John Kirwan announces Japan’s squad for third pool game of 2011 Rugby World Cup against Tonga
Japan’s national Rugby Union team, commonly known as the Brave Blossoms, has announced their match day squad for their third pool game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC). Brave Blossoms head coach, former All Blacks international John Kirwan, announced his roster on Monday, September 19.
Japan will play their third game of the tournament against Tonga on Wednesday, September 21, at Okara Events Centre, Whangarei.
Japan so far has played two matches in the 2011 RWC and lost both games.
For Japan’s upcoming encounter against Tonga, Kirwan has made three changes in his starting xv, which took the field in Japan’s 47 – 21 defeat by France at Mclean Park, Napier on September 10.
The Japanese coach’s hand was forced to make changes after injuries to players. Fortunately, Kirwan retained most of his players from the staring xv that played in their French encounter, with the exception of Ryukoliniasi Holani and Koji Taira, who are currently struggling with injuries. Alisi Tupuailai and Itaru Taniguchi have replaced the duo, which have been moved from the bench to start in the lineup.
Holani’s participation in the rest of the tournament has been ruled out, meanwhile, Kaira is still with the rest of the squad and is expected to be fit to play in the Japan’s final pool match against Canada at Napier, on Tuesday, September 27. Earlier Kaira sustained a hamstring injury, in Japan’s last encounter against the All Blacks.
Sione Talikavili Vatuvei and Takehisa Usuzuki will start the match from the bench, occupying the positions vacated by Tupuailai and Taniguchi’s promotion into the starting xv.
Commenting on the injuries, Kirwan said, “The injuries are disappointing, but it's part of the World Cup. You just have to deal with it. We've got a lot of injuries at the moment - Ives, Holani, Tomoki, Imamura and Taira.” He expressed his confidence that the backup players were aware of their roles and what was required from them. Therefore, he was certain that they would not face any difficulties.
Earlier in June this year, Japan defeated Tonga to win the 2011 International Rugby Board (IRB) Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) title. However, Kirwan has termed Wednesday’s encounter as very different game and hinted the Wednesday’s as a World Cup final for both side.
Kirwan said, “This is the World Cup, so it'll be different from the PNC. I expect it to be a lot more aggressive, especially the first 20 to 30 minutes. Both of us have lost our first two games, so the match will be crucial for the two sides.”
The Japan’s squad for their upcoming encounter against the Tonga consists of
Starting XV: Shaun Webb, Kosuke Endo, Alisi Tupuailai, Ryan Nicholas, Hirotoki Onozawa, James Arlidge, Fumiaki Tanaka; Hisateru Hirashima, Shota Horie, Kensuke Hatakeyama, Luke Thompson, Toshizumi Kitagawa, Itaru Taniguchi (from bench), Michael Leitch, Takashi Kikutani (capt)
Replacements: Yusuke Aoki, Nozomu Fujita, Hitoshi Ono, Sione Talikavili Vatuvei , Atsushi Hiwasa, Takehisa Usuzuki, Murray Williams
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