Japan player ratings vs Australia | Flight Centre Series 2026

Japan player ratings: After a superb performance in which Japan came close to overcoming Australia for the first time, Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms ended up conceding their second-biggest loss to the Wallabies just eight days later, coming out of Townsville with a 56-17 loss.

Despite the disappointing result, Ben Gunter, Naoto Saito, Harry Hockings and Shuhei Takeuchi tried their best to deliver a memorable result for Japanese fans.

1. Takato Okabe – 6.5
Japan handled the Wallabies’ front row well enough, conceding only one penalty during Takato Okabe’s time on the pitch. Like Hayate Era or Ben Gunter, the loosehead prop was one of Japan’s strongest tacklers on the field.

2. Hayate Era – 6
Subpar performance in what concerns his lineout duties, having missed five throws that ended up being crucial for Japan’s chances of bagging a win. Looked great running with the ball, winning the gainline consistently, and was even involved in his side’s third finish, albeit it looked like the hooker had knocked it on.

3. Shuhei Takeuchi – 7
The Brave Blossoms starting tighthead looked at times like a jackhammer, drilling the Australian defence with some of the game’s most impactful carries. Excellent at scrum time, Takeuchi was solid in his 67-minute stint.

4. Harry Hockings – 8
A great charge down to Ryan Lonergan’s kick ended with Hockings celebrating his first try for Japan, with the lock putting out a promising performance. Although the visiting side conceded their fair share of lineout mistakes, the former Queensland Reds lock was not to blame, even rescuing possession from a throw that appeared destined for the Wallabies. Plucked what looked like an impossible catch from the air straight after kick-off, a fitting snapshot of his performance.

5. Warner Dearns – 7
Wasn’t at the same level as last week, recording a handful of missed tackles, a rare sight for one of the most in-form players in the game right now – despite having come out as the match’s top tackler. Tried to course-correct the Blossoms lineout after the break, and, while there were signs of improvement, it ultimately counted for little.

6. Ben Gunter – 7.5
Another voracious defensive display from Ben Gunter, who seemed locked in, tearing apart the Wallabies attack manoeuvre, successfully completing 20 tackles – plus a dominant one. Saved his team from conceding a try after a missed tackle from Shunsuke Uenobo, snipping Ryan Lonergan when the Australian scrum-half was about to offload the ball.

7. Tiennan Costley – 6
Replaced Kanji Shimokawa in the starting 15 but looked less reliable than his teammate. Had a challenging time stopping Hunter Paisami on his tracks, missing tackles on the Wallabies centre twice, while getting pinged by the officials once.

8. Faulua Makisi – 8
Picked up from where he left off last week. The behemothian No.8 was Japan’s prime ball runner, running more than 70 metres, fending off a few tacklers before trying to feed his team with a cunning offloading game.

9. Naoto Saito – 7.5
All in all, another strong game from Naoto Saito; even his passing game from the ruck was not quite at the same level as last week’s. Tried to circumvent the Wallabies defence with a few carries of his own, with one of them culminating in his first finish of the series. Tried to mop up Takuro Matsunaga’s aerial takedown mistake mid-second-half, but the Wallabies managed to score.

10. Ryunosuke Ito – 7
A mixed bag game from the wonderkid. Australia ramped up the pressure around the young fly-half, narrowing down his options, which ended with Ito missing the mark a handful of times. Punted a few menacing kicks, looking to catch the opposition by surprise, although Tom Wright and Max Jorgensen were rarely caught out.

11. Haruto Kida – 5.5
Was the first replacement made by Eddie Jones, potentially due to an injury, coming off after the break. Had a few good moments, but like Yazaki or Matsunaga, was completely outmatched in the aerial contest.

12. Shunsuke Uenobo – 6
Linked up a share fair of passes that came from Ito, putting his body on the line to get the ball over to his teammates. The problem lay in his defensive positioning: four misreads opened glaring holes in the line for the Wallabies to attack, two of which ended with the home team getting over the whitewash.

13. Dylan Riley – 7
Industrious and tried to steer Japan to the win, although it wasn’t meant to be. Trampled more than a couple of Wallabies, looking menacing in the seven carries he made over the course of 80 minutes. Frequently forced into damage-control mode, Riley worked tirelessly to limit the damage, but his own tally of eight missed tackles cannot be overlooked.

14. Yoshitaka Yazaki – 6
Just like Kida, Yazaki struggled to cope with the Wallabies’ aerial kicking game, losing several contests that proved costly. However, as an attacking option, the 21-year-old had a few great moments, picking up a line break and beating four defenders, adding depth to Japan’s game plan.

15. Takuro Matsunaga – 5
A rare off day for one of Japan’s anchors. From getting completely outmatched in the aerial contest to failing to support his teammates at the right time, Matsunaga was consistently an issue for Japan throughout the contest. Even his kicking game fell short of the usual standard, missing two conversions out of three.

REPLACEMENTS – 5

Michael Leitch and Jack Cornelesen were the only two replacements who added any value for Japan. Nothing seemed to work, especially in what concerned the front-row trio that came on with Otsuka and Harada conceding two penalties in the driving maul that helped Australia bag a hefty win from today’s game.