Japan vs All Blacks: International rugby live scores, blog

The All Blacks kick off their trip to the northern hemisphere in Tokyo with a clash against Japan. Join The Roar for live scores and rolling coverage from 4:50pm (AEDT).

The All Blacks have had a disrupted lead up to the game and are without the Barrett brothers due to the funeral for their grandmother. Sam Whitelock and Will Jordan are injured but the Kiwis will still run out heavy favourites and should have too much firepower for Jamie Joseph’s Brave Blossoms.

The All Blacks have had a rollercoaster season – losing four of their nine Tests but twin Bledisloe victories over the Wallabies have them back on track after a win over South Africa.

They are likely to go four from their last four here with some superstar talent on display. Included in that – for the first time in an All Blacks run on side is former NRL star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who will wear the No.12 as he gets a rare chance to prove he can make an impact at next year’s World Cup.

Former All Black back-rower Joseph has coached the Brave Blossoms since 2016 and under his guidance they have produced some decent results.

Despite suffering a 2-0 series defeat to France in July, Japan were competitive in both those Tests and a virtual Test-strength Japan XV recently played a series against Australia A, which they lost 2-1, finishing on a high with a stunning 52-48 win.

They last met in 2018 and, like the three previous encounters between them, New Zealand were easy winners – getting up 69-31.

“Our focus has been on us as a team and what we can do to create pressure and opportunities for ourselves,” said Joseph. “The All Blacks like to control the game through the set-piece, so we’ve done a lot of work with our scrum and lineout knowing that we’re playing a very big and experienced pack that will try and dominate us up front.

“We have to manage that and then, when we can create quality ball for our backs, as we showed against Australia A, we can score some quality tries as well.”

Game information

Venue: Japan National Stadium, Tokyo
Kick-off: 4:50pm (AEDT)
Streaming: Stan Sport
Betting: Japan $21, All Blacks $1.02 (odds via PlayUp)

Teams

Japan

1. Keita Inagaki, 2. Atsushi Sakate, 3. Jiwon Koo, 4. Warner Dearns, 5. Jack Cornelsen, 6. Michael Leitch (c), 7. Kazuki Himeno, 8. Tevita Tatafu, 9. Yutaka Nagare, 10. Takuya Yamasawa, 11. Siosaia Fifita, 12. Ryoto Nakamura, 13. Dylan Riley, 14. Kotaro Matsushima, 15. Ryohei Yamanaka

Reserves: 16. Takeshi Hino, 17. Craig Millar, 18. Shuhei Takeuchi, 19. Kanji Shimokawa, 20. Faulua Makisi, 21. Naoto Sato, 22. Seungsin Lee, 23. Gerhard van den Heever

All Blacks

1. George Bower, 2. Dane Coles, 3. Nepo Laulala, 4. Brodie Retallick, 5. Tupou Vaa’i, 6. Shannon Frizell, 7. Sam Cane (c), 8. Hoskins Sotutu, 9. Finlay Christie, 10. Richie Mo’unga, 11. Caleb Clarke, 12. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 13. Brayden Ennor, 14. Sevu Reece, 15. Stephen Perofeta

Reserves: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18. Tyrel Lomax, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Dalton Papali’i, 21. Aaron Smith, 22. David Havili, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown

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Matt Cleary

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Matt Cleary is a sports writer from Sydney. He enjoys golf, footy and Four Pines Pale Ale, and spends as much time as conscience allows at Long Reef GC. You can read him at his website and find more of his golf columns over at Patreon.