Japan U20 play Italy U20 in their second game at the Junior World Championship 2026 on Thursday, 2 July, as both teams look to secure their first win in Georgia.
The Japanese lost to New Zealand 38-21, with the game called off early due to lightning, while Italy lost to Scotland 32-38, which did earn them a losing bonus point. Italy (7) came into the tournament ranked higher than Scotland (10) and Japan (15).
It is also the second consecutive week where the junior side of Japan takes on an opposition which the senior side is playing the same week. Last week Japan XV took on the Maori All Blacks, and this weekend the Brave Blossoms Nations Championship gets underway with the Japanese hosting the senior Azzurri Men’s XV in Tokyo.
Italy have won all four matches against Japan at the Junior World Championships and have lost their opening match in all four previous U20 World Rugby Championship tournaments but followed them up with victory in Matchday 2 on each previous occasion. When these two teams last played in South Africa in 2023, Italy won 45-27.
Japan are looking for a first pool win at this level in 20 matches at the Junior World Championships.
Photo Credit – World Rugby
All of Japan’s players and the Japan U20s Head Coach Naoya Okubo spoke of their disappointment in the opening loss and rued the second half after being tied at the break. They had a solid set piece and won all of their own scrums and won a penalty at scrum time off NZ, but the lineout had around a 70% success rate (in tough conditions) and needs to be better.
Japan U20 Head Coach Naoya Okubo said: “Coming into the match against Italy, we’ve been focusing on perseverance, while also remaining patient. We want to stick to our game plan, avoid rushing our play and acting too hastily.
We want to bide our time, create opportunities and execute well when opportunities arise. Furthermore, we want to use size and speed to our advantage by running opposing packs off their feet. By keeping them constantly moving, we can neutralise any size advantage.”
Their discipline was also good, and they didn’t concede a card in the opening round loss and had far fewer penalties (7) conceded compared to the tournament average of 11.
The Azzurrini (as the Italy U20s are known) won both their JWC pre-season matches, beating Spain 55-27, and more impressively, defeating England 24-19 in Calvisano.
Italy captain Riccardo Casarin said, “We want to play against Japan in our way. Obviously we know they’re a quality team, but we just want to focus on our performance and obviously our journey.”
Italy Head Coach Di Giandomenico added: “We were obviously disappointed after the first match, which didn’t go the way we wanted, both in terms of the result and the way we wanted to play. Let’s focus on the next task, which hides potentially dangerous pitfalls in the large volume of play that Japan produces, showing great speed. A careful and consistent performance will be required; we are aware of that.”
All of the fixtures and results can be seen here.
Photo Credit – World Rugby – Italy beat Scotland in their Pool B opener JWC 2026
Japan U20 Squad vs Italy U20 – JWC 2026
You can see more on the Japan U20 squad selected by the JRFU here.
Japan’s flyhalf, Takeru Niwa, made 16 kicks in the loss to New Zealand – more than any player in the opening JWC round. They are usually a team that plays with ball in hand, but the weather may have had its part to play.
The only change in the starting XV is Akiaki Tsubone starts at number 8 and captains the side after missing the opening game. Kohaku Suda, Yura Morioka and Yuta Otabe also come into the matchday squad among the reserves.
Starting XV
15 Ryuto Koga, 14 Shinnosuke Uchida, 13 Rio Iwakura, 12 Tsunehidemichi Fukuda, 11 Isa Fukada, 10 Takeru Niwa, 9 Soshi Kataoka, 8 Akihiro Tsubone (C), 7 Kise Sin, 6 Riku Fujikubo, 5 Masato Hyakutake, 4 Kotaro Kumagae, 3 Haruto Sasaki, 2 Sota Miura, 1 Songha Ri
Reserves:
16 Seia Kawanai, 17 Keigo Aruga, 18 Kanta Kawagoe, 19 Taiga Yamazaki, 20 Masato Yanase, 21 Kohaku Suda, 22 Yuta Otabe, 23 Yura Morioka
Italy U20 Squad vs Japan U20 – JWC 2026
Two players to watch are flanker Jaheim Noel Wilson, who made 44 metres-in-contact from his 17 carries against Scotland. He also made 15 tackles in the loss. Centre Riccardo Casarin made 15 carries and 17 tackles too – both made more than any other player in Round 1 of the JWC.
Starting XV
15 Pietro CELI (Livorno Rugby)
14 Luca DE NOVELLIS (Pesaro Rugby)
13 Giacomo FALCHETTO (Benetton Rugby Treviso)
12 Riccardo CASARIN (Capitano, Amatori&Union Rugby Milano)
11 David LUISATO (Benetton Rugby Treviso)
10 Roberto FASTI (Benetton Rugby Treviso)
9 Mattia ANDRETTI (Mogliano Veneto Rugby)
8 Davide SETTE (Rugby Experience L’Aquila)
7 Jaheim Noel WILSON (Rugby Club Pasian di Prato)
6 Antony Italo MIRANDA (Mogliano Veneto Rugby)
5 Fabio SALVANTI (Unione Rugby Firenze)
4 Simone FARDIN (Rugby Casale)
3 Luca TREVISAN (Golden Lions)
2 Valerio PELLI (Mogliano Veneto Rugby)
1 Christian BRASINI (Livorno Rugby)
Reserves:
16 Ettore DINARTE (Valpolicella Rugby)
17 Giacomo MESSORI (Rugby Petrarca)
18 Emiliano MASTROPASQUA (Amatori&Union Rugby Milano)
19 Enoch OPOKU-GYAMFI (Bath Rugby, un cap con la Nazionale Maggiore)
20 Marco SPREAFICHI (Benetton Rugby Treviso)
21 Carlo Antonio BIANCHI (Unione Rugby Firenze)
22 Nikolaj VAROTTO (Zebre Parma)
23 Edoardo VITALE (CUS Milano Rugby)
Japan Rugby News
- Japan U20s Lose JWC 2026 Opener to New Zealand.
- Japan U20 vs New Zealand U20 – JWC 2026 Match Preview.
- Junior World Championship 2026 – Dates, Pools & Schedule for 2026 Confirmed.
- Asian International Rugby Tournaments 2026.
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