Sunwolves trio return for Cheetahs
Seasoned centre Derek Carpenter, one of the stalwarts of the team, lock Kotaro Yatabe and hooker Yusuke Niwai all return from a conditioning lay-off for the encounter with the visiting South African franchise.
Coach Filo Tiatia said it is important to get a win, as this is their last match before the June international break.
"We played reasonable well for an hour against the Sharks in Singapore last week," Tiatia said, adding: "We leaked three tries [in the final quarter].
"We have to improve and ensure it reflects in the result."
He said they will expect the Cheetahs to maul a lot.
"They have a good set piece and they are going to take us on up front."
Sunwolves: 15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Takaaki Nakazuru, 13 Derek Carpenter, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Shota Emi, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Rahboni Warren Vosayaco, 7 Shuhei Matsuhashi, 6 Malgene Ilaua, 5 Sam Wykes, 4 Kotaro Yatabe, 3 Takuma Asahara, 2 Yusuke Niwai, 1 Keita Inagaki.
Replacements: 16 Takeshi Hino, 17 Koki Yamamoto, 18 Yasuo Yamaji, 19 Hitoshi Ono, 20 Shokei Kin, 21 Keisuke Uchida, 22 Jumpei Ogura, 23 William Tupou.
Date: Saturday, May 27
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo
Kick-off: 14.15 (07.15 SA time; 05.15 GMT)
Referee: Will Houston (Australia)
Assistant referees: Shuhei Kubo (Japan), Akihisa Aso (Japan)
TMO: Minoru Fuji (Japan)
