Japans touring squad

There are five new caps in the 28-man  Japanese side to tour Scotland, Wales and Romania. In fact apart from Yukio Motoki, it is an inexperienced team, but almost entirely a Japanese team.

Motoki has 68 caps. The next highest is Nayoya Okuba, who plays for Southland, with 20. Takuro Miuchi has 18 caps. All of the others have ten caps or fewer.

Motoki is also the oldest player at 33, but the squad is not especially young. Mitsugu Yamamoto, Tatsuya Kusumi and Seiichi Shimomura are the youngest at 23.

The tallest player is Hajime Kiso at 1,95m, the shortest Wataru Ikeda at 1,72m. Masahito Yamamoto is the heavies at 115 kg. Kiyonori Tanaka weighs 760kg.

The only foreign-born player is the Tongan flank Feletiliki Mau. The paucity of foreigners is not a metter of policy on the part of new coach Mitsutake Hagimoto who made Kobe Steel national champions last season. Andy Miller has retired. Adam Parker's club will not let him go, as is the case with Japan's new flyhalf Kyohei Morita.

The fast men of Japanese rugby, Daisuke Ohata and Hirotoki Onozawa, are injured.

The squad is:

Forwards:

Props: Masahito Yamamoto  (Toyota Motor Verblits), Yuichi Hisadomi (NEC Green Rockets), Ryo Yamamura (Yamaha Motor Jubilo), Tatsukichi Nishiura (Coca Cola West Japan), Eita Ueda (Fukuoka Sanix Bombs)
Hookers: Takashi Yamaoka (Suntory Sungoliath), Mitsugu Yamamoto (Sanyo Wild Knights)
Locks: Takanori Kumagae (NEC Green Rockets),  Hajime Kiso (Yamaha Motor Jubilo)
Flanks: Naoya Okubo (Japan RFU), Takatoyo Yamaguchi (Kuboto Spears), Ryota Asano (NEC Green Rockets), Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba Fuchu Brave Lupus)), Feletiliki Mau (World Fighting Bull)
No.8:  Takuro Miuchi (NEC Green Rockets)

Backs:

Flyhalves:  Wataru Ikeda (Sanyo Wild Knights), Kiyonori Tanaka (Suntory Sungoliath)
Scrumhalves: Keisuke Sawaki (Suntory Sungoliath), Koichi Ohigashi (NEC Green Rockets)
Centres:  Yukio Motoki (Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers), Seiichi Shimomura (Sanyo Wild Knights), Masatoshi Mukoyama (NEC Green Rockets), Sadanobu Imari (Yamaha Motor Jubilo),
Wings: Koichiro Kubota (NEC Green Rockets), Hayato Daimon (Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers), Tatsuya Kusumi  (Toyota Motor Verblits)
Fullbacks: Hideyuki Yoshida (Kubota Spears), Ryohei Miki (World Fighting Bull)