Japan Men’s Coach Eddie Jones announced the first Brave Blossoms squad of 2025, with the players set to face the Maori All Blacks and Wales over the coming weeks in Japan. At the launch of the squad in Tokyo, Jones also laid out the mantra of Chosoku As One, which promises to build on the philosophy of super-fast rugby in play and mindset.
‘Chosoku As One’ is the next phase of Chosoku Rugby or super-fast rugby, and is intended to be implemented across the entire JRFU (Japan Rugby Football Union) elite levels so that players embody the same philosophy of play.
The JRFU commented that “it will also be the guiding vision across all rugby in Japan, both in terms of playing style, but also within coaching, management and wider off-field activities.”
Jones wants to take the concept even further, “to stretch and press the fabric of chosoku rugby into every facet of the Japanese game”, added the JRFU.
Jones said at a press conference in Tokyo, “For Japan to rise again, to have another peak of success, we need to work together across high school, university and into League One. We need to produce the strongest team that plays rugby that keeps fans on the edges of their seats. Particularly in terms of our attack, we must take advantage of the opportunities we create and play on top of the opposition, and then conversely, when we don’t have the ball, we need a much higher work rate in our defence.”
Under his tenure, the Brave Blossoms have been capping a lot of new young players, but it also means the results have not been so positive, which has caused frustration among the fans, and we have heard, some JRLO clubs.
Eddie Jones talks of needing a rugby revolution in Japan and changing the way they play. “I am impressed by their potential, but now we need to convert that potential for them into a higher standard of consistent play.”
He added of the results, “Of course, we want to win, but I think there is a greater duty to Japanese rugby here. In our rugby ecosystem, we need to work as one and maximise the resources we’ve got. Maximise every talented high school and university player and make sure they’ve got the opportunity to play. In that way, we can maximise the talent coming through to the national team. One thing I do know, having come back to Japan, is that there’s enough talent.”
Attacking Mindset is Fine, but Defence Needs Work
Eddie Jones has said they will also work on their defensive approach, which is certainly needed at international test-level rugby.
"I want them to focus more on defence, understand its importance, and what kind of defence do I want them to have? They have no choice but to tackle, get up quickly, and keep filling the space. To achieve this, I'm trying to work on the idea of ??"paying the price." I'm going to quantify good plays, make them visible, and make them easier to understand.”
There is currently no defensive coach in the Japanese national team setup following the vacancy left by David Kidwell last season.
Victor Matfield is listed as a Technical Advisor until the end of June for the Brave Blossoms, and former England international Piers Francis, who plays for third division JRLO Kurita Water Gush, is among the Japanese coaching staff as an assistant until the end of June.
Brave Blossoms Squad - Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025
The Japanese Men's 15s squad features 20 forwards and 17 backs for the upcoming three-match Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025.
Eddie Jones has continued his policy of selecting uncapped players. Michael Lietch is by far the most experienced with 87-test caps, and highly-rated Werner Deans is the next most experienced with 21 caps.
17 uncapped players in the squad
9 players with just ten caps or fewer
26, the average age of the squad
The combined total of the other 19 forwards, excluding Leitch, is 119 caps
The pack’s nine front rowers have a total of 33 caps, but six of those selected are uncapped.
Among the backs, Toulouse-based scrumhalf Naoto Saito is in the squad that includes Dylan Riley, Seungsin Lee, and Siosaia Fifita, adding experience to a backline that includes 7 uncapped players.
Kyohei Yamasawa (Saitama Wild Knights), who was arguably the best Japanese fly-half in terms of stats, topping the points charts, and Shuntaro Kitamura (the second highest try scorer this past season in the JRLO at Shizuoka Blue Revs) are two of the unlucky players not selected.
Australian-born Sam Greene (Shizuoka Blue Revs) is one of the uncapped players who includes 15 foreign-born players in the squad. He is a former Australian A Schoolboy and previously was with the Queensland Reds, but has been based in Japan since 2016.
Uncapped university player, Jingo Takenoshita, who is a third-year student at Meiji University and toured with the U23 squad to Australia earlier this year, is included and Jones said of the young talent, “His ambition is wonderful. His movement, even when he doesn't have the ball, is good."
13 players were unavailable due to injuries, including some you would assume would have made the squad: Himeno Kazuki, Nagata Tomoki, Jone Naikabula, Ruan Botha, Tachikawa Masamichi, Kida Haruto, Nezuka Koga, Saumaki Amanaki, Tiennan Costley, Ikeda Yuki and Yazaki Yoshitaka*.
Brave Blossoms 2025 Fixtures
A Japan XV will take on the Maori All Blacks on Saturday, June 28, at Chichibunomiya in Tokyo. At the squad selection announcement, it was mentioned that the team that will play against the Maori All Blacks will include players who had little playing time during the season and some members who were not included in the squad but participated in previous training camps.
The Welsh series is a prime opportunity to get vital wins. Wales has not won a test since Georgia in the World Cup back in October 2023 (17 consecutive tests). The tests take place in Kitakyushu’s Mikuni World Stadium on July 5 and in Kobe’s Noevir Stadium on July 12.
The Brave Blossoms then feature in the Pacific Nations Cup, in which they were runners-up in 2024. In pool play, they host Canada on Saturday, 30 August at Sendai Yurtec Stadium before heading the the USA to face the Eagles on Saturday, 6 September at Heart Health Park, Sacramento, California. This will be followed by the semifinals and playoff matches in the US in September.
At the end of the year, they will head to Europe to play Ireland (Saturday 8 November), Wales (Saturday 15 November), and Georgia (Saturday 22 November).
