Japan National High School Team Will Tour England in March 2026
rugbyasia247
Posted On March 15, 2026
The Japan National High School Team will tour England in March 2026, where they will face Harlequins U19 and England U19.
Updated with Squads – March 16.
Photo Credit – JRFU
The two-match tour will also include a joint training session with Oxford University U20 and a visit to Rugby School – the birthplace of our game – confirmed the JRFU. The Japanese touring squad will visit the historic school and its grounds and take part in a joint training session with students from the school.
The Union has selected a 26-player squad (14 forwards, 12 backs) which will depart Tokyo on March 12, and the 11-day programme sees the team head to England for a second consecutive year. The squad members had been in training camps in Japan since the end of February 2026 and played several university teams as part of their preparation.
The selected squad for the England tour will be in camp again in Japan from 9-11 March and have a joint session with U20 Japan national team candidates.
Japan National High School Team Head Coach, Ryu Kuwabara, said via the JRFU: “We’ve now finalised the final 26 players who will participate in the England tour, having reduced the squad from the 30 players that participated in our two training camps.
Every single player delivered outstanding performances and bringing the squad down to 26 players was extremely difficult. Our decisions came down to selecting those players who consistently play the style of rugby we aspire to. I would like to express my gratitude to everybody who has supported us to get to this point, especially all the schools and all our other stakeholders.”
Fixtures 2026 – Japan National High School Team
Photo Credit – JRFU
Japan Team Captain and Number Eight, Loketi Bruceneol, explained, “As we prepare for the England tour, I will focus on leading the team to unlock and maximise our collective strength. To achieve this, we must unite the individual abilities of the players and secure their commitment to the team. To secure victory over England, we will focus on being fully prepared to achieve our objectives.”
Japan National High School Team vs Harlequins – Twickenham Stoop – March 17
The JRFU announced the High School squad for the opening match against Harlequins, with number 8 Loketi Bruceneol named as captain.
The English club said their selected squad includes Senior Academy, Under-18s, returning former Academy players and selected guests.
You can see the match preview here – Japan lost 36-38.
There has been no news whether the match will be streamed.
Japan National High School Team vs England U19 – Iffley Road in Oxford – March 21
The England U19 is a rematch of the game played last year, in which England won 52–47 in Cambridge.
Japan U20 will be competing in the World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia in 2026.
Japan National High School Team England Tour Squad
Toin Gakuen High School won the 2026 (105th) Japan High School Rugby Championship, securing the three-peat in defeating Kyoto Seisho HS 36-15.
The Toin Gakuen High School has 3 members in the touring squad, while Kyoto Seisho High School have just one representative.
The final squad can be seen via the JRFU here.
How To Watch Japan National High School Team England Tour 2026
Initially, the JRFU said matches would be available for streaming, but it has since announced that the first game will be recorded and streamed later on JAPAN RUGBY TV (Japan Rugby Association’s official YouTube channel).
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