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'They always fancy themselves against Japan': USA and Japan name teams
By Josh Raisey
The United States and Japan have both named their sides for their Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup meeting in Sacramento, California, on Saturday, in what is a must-win match for the hosts.
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Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms enter the match knowing that a losing bonus point is enough to secure top spot in Pool B, booking a likely semi-final meeting with Tonga.
The USA, meanwhile, will need to win with a bonus point in order to leapfrog Canada into second place in Pool B, and even displace Japan.
Both sides have already faced Canada, with the USA losing 34-20, while Jones’ side came away 57-15 winners.
While form suggests Japan should be victorious in this meeting, Jones said after naming his team that the US historically think they can bully their opponents.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of taking our campaign forward against the USA in Sacramento,” said Jones.
“The ground is unusual in that it’s in a county fair showground. The crowd will be nice and close so it will be a robust atmosphere.
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“The players have settled in well. The heat is very evident, but it will be the same for both teams. We’re looking forward to taking on the physical contest against the USA. In my experience, they always fancy themselves against Japan, thinking they can physically bully us. But that won’t be the case on Saturday.”
USA XV
1. Ezekiel Lindenmuth
2. Kapeli Pifeleti
3. Kaleb Geiger
4. Marno Redelinghuys
5. Jason Damm (C)
6. Paddy Ryan
7. Christian Poidevin
8. Makeen Alikhan
9. Ruben de Haas
10. Chris Hilsenbeck
11. Toby Fricker
12. Tavite Lopeti
13. Dominic Besag
14. Rufus McLean
15. Erich Storti
Replacements
16. Shilo Klein
17. Payton Telea-Illalio
18. Pono Davis
19. Tevita Naqali
20. Viliami Helu
21. Ethan McVeigh
22. Luke Carty
23. Mitch Wilson
Japan XV
1. Kenta Kobayashi
2. Hayate Era
3. Shuhei Takeuchi
4. Waisake Raratubua
5. Warner Dearns
6. Ben Gunter
7. Kanji Shimokawa
8. Amato Fakatava
9. Kenta Fukuda
10. Seungsin Lee
11. Tomoki Osada
12. Charlie Lawrence
13. Dylan Riley
14. Kippei Ishida
15. Sam Greene
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Replacements
16. Kenji Sato
17. Sena Kimura
18. Keijiro Tamefusa
19. Akito Okui
20. Faulua Makisi
21. Shinobu Fujiwara
22. Yuya Hirose
23. Haruto Kida
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