Van den Heever gets bench role for All Blacks clash
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Japan head coach Jamie Joseph has revealed his team for Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks in Tokyo.
World Cup veterans Michael Leitch, Pretoria-born Kotaro Matsushima and Yutaka Nagare were all named in the starting XV.
Leitch is in his usual No.6 jersey, while Matsushima and Nagare are in the No.14 and No.9 jerseys respectively.
Ryohei Yamanaka and Siosaia Fifita will join Matsushima in the back three. The midfield pairing consists of Dylan Riley ad Ryoto Nakamura.
Nagare’s halfback partner for the match will be Takuya Yamasawa.
Leitch will be joined by Tevita Tatafu and Kazuki Himeno in the back row with Jack Cornelsen and Warner Dearns forming a second-row combination.
Jiwon Gu, Atsushi Sakate (captain) and Keita Inagaki are in the front row.
Meanwhile, former Bulls and Stormers star Gerhard van den Heever has been included on the bench.
He can cover multiple positions in the backline.
Japan: 15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Siosaia Fifita, 10 Takuya Yamasawa, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Tevita Tatafu, 7 Kazuki Himeno, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Jack Cornelsen, 4 Warner Dearns, 3 Jiwon Gu, 2 Atsushi Sakate (captain), 1 Keita Inagaki.
Replacements: 16 Takeshi Hino, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Shuhei Takeuchi, 19 Kanji Shimokawa, 20 Faulua Makisi, 21 Naoto Saito, 22 Seunsin Lee, 23 Gerhard van den Heever.
Date: Saturday, October 29
Venue: Japan National Stadium, Tokyo
Kick-off: 14.50 (18.50 NZDT; 05.50 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Jordan Way (Australia), Graham Cooper (Australia)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
