Japan has selected Riku Tokito to earn his first international cap on the left wing against England at Twickenham, filling in for the injured Inoke Burua. The transition into the test side follows Tokito's recent outing representing the national sevens program at the Nagoya Asian Games. Head coach Eddie Jones limited changes across the entire matchday twenty-three, maintaining faith in flyhalf Riku Kitahara following his test debut last week. Japan will proceed to Murrayfield to face Scotland before wrapping up the tournament late in November.
Key points
Scrumhalf Naoto Saito and lock Warner Dearns will once again lead the side as co-captains.: Scrumhalf Naoto Saito and lock Warner Dearns will once again lead the side as co-captains.
Flyhalf Riku Kitahara will earn his second cap after retaining his place in the starting…: Flyhalf Riku Kitahara will earn his second cap after retaining his place in the starting lineup.
Japan will conclude its November campaign against Scotland at Murrayfield before the Nati…: Japan will conclude its November campaign against Scotland at Murrayfield before the Nations Championship finals weekend.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Nov 12 : Japan have made one change to their starting lineup and one more on the bench for the Nations Championship clash against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
• Coach Eddie Jones named his side on Thursday and kept faith with the bulk of the team that came close against Wales in Cardiff last Saturday, losing 28-21
• Riku Tokito, who shone with the Japanese sevens team at the Nagoya Asian Games, will make his debut on the left wing, replacing the injured Inoke Burua in the only change to the starting XV
• On the bench, scrumhalf Shinobu Fujiwara comes into the reckoning in place of Kenta Fukuda, who scored a try after coming on as a replacement last week
• Riku Kitahara, who made his debut at flyhalf last week, continues in that position
• Japan face Scotland at Murrayfield on November 21 and then await their pairing in the Nations Championship on the finals weekend of November 27 to 29
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