Former Australian Schools prop Opeti Helu and Super Rugby cult hero Kazuki Himeno headline Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms squad to face New Zealand this weekend.
Himeno, who captained Japan at the World Cup in France, will return from injury against the All Blacks in Yokohama on Saturday.
The 30-year-old played for Super Rugby’s Highlanders in 2021 where he was named rookie of the year and gained cult status in Dunedin.
However, it’s the inclusion of uncapped Helu, 26, that will prick Australian ears.
The 2016 Australian Schoolboy has spent the past three seasons alongside the likes of Bernard Foley and Malcom Marx with Japan League One heavyweights Kubota Spears and joins fellow rookie Takuri Matsunaga on the Brave Blossoms’ bench.
At an imposing 190cm and 127kg, Helu offers much-needed bulk to the traditionally undersized Japanese pack.
“We want to keep introducing new blood into Japanese rugby. Between 2020 and 2023, Japan had 33 new test caps over four years. In 2024 we’ve had 17 already. We’re bringing new blood in and creating a new generation of players to increase the depth and quality of our squad,” Jones said.
“Across the PNC we made some fantastic improvements, but in the end, we were not strong enough against Fiji. We played some very good rugby in the leadup to the final, particularly in terms of our continuity in attack.
“We need to bring this against New Zealand. We want to attack them with our speed and with relentless defence, and we will have to be 100% on the job for the whole time.
“When you play New Zealand, they’re always the benchmark. For the last 20 years they’ve been the best team in the world. We’ve got two weeks to get ready for the game, and the one thing I know is when you play New Zealand, you have to go after them, chase them and go hard at them.”
New Zealand won 38-31 in the most recent meeting of the two teams, two years ago in Tokyo.
Japan will travel to Europe after the match to face France, Uruguay and England.
Japan (15-1):Yoshitaka Yazaki; Jone Naikabula, Dylan Riley, Nicholas McCurran, Malo Tuitama; Harumichi Tatekawa (capt), Shinobu Fujiwara; Faulua Makisi, Kazuki Himeno, Amato Fakatava; Warner Dearns, Sanaila Waqa; Shuhei Takeuchi, Atsushi Sakate, Takato Okabe
Replacements: Mamoru Harada, Takayoshi Mohara, Opeti Helu, Epineri Uluiviti, Kanji Shimokawa, Taiki Koyama, Tomoki Osada, Takuro Matsunaga
