Three South African born players in Japan's 23-man training squad

Japan included three South African-born players in their World Cup training squad.

Former Bulls duo Pieter Labuschagne and Grant Hattingh join Wimpie van der Walt in Jamie Joseph’s squad. Van der Walt already has nine caps for the Brave Blossoms.

He made his debut for the national team back in 2017.

Hattingh and Labuschagne, who are both uncapped at Test level, made their debuts for the Sunwolves in last year’s Super Rugby tournament.

Japan face Russia in the opening game of the 2019 World Cup on September 20. Japan will also face Ireland, Scotland and Samoa in Pool A.

Japan training squad: Takuma Asahara, Keita Inagaki, Jiwon Koo, Masataka Mikami, Samuela Anise, Grant Hattingh, Wimpie Van Der Walt, Pieter Labuschagne, Yoshitaka Tokunaga, Masakatsu Nishikawa, Michael Leitch, Shunsuke Nunomaki, Kazuki Himeno, Fumiaki Tanaka, Yutaka Nagare, Yu Tamura, Kenki Fukuoka, Akihito Yamada, William Tupou, Kotaro Matsushima.