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Japan XV face Australia A in the Asahi Super Dry Challenge match on Saturday, October 18, with an early afternoon kickoff at the Yodokouzakura Stadium in Osaka.
In 2025, the Japan XV lost to the Maori All Blacks 20-53 as part of the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 in Tokyo on the back of defeating the New Zealand University side 78-28 and 30-21, and defeating a Hong Kong China Representative team 64-12.
The Japan and Japan XV sides have faced the Australia A team seven times since 2003 and were only victorious once, which was the last time they played in 2022 with a 52-48 win in Osaka, but they lost the series 1-2.
Two weeks ago, Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones confirmed the 40-member Japan national team training squad for the matches and included eight players as a supplementary JAPAN XV Training Squad to provide extra cover for the two non-capped matches, but that squad composition has already seen changes.
The Japan XV side features members of several Japan Rugby League One teams, such as Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, Kubota Spears Funabashi TOKYO-BAY, among others, but two university players are also in the mix.
Flanker Akito Okui from Toyota Verblitz will lead the side out in front of a home crowd this weekend as the players will be keen to impress Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones before the senior team takes on the Wallabies next weekend in Tokyo, and Japan XV head to Hong Kong.
Yoshitaka Yazaki from Waseda University starts at fullback, and Rikuto Nakaya (Doshisha University) is among the reserves.
International audiences might recognise David Van Zeeland, an Australian-born player who competes at Kubota Spears, who will start in the second row. Staring flanker Tyler Paul, who plays at URAYASU D-Rocks, is a former Eastern Province, Southern Kings, and Sharks player from South Africa. Halatoa Vailea scored 11 tries in last season’s JRLO for Kubota Spears, and is on the left wing, while the dangerous Siosaia Fifita (who has represented Japan at the Junior level, U20s and for the Brave Blossoms) is at inside centre.
Jones said of the camps in which the backs and forwards had split before uniting, “The training camps are going to be pretty important. We’ve tried to keep the squad fairly consistent from the Pacific Nations Cup, albeit with a few injuries and a few new players who have become available to enable us to increase our depth, particularly in the lock area, where we’ve been skinny in terms of depth.”
Australia A coach is Western Force’s Simon Cron, and he has named hooker Matt Faessler to captain the Australia A side, which includes as many as nine Wallabies in the matchday 23 to take on Japan XV in Osaka. Although they are away from home, they will be considered favourites for the one-off clash. Cron is supported by newly appointed Western Force assistant Brad Harris and Australia U20s coach Chris Whitaker.
Pete Samu and Ben Donaldson are the vice-captains, with the latter starting at fly-half and trying to push for a starting role in the senior Wallabies side, as no one has staked the position as their own. He continues his return from injury after appearing in all three British & Irish Lions games earlier this year.
Backrower Pete Samu will represent Australia for the first time since 2023 and starts at No.8. He moved to France to play for Bordeaux and has returned to Australia to play for the NSW Waratahs in 2026 and 2027.
Elsewhere, 2024 Rugby Australia Rookie of the Year Tim Ryan has been named on the wing.
Cron said, "The squad has had a great week here in Osaka for what's going to be a high-quality match against a well-prepared Japan XV side. There are a number of guys in the team who are earning international experience for the first time, while there are others who have competed at the highest level over a number of seasons. They're all equally excited to perform well in Australian colours on Saturday."
33-cap Samu, as well as Matt Faessler, Josh Canham and Hamish Stewart, will join the Wallabies squad in Tokyo after Saturday.
Brave Blossom legend and former scrum-half who played at the 2011, 2015, and 2019 Rugby World Cups and earned 75 caps before retiring, Fumiaki Tanaka, said in a JRFU media event in the week leading up to the fixtures, “Japan is now playing fast-paced, exploitative rugby, and as was the case in the Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) final against Fiji. Their ability to score tries has improved. There are times when they give up tries too easily on defence, but I think their attack is world-class.”
Former Australia 125-capped Australian player Michael Hooper, who played last season in the Japan Rugby League One and will be a coach consultant for Toyota Verblitz this season, added, “I played in Japan in 2021 and 2025. Over those four years, the games have become tougher, the number of close matches has increased, and the level of rugby in Japan has risen significantly. I think that the fact that Japan has so many world-class players has had a very positive impact on not only the national team players but also domestic players.
I believe that their performances in League One and the Pacific Nations Cup will have a positive impact on the growth of rugby in Japan in the future.”
Following the Australia A match, one JAPAN XV squad will be named to head to play Hong Kong China on Friday, 24 October at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, while the test team will prepare for the match against the Wallabies on Saturday, 25 October at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
The Japan squad departs for the tough end-of-year tour, which includes fixtures against the Springboks, Ireland, Wales, and Georgia. They will need to target wins in the last two games to secure as high a ranking as possible before the Rugby World Cup 2027 draw is held in December 2025.
The Wallabies will face England in London, Italy in Udine, Ireland in Dublin and France in Paris after their Japan venture.
