Debuts from heaven and hell: All the newcomers to Test rugby in 2025

Rugby World Cup 2027 qualified teams handed debuts to well over 200 players this year, with varying degrees of success, as they looked to replace retired veterans, build depth, and improve their squad’s caps profile by the time the 11th edition of the tournament comes around in Australia.

Some, like All Blacks lock Fabian Holland and British and Irish Lions bolter Henry Pollock, made it be known that they were born to be on the biggest stage from the word go.

Holland only missed one Test all year and was named World Rugby Men’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year, while England back-rower Pollock scored twice on his Test debut in the rout of Wales in the final round of the Guinness Six Nations in March, a feat matched by new Springbok hooker Marnus van der Merwe in their win over Georgia in July.

Plenty of others also marked their senior international bows with tries, including van der Merwe’s front-row colleague, Boan Venter, in the same match against Georgia.

Liam McConnell might not have crossed the whitewash on his Scotland debut with a try in the 85-0 thrashing of the USA, but the back-rower covered virtually every blade of grass on the worn Murrayfield pitch in gaining well over 100 metres of ground.

Perhaps the most impressive debutant, though, given the fact he defied old father time to make it onto the pitch, was Tongan lock Sitaleki Timani, who came off the bench in the ‘Ikale Tahi’s November defeat to Scotland, aged 39. In doing so, the former Wallaby international became the oldest player to debut for a major Test team in the history of the game.

While McConnell was just one of a quartet of players to be blooded by Scotland, Japan didn’t hold back in an attempt to unearth more talent capable of competing at RWC 2027. Eddie Jones’ rebuild of Japan started in earnest last year and has rolled over into 2025, with a whole new matchday squad’s worth of players given a first taste of what it takes to play Test rugby.

Four of the 23-strong debutant contingent – wing Kippei Ishida, centre Charlie Lawrence, hooker Kenji Sato and prop Kenta Kobayashi –  went on to make nine appearances and look to have become permanent fixtures in the side, while at the other end of the spectrum some disappeared from the Brave Blossoms squad no sooner than they’d arrived. Shuntaro Kitamura, for example, is highly-rated and his time will no doubt come, but the scrum-half only had a couple of minutes off the bench in Japan’s first Test of the year against Wales, and was then demoted to Japan XV, the national team’s second string side.

For Harry Hockings, another ex-Wallaby to pledge his allegiance to a new Test team, his Japan debut against Wales in November was one to forget after the lock got a 20-minute red card for a high hit on Alex Mann. It will be of little consolation to him that the card was later rescinded by a disciplianry panel.

England’s Cadan Murley can sympathise with Hockings. The Quins winger scored a try on his England debut against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in February, but the feel-good factor was undone by a couple of ‘brain-freeze’ moments in defence, which cost his side and contributed to their only defeat of the year.

Hockings and the aforementioned Tongan veteran, Timani, were not the only players awarded dual international status after debuting for a second Test team in 2025. USA handed bows to ex-Scotland wing Rufus McLean and former Germany fly-half, Christopher Hilsenbeck, and Samoa welcomed ex-England playmaker Jacob Umaga and veteran Wallaby prop Scott Sio into the fold.

Two more Pacific Island nations featured players who had their switch of allegiance rubber-stamped in 2025 – former All Blacks back-rower Pita Gus Sowakula (Fiji) and former Wales centre Willis Halaholo (Tonga).

Looking at the leading contenders for the Webb Ellis Cup, France didn’t hold back when it came to introducing new players to the Test arena. Les Bleus handed debuts to no fewer than 18 players, using the three-match series against the All Blacks in July as a testing ground for some of their up-and-coming youngsters.

Much of Fabien Galthie’s focus was on strengthening the front row, with a particular need to fill the tight-head position, too often held by the ageing Uini Atonio, who will be 37 in 2027. Clermont’s Régis Montagne may have his critics but appears to be the first in line as Atonio’s eventual successor, having featured in all three November internationals.

2025 Test debutants by RWC country:

ARGENTINA (12): Agustin Moyano, Bautista Bernasconi, Benjamin Elizalde, Benjamin Grondona, Boris Wenger, Faustino Sanchez Valarolo, Geronimo Prisciantelli, Nicolas D’Amorim, Nicolas Roger, Santiago Pernas, Simon Benitez Cruz, Tomas Rapetti.

AUSTRALIA (5): Aidan Ross, Corey Toole, Kalani Thomas, Nick Champion De Crespigny, Ryan Lonergan.

CANADA (8): Austin Creighton, Barnaby Waddell, Brenden Black, Jack Shaw, James Naylor, Kyle Tremblay, Morgan Di Nardo, Stephen Webb.

CHILE (4): Agusto Villanueva, Emilio Shea Duret, Juan Sebastien de Bianchi, Santiago Valenzuela.

ENGLAND (11): Arthur Clark, Cadan Murley, Charlie Atkinson, Gabriel Oghre, Guy Pepper, Henry Pollock, Joe Carpenter, Max Ojomoh, Oscar Beard, Seb Atkinson, Will Muir.

FIJI (9): Atunaisa Sokobale, Etonia Waqa, Joji Nasova, Motikiai Murray, Pita Gus Sowakula, Salesi Rayesi, Taniela Rakuro, Tim Hoyt, Tuidraki Samusamuvodre.

FRANCE (18): Alexandre Fischer, Baptiste Erdocio, Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, Giorgi Beria, Guillaume Cramont, Jacobus Von Tonder, Jimi Maximin, Josh Brennan, Julis Segonds, Kalvin Gourgues, Matthias Halagahu, Maxime Lamothe, Paul Mallez, Pierre Bochaton, Regis Montagne, Thibault Daubagna, Tom Spring, Tyler Duguid.

GEORGIA (7): Bachuki Tchumbadze, Dachi Papunashvili, Dato Abdushelishvili, Demuri Eprimidze, Iraki Kvatadze, Nikoloz Sutidze, Shalva Aptsiauri.

IRELAND (12): Alex Kendellen, Ben Murphy, Darragh Murray, Hugh Gavin, Jack Aungier, Jack Boyle, Michael Milne, Paddy McCarthy, Shayne Bolton, Thomas Ahern, Tom Farrell, Tommy O’Brien.

ITALY (9): David Odiase, Edoardo Todaro, Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, Luca Rizzoli, Mateo Canali, Mirko Belloni, Muhamed Hasa, Pablo Dimcheff, Tommaso Bartolomeo.

JAPAN (23): Akito Okui, Charlie Lawrence, Halatoa Vailea, Harry Hockings, Haruto Kida, Hayate Era, Ichigo Nakakusu, Kazuma Ueda, Kenji Sato, Kenta Kobayashi, Kippei Ishida, Ryosuke Iwaihara, Sam Greene, Sena Kimura, Shinya Komura, Sho Furuhata, Shodai Hirao, Shuntaro Kitamura, Tyler Paul, Waisake Raratubua, Yota Kamimori, Yuki Ikeda, Yuya Hirosa.

NEW ZEALAND (9): Brodie McAlister, Christian Lio-Willie, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Fabian Holland, Kyle Preston, Leroy Carter, Ollie Norris, Simon Parker, Timoci Tavatavanawai.

PORTUGAL (11): Guilherme Vasconcelos, Diogo Rodrigues, Duarte Nunes, Francisco Almeida, Guilherme Costa, Jose Lavos, Luis Lopes, Martim Faro, Martim Souto, Pedro Ferreira, Tomas Amado.

ROMANIA (11): Alexandru Harasim, Antonio Mitrea, David Jilaveanu, Iliesa Tiqe, Joji Sikote, Kemal Altinok, Lukas Mitu, Rafael Jilaveanu, Stefan Cojocariu, Toma Mirzac, Toni Maftei.

SAMOA (17): Abraham Papali’i, Brad Amituanai, Connor Tupai, Faletoi Peni, Herman Huch, Ivan Fepulea’i, Jacob Umaga, Jarred Adams, Joel Lam, Kaynan Siteine-Tua, Malaesaili Elato, Millennium Sanerivi, Niko Jones, Pita Anai Ah-Sue, Potu Leavasa, Scott Sio, Theodore Steffany.

SCOTLAND (4): Fergus Burke, Fin Richardson, Harri Morris, Liam McConnell.

SOUTH AFRICA (8): Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Boan Venter, Cobus Wiese, Ethan Hooker, Marnus van der Merwe, Neethling Fouche, Vincent Tshituka, Zachary Porthen.

SPAIN (5): Alejandro Laforga, Antonio Suarez, Lucien Richardis, Manex Ariceta, Yago Fernandez.

TONGA (6): Fatongia Paea, Leopino Maupese, Sitaleki Timani, Solomone Tukuafu, Tali Finau, Willis Halaholo.

URUGUAY (6): Alfonso Perillo, Francisco Gonzalez Capdevila, Francisco Suarez, Jean Cotarmanach, Justo Ferrario, Manuel Rosmarino.

USA (12): Brandon Harvey, Chris Hilsenbeck, Christian Poidevin, Ezekiel Lindenmuth, Makeen Alikahn, Maliu Niuafe, Marno Redelinghuys, Nafi Ma’afu, Rufus McLean, Tevita Naqali, Tom Pittman, Tonga Kofe.

WALES (11): Brodie Coghlan, Chris Coleman, Dan Edwards, Danny Southworth, Ellis Mee, Harri Deaves, Keelan Giles, Liam Belcher, Morgan Morse, Olly Cracknell, Reuben Morgan-Williams.

ZIMBABWE (0)

*players ordered alphabetically by christian name