Melbourne Rebels hooker Shota Horie and former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones will lead the Japanese charge as rugby union’s new-look Pacific Nations Cup gets underway this weekend.
Japan, fresh from cantering to a sixth straight Asian Five Nations title, have bolstered their squad with the recall of senior internationals in hooker Shota Horie, scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka and naturalised flanker Michael Leitch.
Horie and Tanaka have both started games in recent weeks for the Rebels and Otago Highlanders, respectively, while Leitch has been in New Zealand as part of the Waikato Chiefs’ expanded squad.
Defending champions Samoa have opted out of the revamped tournament, but the United States and Canada will debut, with the Pacific Nations Cup extending far beyond its original boundaries.
The newcomers will face off in Edmonton, Canada, on Saturday in what is seen as a boost for rugby’s “second tier” nations.
Also on Saturday, but 15 time zones away in Yokohama, Japan will open the tournament against Tonga. Five of the round-robin event’s 10 games, which wrap up on June 23, are in Japan.
Of the original contestants in the tournament, which started in 2006, Fiji also remain. However, Samoa are skipping it in favour of a tougher tournament in South Africa featuring the Springboks, Scotland and Italy.
Japan coach Jones is also preparing for two home Tests against Wales next month.
“After the successful Asian Five Nations, we have now picked a squad that we believe can win the Pacific Nations Cup and beat Wales. We’re looking forward to having Horie, Leitch and Tanaka back after the Super 15,” said Jones.
“We realise that we need to keep working very hard on our strength and conditioning and the way we play the game.”
Much attention on the opening weekend, however, will focus on Edmonton, where Canada and the United States will use their North American derby as preparation for upcoming 2015 World Cup qualifiers.
Canada coach Gareth Rees called it “a top-notch opportunity to tune up for World Cup qualifying”.
“It’s very important. First of all, it’s a cup in itself. We want to lift the trophy at the end of the day. It’s important to get our team playing well together and winning these matches,” said Rees.
