Japan name 36-man squad to face British and Irish Lions at Murrayfield in June and Ireland in Dublin in July

Japan will face the British and Irish Lions in Edinburgh next month with a squad including 19 players who helped them to the quarter-finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Head coach Jamie Joseph announced a 36-man squad on Monday to play a warm-up match against former Super Rugby outfit, the Sunwolves, on June 12, before facing the Lions at Murrayfield in Scotland on June 26 and then Ireland in Dublin on July 3.

The squad, captained by World Cup skipper Michael Leitch, includes 23 capped players with a total of 476 Test caps. It also contains 16 players who took part in the Japan Top League club final on Sunday, including seven from the Panasonic Wild Knights, who were crowned domestic champions.

The Lions will play against Japan ahead of leaving for their tour to South Africa, with the Test to be played in front of a crowd of 16,500 fans – a quarter of the capacity of Murrayfield, but the largest crowd for a rugby match in Britain in 16 months.

Japan are currently ranked 10th in the world rankings, but beat Ireland and Scotland on their way to a first-ever Rugby World Cup quarter-finals appearance in 2019, before losing to eventual champions South Africa.

Japan’s 36-man squad:

Forwards (21):

Keita Inagaki, Asaeli Ai Valu, Shinnosuke Kakinaga, Jiwon Koo, Craig Millar, Yukio Morikawa, Atsushi Sakate, Shunta Nakamura, Kosuke Horikoshi, Mark Abbot, Wimpie van der Walt, Uwe Helu, James Moore, Naoki Ozawa, Ben Gunter, Jack Cornelsen, Pieter Labushagne, Michael Leitch (captain), Tevita Tatafu, Amanaki Lelei, Kazuki Himendo;

Backs (15):

Koki Arai, Naoto Saito, Kaito Shigeno, Yu Tamura, Rikiya Matsuda, Shota Emi, Siosaia Fifita, Semisi Masirewa, Kotaro Matsushima, Lomano Lava Lemeki, Shane Gates, Ryoto Nakamura, Timothy Lafaele, Gerhard vand den Heever, Ryohei Yamanaka.

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