023 and won just four of those, while conceding 434 points at an average of 39.5 per game.
For Wales, they are on a record 17-match Test losing sequence and have dropped to a new low of 12th place in the world rankings – their last international win was against Georgia in October 2023 at the French RWC. The Welsh squad comprises of 581 caps, has an average age of 26, and they will be captained by hooker Dewi Lake.
Intermin Welsh coach Matt Sheratt confirmed Lake as captain for this weekend’s test, and said, “We had a very good build-up. We tried to give everyone a fair chance of selection. One of the key messages was it’s going to be a 23-man job. So, we’ve tried to spread the experience out in terms of getting some experience coming off the bench.”
Notable inclusions are Josh Macleod (first test since 2022), Taulupe Falatau at 8 and threats in the backs in the form of Josh Adams and Tom Rogers on the wings, and Blair Murray at fullback. On the bench which has a 6-2 split, hooker Liam Belcher could earn his first cap. There are nine players with fewer than 10 caps.
The game is expected to be hot and humid, with 20-minute water breaks to be implemented.
New Jersey For Japan
The Brave Blossoms will debut their new jersey when they take on Wales in the first of their Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 test matches on Saturday, July 5.
The theme of the home jersey design is Kabuki, and it’s inspired by kabuki’s kumadori motif, which expresses the strength and dynamism of Japan’s national teams. The design is based on the spirit of Japanese rugby, which, like Kabuki, will continue to flourish as part of Japanese culture for many years to come, said the JRFU.
Japan vs Wales Results
- 19 November 2016: 33-30 (L) Cardiff, Wales
- 15 June 2013: 23-8 (W) Tokyo
- 8 June 2013: 18-22 (L) Osaka
- 20 September 2007: 72-18 (L) Cardiff, Wales
- 26 November 2004: 98-0 (L) Cardiff, Wales
- 17 June 2001: 30-53 (L) Tokyo
- 10 June 2001: 10-64 (L) Osaka
- 9 October 1999: 64-15 (L) Cardiff, Wales (RWC)
- 27 May 1995: 10-57 (L) Bloemfontein, South Africa (RWC)
- 16 Oct 1993: 55-5 (L) Cardiff, Wales
- 22 Oct 1983: 29-24 (L) Cardiff, Wales
- 24 September 1975: 6-82 (L) Tokyo
- 21 September 1975: 12-56 (L) Osaka
- 6 October 1973: 62-14 (L) Cardiff, Wales
Permutations – Japan vs Wales 5th July 2025
Currently, Wales is ranked 12th by World Rugby, and the Brave Blossoms are one place below in 13th.
- Japan will climb above Wales for the first time since the rankings were introduced in October 2003 if they win the first match of the two-test series in Kitakyushu.
- An 18th consecutive test defeat for Wales would see them fall another two places to a new low of 14th, with Japan and Samoa the beneficiaries.
- Japan will slip below Samoa if beaten by Wales, while their visitors must win by more than 15 points and hope Georgia lose to Ireland in order to climb swap places with the Lelos.
Japan Brave Blossoms Squad vs Wales 2025 – 5th July
- Kamimori Yota (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay/ o caps)
- Harada Mamoru (*announced his departure from Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo on June 4, 2025/10 caps)
- Takeuchi Shuhei (*announced his departure from Urayasu D-Rocks on June 1, 2025 / 13 caps)
- Epineli Uruivaiti (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Sagamihara DynaBoars 6 caps)
- Warner Deans (Hurricanes 21 caps)
- Michael Leitch (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 87 caps) – Captain
- Jack Cornelsen (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights 20 caps)
- Fakatava Amato (Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo 13 caps)
- Fujiwara Shinobu (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay 10 caps)
- Lee Seung-shin (Kobe Steelers 18 caps)
- Maro Tuitama (Shizuoka Blue Revs 7 caps)
- Nakano Masago (Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath 7 caps)
- Dylan Riley (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights 28 caps)
- Yoshihira Ishida (Yokohama Canon Eagles 0 caps)
- Takuro Matsunaga (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 4 caps)
- Era Hayate (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay o caps)
- Kimura Seinan (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo 0 caps)
- Tamefusa Keijiro (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay 10 caps)
- Waisake Raratubua (Kobe Steelers Kobe o caps)
- Ben Gunter (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights 9 caps)
- Kitamura Shuntaro (Shizuoka Blue Revs o caps)
- Nakakusu Kazuki (Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo o caps)
- Halatua Vailea (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay o caps)
More of the official team announcement can be seen here from the JRFU.
Wales Squad vs Japan 2025 – 5th July
You can see more from the WRU on the squad selection here.
1. Nicky Smith (Leicester Tigers – 54 caps)
2. Dewi Lake (Ospreys – 20 caps) – Captain
3. Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby – 14 caps)
4. Ben Carter (Dragons – 12 caps)
5. Teddy Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 6 caps)
6. Alex Mann (Cardiff Rugby – 5 caps)
7. Josh Macleod (Scarlets – 2 caps)
8. Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff Rugby – 108 caps)
9. Kieran Hardy (Ospreys – 23 caps)
10. Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 18 caps)
11. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby – 61 caps)
12. Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby – 12 caps)
13. Johnny Williams (Scarlets – 7 caps)
14. Tom Rogers (Scarlets – 9 caps)
15. Blair Murray (Scarlets – 8 caps)
Replacements
16. Liam Belcher (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)
17. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 40 caps)
18. Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby – 6 caps)
19. James Ratti (Ospreys – 1 cap)
20. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons – 57 caps)
21. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 27 caps)
22. Rhodri Williams (Dragons – 9 caps)
23. Joe Roberts (Scarlets – 5 caps)
Source: WRU
How To Watch Japan vs Wales – July 5 2025
The test will be broadcast live in Japan on NHK and via live streaming on NHK Plus and available live on J Sports 1.
Japan Rugby News 2025
- Brave Blossoms Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 Squad and New Mantra.
- Wales Squad For Japan July 2025 Tour Announced.
- Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Details Announced.
- Brave Blossoms Lipovitan D Tour 2025 Fixtures In Europe Confirmed.
