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Japan stick to the tried and true in selections for PNC final
By Ned Lester
Japan head coach Eddie Jones has adopted the classic 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' motto in his selections for the Pacific Nations Cup final against Fiji.
The Brave Blossoms enjoyed consistency of selection throughout the pool stages of the tournament before a handful of changes were made for last weekend's semi-final vs Manu Samoa.
Those changes proved successful as the hosts produced a near 50-point performance to claim their place in the final.
With that in mind, all but one of the matchday 23 have retained their roles from the semi-final, with the lone change coming in the 23 jersey as Junta Hamano comes in for an injured Taichi Takahashi.
The team have set up camp south of Osaka in Miyazaki in hope of preparing for the humid conditions, and Jones said the challenge for his side is to prove that their attack can outplay one of the most electric teams in word rugby in Fiji.
Japan side to play Fiji
1. Shogo Miura
2. Mamoru Harada
3. Shuhei Takeuchi
4. Epineri Uluiviti
5. Warner Dearns
6. Amato Fakatava
7. Kanji Shimokawa
8. Faulua Makisi
9. Shinobu Fujiwara
10. Harumichi Tatekawa
11. Malo Tuitama
12. Nicholas McCurran
13. Dylan Riley
14. Tomoki Osada
15. Seungsin Lee
Replacements
16. Kenta Matsuoka
17. Takato Okabe
18. Keijiro Tamefusa
19. Isaiah Collins-Mapusua
20. Tiennan Costley
21. Taiki Koyama
22. Yusuke Kajimura
23. Junta Hamano
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Latest Comments
I guess the other option would be to start ALB, he's looked good in the 12 so far when he starts and sets up those outside him. But that would mean putting the vice captain on the bench, which is unlikely. Another option would be to drop Reiko to the bench and play Proctor, though he's gone home so that's not going to happen either.
Both of those players just offer more of the soft distribution skills good centres learn from playing their careers there. Unfortunately that's what's lacking with the current combo.
Go to commentsWhatever let's see if this load of waffle is still valid in 2 years time. ABs will rise we have a lot of new talent coming through. The NPC was the highest standard for years. The game is changing to suit the fast pace we like to play. We get to play the Springboks more, including the franchises, which will make us better! Overall I am optimistic. I will add having watched the England game multiple times we made most of the play. England are an awesome physical team, but you can expect the All Blacks to get better and better at executing the chances. It could easily have been 5 tries to one instead of 3 to 1.
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