Japan have high hopes of scoring their first ever victory over a major rugby nation when they take on depleted Six Nations champions Wales in Osaka on Saturday.
The Brave Blossoms will look to seize a golden opportunity while 15 of Wales’s best players and their head coach, Warren Gatland, tour Australia with the British and Irish Lions.
Japan have contested all seven editions of the Rugby World Cup and will host the tournament in 2019, but they have never beaten top-10 opposition in an international history which stretches back to the 1930s.
Scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka, who has been in impressive form with New Zealand’s Super 15 outfit the Otago Highlanders, admitted he would be devastated if Japan did not grab their chance.
“I will be very, very disappointed if we lose, because they (Wales) are a second, third strength team,” said Tanaka.
Japan have cantered to six straight Asian Five Nations titles without losing a single game, and they also won the Pacific Nations Cup in 2011.
But they have found life tougher on the wider stage and they remain winless in the Rugby World Cup since thrashing minnows Zimbabwe in 1997.
In seven full internationals against Wales, Japan’s smallest margin of defeat was 23 points, in Tokyo in 2001, and the biggest was a 98-0 collapse in Cardiff in 2004.
However, that could all change at Osaka’s Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground on Saturday where Wales, under stand-in coach Robin McBryde, have eight uncapped players in their match-day line-up.
Japan’s ex-Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has bolstered the team that lost 22-8 to Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup last week by calling up Tanaka and Melbourne Rebels hooker Shota Horie.
“They have brought so much back with them from their time in Super Rugby,” said Jones.
“They approach training knowing that every time they have to do something it is important. And they really help with the communication of the team.”
Ex-Australia rugby league international Craig Wing will start at centre and Michael Broadhurst moves to flanker after fellow New Zealand-born forward Michael Leitch broke his leg against Fiji.
Wales are on their third visit to Japan, after making their first trip in 1975 with a squad that included legends JPR Williams, Phil Bennett and Gerald Davies.
Saturday’s starting team includes 18-year-old wing Dafydd Howells as one of four debutants, plus another four on the bench. Six Nations stalwarts Lloyd Williams and Dan Biggar will provide solidity at half-back.
“They are eager to get out there now, pull on the jersey and show what they can do,” said McBryde. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for them and they know the importance of wearing the jersey and representing our nation.”
Wales are ranked fifth in the world while Japan are 15th and aiming to break into the top 10 by the 2015 Rugby World Cup. They will also play Scotland this year and are in talks for a visit from world champions New Zealand.
Teams (15-1)
Japan – Ayumu Goromaru; Yoshikazu Fujita, Male Sau, Craig Wing, Kenki Fukuoka; Harumichi Tatekawa, Fumiaki Tanaka; Takashi Kikutani (capt), Michael Broadhurst, Hendrik Tui; Shoji Ito, Hitoshi Ono; Hiroshi Yamashita, Shota Horie, Masataka Mikami
Replacements: Takeshi Kizu, Yusuke Nagae, Kensuke Hatakeyama, Toshizumi Kitagawa, Ryuta Yasui, Atsushi Hiwasa, Yu Tamura, Hirotoki Onozawa
Wales – Liam Williams; Harry Robinson, Owen Williams, Jonathan Spratt, Dafydd Howells; Dan Biggar, Lloyd Williams; Ryan Bevington, Emyr Phillips, Scott Andrews; Bradley Davies (capt), Lou Reed; Andrew Coombs, James King, Rob McCusker
Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Rhys Gill, Rhodri Jones, Andries Pretorius, Dan Baker, Tavis Knoyle, Rhys Patchell, Tom Prydie
Japan eye historic rugby win against depleted Wales
