Japan Face Italy without Banned Coach Jones
Neal Hatley will lead Japan as 21-year-old Ryunosuke Ito makes his debut at fly-half, with Eddie Jones serving a suspension.
- Japan named uncapped Meiji University fly-half Ryunosuke Ito to start against Italy on Saturday in their Nations Championship opener in Tokyo, marking the 21-year-old's debut.
- Forwards coach Neal Hatley will lead Japan as head coach Eddie Jones serves the final game of a four-match suspension imposed by the Japan Rugby Football Union for abusing match officials during an Australian tour.
- Captain Warner Dearns arrives fresh from winning the Super Rugby title with the Wellington Hurricanes, while scrum-half Naoto Saito recently won the French Top 14 title with Toulouse, bringing crucial winning experience to the young squad.
- Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada enters after a fourth-place Six Nations finish, acknowledging Japan's "exciting rugby" and "full of speed" while preparing his own strategy to compete.
- Dearns said Japan aims to "crank their preparations" for next year's World Cup, with upcoming Nations Championship matches against Ireland in Newcastle and France in Tokyo fueling improvement efforts.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Eddie Jones BANNED for Japan vs Italy Nations Championship Test
Banned Japan coach Eddie Jones will be absent as his team begin their Nations Championship campaign in Tokyo on Saturday, 4 July against an Italy side looking to build on Six Nations success. Kick-off is at 10:40 (SA time). READ | England name team to face Springboks, Henry Pollock benched Abused match officials Jones is […]
Japan face Italy without banned coach Jones
Jones is serving the last game of a four-match suspension imposed by the Japan Rugby Football Union for abusing match officials on a tour of Australia this year. Forwards coach Neal Hatley will fill in for the visit of Italy, who are riding high after beating England for the first time this year and matching their Six Nations record with a fourth-place finish. Japan have named uncapped university student Ryunosuke Ito to start at fly-half and Ha…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
