The Japan Brave Blossoms’ final test and match of the Lipovitan D Tour 2025 is against Georgia this weekend on Saturday, 22 November at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, as they hope to break a 5-match losing streak in a country where they have had a good track record.
Feature Photo Credit IRFU
The Japanese losing run goes back to the final PNC loss against Fiji, and the team needs to address its discipline issues. They had three yellows against Wales, which brought the total tally to 8 in the past four games (and losses) to Australia, South Africa, Ireland, and Wales.
Georgia (#11) and Japan (#13) in World Rugby’s ranking indicate it will be a close match, and the Brave Blossoms have a 5-2 lead over the Lelos in the head-to-head. The last time they played each other was in Japan in 2024, and Georgia ran out 25-23 victors. Historically, the Brave Blossoms have won in Georgia on two of their three trips.
The Japanese can make it into the top 12 ranking if they win, which will guarantee a place in Band 2 for the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 Draw.
Following last week’s one-point 24-23 loss to Wales at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, both Head Coach Eddie Jones and captain Warner Dearns already discussed this weekend’s match.
Photo Credit JRFU
Eddie Jones said the match against Georgia, “We’ve got to pick ourselves up, get on the plane to Tbilisi and front up,” while Dearns said of the final Test, “Our next match against Georgia will be a physical game, with a lot of scrums. We will make sure to correct what we didn’t do (against Wales).”
Georgia has beaten both the USA and Canada this November, two teams the Japanese have also had the better of in the Pacific Nations Cup this year.
They have also had to send more players home due to knocks picked up on tour. Already without the likes of Ben Gunter & Michael Leitch, post-Wales, the following players were withdrawn from the tour: Yuya Hirose, Yoshihira Ishida, Kotaro Ito, and fullback Yoshitaka Yazaki.
Second row Shu Yamamoto from RICOH BlackRams Tokyo becomes the latest debut player used by Jones as he was named among the reserves and is one of four personnel and one positional switch for the Test.
In the front row, Shuhei Takeuchi comes in for Keijiro Tamefusa (among the reserves), while the second row is unchanged with Epineri Uruivaiti and Warner Dearns. Tyler Paul starts his first game with Kanji Shimokawa absent from the squad.
Photo Credit- JRFU – Brave Blossoms’ Dylan Riley
The scrumhalf and fly half pairing remains the same as do the centres, with Charlie Lawrence and vice-captain Dylan Riley starting. Kazuma Ueda earns his first start after making his debut against Wales, while Sam Greene earns his 6th cap this year, replacing the injured Yoshitaka Yazaki.
Another area needing improvement is how clinical the Japanese are when attacking. Against Wales, they visited the opposition 22m eleven times but only averaged 1.5 points per visit.
Among those on the bench is Harry Hockings, who had his card from last week’s loss rescinded.
Jones said via the JRFU: “This is an important test for us. We’ve had a really good, exacting tour; playing against the top countries in the world and now we get the chance to play against Georgia who are just above us in the rankings.
We’ve had a good preparation this week. Though we lost a couple of players through injury from the last game, the team has prepared really well, and I anticipate that we’re going to play a really physical and fast game. We want to make sure that we go out from the start and impose ourselves on Georgia. They’re a good, tough and particularly forward-oriented team; so we know where the challenge is coming from and we’re prepared for it.”
Referee Eoghan Cross will take charge of this fixture for the first time.
Match Permutations – Japan vs Georgia
- Georgia will secure a place in Band 2 (Top 12) for the RWC 2027 Draw if they avoid defeat against Japan.
- If this match is a draw, the Lelos drop below Wales into 12th place, even if the Welsh are beaten by New Zealand.
- Japan must beat Georgia to replace the Lelos in the top 12.
Japan Brave Blossoms Squad vs Georgia
See more about the Matchday squad here.
Georgia Squad vs Japan Brave Blossoms
How To Watch Japan vs Georgia
The match will be broadcast live in Japan on J Sports 1 and streamed live and available via catch-up on J Sports On Demand and on WOWWOW On Demand.
The game will also be available on RugbyPassTV elsewhere.
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