Japan’s coach, ex-All Black John Kirwan, has made two changes to his starting line up for tonight’s Pool A clash against Canada. Nozomu Fujita and Sione Talikavili Vatuvei come in to the fifteen at prop and flanker respectively and Takashi Kikutani retains the captain’s role.
Whilst neither team are likely to qualify, up for grabs is the coveted third spot in the pool assuming France beat Tonga at the weekend. In this world cup the third placed team in each pool will automatically qualify for the 2015 tournament in England.
Here’s the full Japanese starting fifteen
15 Shaun Webb
14 Kosuke Endo
13 Alisi Tupuailai
12 Ryan Nicholas
11 Hirotoki Onozawa
10 James Arlidge
9 Fumiaki Tanaka
8 Hisateru Hirashima
7 Shota Horie
6 Nozomu Fujita
5 Luke Thompson
4 Toshizumi Kitagawa
3 Sione Talikavili Vatuvei
2 Michael Leitch
1 Takashi Kikutani (c)