No place for Lappies Labuschagne in Japan squad

Loose forward Kazuki Himeno was on Tuesday namedJapan captain for the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the Brave Blossoms seek to replicate their impressive performances on home soil four years ago.

Hosts Japan were the first Asian team to make the quarter-finals in 2019, beating Ireland and Scotland before losing to eventual champions South Africa.

Himeno, fullback Kotaro Matsushima and veteran former skipper Michael Leitch were among 30 players named in Japan’s Rugby World Cup squad ahead of the tournament beginning next month in France.

Japan head coach Jamie Joseph said he was “not in a position” yet to name the whole 33-man squad due to injuries suffered by some players. The deadline is August 21.

Of the 30 players announced, 13 featured in the 2019 squad.

Prop Sione Halasili and scrumhalf Kenta Fukuda were the only two uncapped players, alongside another nine players with fewer than 10 Test caps.

“We got a lot of confidence from what we achieved in 2019. We surprised the world by the way we played the game of rugby,” Joseph told reporters Tuesday.

Japan have been drawn in Pool D with England, Argentina, Samoa and Chile.

Joseph said it would be a “massive challenge” to repeat the success of 2019 but “it’s our chance to do that again in 2023,” the New Zealander said.

“Like every team that’s going to the World Cup we want to win.”

Himeno starred for the Highlanders in Super Rugby in 2021.

Matsushima played two seasons for Clermont in France’s Top 14 and at the last World Cup scored five tries.

Japan will play Italy away in a final warm-up game on August 26, before opening their World Cup campaign against Chile in Toulouse on September 10.

Pieter “Lappies” Labuschagne was not named in the squad after being handed a three-match ban for a dangerous tackle in Japan’s 35-12 loss to Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup in Tokyo on August 5.

The suspension ruled the South Africa-born utility forward out of Japan’s World Cup opener against Chile, although he would have been free to face England in a crunch Pool D fixture a week later.

Props: Keita Inagaki (Saitama), Craig Millar (Saitama), Sione Halasili (Yokohama), Jiwon Gu (Kobe), Shinnosuke Kakinaga (Suntory), Asaeli Ai Valu (Saitama)

Hookers: Shota Horie (Saitama), Atsushi Sakate (Saitama), Kosuke Horikoshi (Suntory)

Locks: James Moore (Urayasu)

Loose forwards: Jack Cornelsen (Saitama), Shota Fukui (Saitama), Kazuki Himeno (Toyota, captain), Michael Leitch (Toshiba), Ben Gunter (Saitama)

Scrumhalves: Naoto Saito (Suntory), Yutaka Nagare (Suntory), Kenta Fukuda (Toyota)

Flyhalves: Lee Seung-sin (Kobe), Rikiya Matsuda (Saitama), Jumpei Ogura (Yokohama)

Wings: Siosaia Fifita (Hanazono), Semisi Masirewa (Hanazono), Jone Naikabula (Toshiba), Lomano Lava Lemeki (NEC)

Centres: Ryoto Nakamura (Suntory), Tomoki Osada (Saitama), Shogo Nakano (Suntory), Dylan Riley (Saitama)

Fullbacks: Kotaro Matsushima (Suntory)

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse