Japan to provide stern challenge to British & Irish Lions

Colin Newboult

After four long years, since their dramatic 1-1 draw with New Zealand, the British and Irish Lions play their first match as they prepare for their tour of South Africa.

The best of Britain and Ireland, minus four Exeter Chiefs and a few other players that only recently joined up with the squad, will begin their quest for a first series victory over the Springboks since 1997 by taking on Japan.

One of the star countries of the World Cup in 2019, the Brave Blossoms will provide a stern challenge for the Lions and certainly a very different test to the one they will face against Jacques Nienaber’s men in a month’s time.

You may therefore question the wisdom of going head-to-head with a team that prefer the expansive approach, in comparison to the brutal physicality that awaits in the southern hemisphere.

The contest will, however, get them up to the speed of Test match rugby as the Japanese will look to run their opponents ragged. Of course, it has not been easy preparation for the visitors either, with Jamie Joseph’s outfit not playing a game since the global tournament just under two years ago, but they should have far more continuity.

There are plenty of familiar names in the Japan XV, including Amanaki Mafi, Michael Leitch and Kotaro Matsushima, while the presence of Kazuki Himeno on the bench will give them plenty of impact in the second half.

It could therefore be a difficult 80 minutes for the Lions, who have selected six debutants in the run-on side and are lacking in familiar combinations. Liam Williams and Josh Adams line up in the back three while Tadhg Beirne and Jack Conan know each other well in the back-row.

At centre, there is at least the all-Ireland partnership of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw, which provides a solid presence in the midfield, but it wouldn’t be a surprise should they take time to click.

In fact, it would be incredibly impressive if the Lions end up blowing Japan away, but that is unlikely and we expect a reasonably close encounter.

What they said

Warren Gatland is not taking Japan lightly and believes that it is a huge chance for individuals to put their hands up for Test selection, despite the games with South Africa still being a month away.

“I can tell you, we are preparing to play a quality international team and we thoroughly respect them – they made the World Cup quarter-finals,” Gatland said.

“We’re anticipating a tough game against Japan – a side that like to play at a high-tempo and shift the ball.

“We saw throughout the World Cup they have attacking threats across the park and a solid defence and set-piece.

“I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made during our training camp in Jersey so far, but we’ve a long way to go. You can see that the squad are starting to get to grips with our game strategies, but, as always with a Lions tour, this takes time to bed in.

“We’re in a good place though and I can tell there’s a lot more to come from this group. Everyone in the squad will get a start before the start of the Test Series, so each member of the squad can put their hand up for Test selection.”

Meanwhile, Japan’s star wing Kotaro Matsushima is honoured to be part of the first Japan side to take on the Lions.

“As a player, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience because I can’t imagine I’ll have another chance to play against the Lions,” Matsushima told Lions Rugby’s website. “It’s a very important match for me.

“If we can get a win against them, there will be more chances for Japan to play against Lions. So this game will be a benchmark for the future of Japanese rugby.

“If we put in a good performance as a team and if we can win against the Lions, we’ll get a huge amount of attention. That’s a huge motivation for me and the team, so we have a strong determination.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to play against the Lions. All of us will probably be nervous but at the same time, it’s a new team, so there’s a lot of excitement in the squad.”

Players to watch

Even in the opening match, you can see the way Warren Gatland wants to set up his side to face the Springboks. Tadhg Beirne played three of Ireland’s Six Nations matches at lock but you get the sense that he is looked at as solely a blindside on this tour. With South Africa’s lineout a huge strength and the imposing Pieter-Steph du Toit in the back-row, Gatland will look to counteract that with a tall and powerful number six. With his set-piece excellence, allied by an incredible breakdown presence and physicality in the loose, Beirne is the ideal candidate.

Similarly, on the wing, the coaches will look for balance and Duhan van der Merwe provides the power which will complement the pace and guile of the other options. There are doubts about his defence and indeed, with South Africa no doubt kicking plenty of ball, the more renowned high ball specialists, such as Josh Adams, Anthony Watson and Liam Williams, are favourites to get the nod, but Van der Merwe can lay down a marker.

That is also the case for his Scottish team-mate Rory Sutherland. Many rightly lavished praise on Wales prop Wyn Jones during the Six Nations but, in terms of all-round skill sets, few can beat the Edinburgh man. South Africa had the best scrum during the World Cup and the Lions will need reliable operators to combat the excellence of Steven Kitshoff and co. Sutherland certainly has that and more, with the prop a presence in both the tight and loose, and this is an opportunity for him to show his quality.

Up front is where the Lions will expect to dominate Japan but the Brave Blossoms showed that they were capable of handling some of the biggest packs during the 2019 World Cup. Despite generally being smaller, they were technically accurate and loosehead Keita Inagaki proved to be a very adept scrummager. Their pack also contains the outstanding Michael Leitch, who once again captains the side and certainly won’t take a backward step this weekend.

However, much of the Japanese brilliance comes behind the scrum. Although the sport will miss Kenki Fukuoka, who has retired at the age of 28 to become a doctor, they still have the wonderful Kotaro Matsushima on the right wing. He was utterly spellbinding in the global tournament two years ago and has taken that form into the European game with Clermont Auvergne. Matsushima will look to benefit from the work of Ryoto Nakamura and Timothy Lafaele, a centre duo that combined superbly during the World Cup.

Main head-to-head

Few observers had Ireland’s Jack Conan in their squad but it suggests that Warren Gatland is looking to play his number eights in the wider channels. Both Sam Simmonds and Taulupe Faletau are also effective at this, which means Conan’s head-to-head with Amanaki Mafi will be interesting. Mafi has had his battles off the field – quite literally at times – but at his best the Japan back-row is an outstanding player. Like the Lions eights, he prefers to roam around the field and create dents in the opposition rearguard with his powerful ball-carrying.

It is therefore a big day for Conan, who faces off with a top class operator on Saturday knowing that he needs to impress. Faletau is the favourite to take that number eight slot in the Test series, while Simmonds has all the talent to potentially force his way into the 23 for the games against the Springboks. However, the Irishman had a superb end to the Six Nations and has a nice mix of physicality and athleticism, which will serve him well over the next month.

Prediction

The opening game of a tour is always difficult for the Lions, particularly against a team that is as skilful as Japan. Although they began the 2013 series with a dominant victory over an even less prepared Barbarians side, they struggled against Royal XV and New Zealand Provincial Barbarians in 2009 and 2017 respectively. It wouldn’t be a surprise should the Brave Blossoms provide a number of problems for the Lions, but the power and quality the hosts possess should eventually see them take control. Lions by 10.

The teams

British & Irish Lions: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Ali Price, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Anthony Watson

Japan: 15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Siosaia Fifita, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Kaito Shigeno, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Lappies Labuschagné, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 James Moore, 4 Wimpie van der Walt, 3 Koo Ji-won, 2 Atsushi Sakate, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements: 16 Kosuke Horikoshi, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Jack Cornelsen, 20 Kazuki Himeno, 21 Tevita Tatafu, 22 Naoto Saito, 23 Rikiya Matsuda

Date: Saturday, June 26
Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 15:00 BST (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite, Pierre Brousset
TMO: Eric Gauzins

 

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