October 9, 2015
Rugby World Cup Lineups: USA v Japan
Doug Coil
October 11, 2015
USA v Japan, Pool B, Kingsholm, Gloucester, Kick off 20:00 – 3pm ET
Referee: Glen Jackson Assistant Referee: John Lacey, Federico Anselmi; TV Match Official: Shaun Veldsman
USA have made 13 changes to the starting line-up that lost to South Africa. Only Samu Manoa and Zach Test remain as starters.
It will be Chris Wyles 11th World Cup appearance, which will equal the USA team record held by Mike MacDonald. He can also move into second place in World Cup scoring for the USA.
Japan Coach, Eddie Jones has made four changes to the starting side that beat Samoa. The changees are Hiroshi Yamashita, Justin Ives, Craig Wing, and Harumichi Tatekawa. Craig Wing becomes Japan’s oldest ever RWC debutant at 35 years and 289 days.
The starting line-up contains 540 caps, Japan’s third most experienced ever and they average just over 29 years.
Yoshikazu Fujita will also make his RWC test debut. Ayumu Goromaru and Michael Leitch have played every minute of the first 3 matches. Goromaru needs 2 points to reach 700 test points and 5 points to reach 50 RWC points.
Japan still has the possibility of gaining the quarterfinals with a win and some help by Samoa in beating Scotland. They also can finish third in the Pool and qualify for the Rugby World Cup 2015 in Japan.
The USA won against Japan during the Summer in the Pacific Nations Cup. They remain confident in gaining their first Rugby World Cup 2015 win.
USA Ranked 16th: HC Mike Tolkin Starters: 1. Eric Fry 2. Zach Fenoglio 3. Titi Lamositele 4. Hayden Smith 5. Greg Peterson 6. Al McFarland 7. Andrew Durutalo 8. Samu Manoa 9. Mike Petri 10. AJ MacGinty 11. Zach Test 12. Thretton Palamo 13. Seamus Kelly 14. Takudzwa Ngwenya 15. Chris Wyles (c) Replacements: 16. Phil Thiel 17. Oli Kilifi 18. Chris Baumann 19. Cam Dolan 20. John Quill 21. Danny Barrett 22. Niku Kruger 23. Folau Niua
Japan Ranked 11th: HC Eddie Jones Starters: 1. Keita Inagaki 2. Shota Horie 3. Hiroshi Yamashita 4. Luke Thompson 5. Justin Ives 6. Michael Leitch (c) 7. Michael Broadhurst 8. Ryu Koliniasi Holani 9. Fumiaki Tanaka 10. Kosei Ono 11. Kotaro Matsushima 12. Craig Wing 13. Harumichi Tatekawa 14. Yoshikazu Fujita 15. Ayumu Goromaru Replacements: 16. Takeshi Kizu 17. Masataka Mikami 18. Kensuke Hatakeyama 19. Shinya Makabe 20. Amanaki Lelei Mafi 21. Hendrik Tui 22. Atsushi Hiwasa 23. Karne Hesketh
