Jones fields dozen low-cap players as Japan target World Cup depth in PNC semi-final

Eddie Jones has selected one of Japan’s least experienced Test squads in recent memory for Saturday’s Pacific Nations Cup semi-final against the USA, naming 12 players with fewer than 10 caps as the Brave Blossoms accelerate their build towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

The 23-man group carries approximately 342 caps in total, with the starting XV accounting for just 257 of those. Jones was direct about his reasoning when speaking to reporters on Thursday, framing the selection as both a best-available choice and a long-term investment.

“It’s our best 23. That’s first thing,” Jones said. “It’s important that players get as much experience as they can in Test match rugby and every match in Test match rugby is different. It’s always about the best 23 first and then obviously we’re trying to build a team for the World Cup.”

With fewer than 13 months until the World Cup begins, Jones has set a target of accumulating 400 to 500 caps across his squad before the tournament. Saturday’s match represents another step towards that benchmark.

Scrum-half Naoto Saito captains the side and is one of only three players in the squad with at least 34 Test appearances. No player in the squad has reached 50 caps, a statistic that underlines just how deliberately Jones is rotating and exposing younger talent.

Jones singled out winger Inoke Brua as a player who will benefit particularly from the occasion. “For a winger like Inoke, to experience a Test match like this is going to be important in preparation for what’s coming forward,” he said.

In the pack, six-Test loosehead Sojiro Otsuka starts alongside hooker Mamoru Harada and 29-Test tighthead Shuhei Takeuchi. Michael Stolberg and Harry Hockings form the second row in the absence of Warner Dearns. Ben Gunter starts at blindside flanker, Kanji Shimokawa at openside, and Jack Cornelsen at number eight.

Ryunosuke Ito partners Saito at half-back, with Dylan Riley and Yuya Hirose in midfield. Kazuma Ueda and Brua start on the wings, and Sam Greene takes the fullback jersey.

Japan arrive at Hanazono Rugby Stadium with a 1-1 record in the tournament, having beaten Canada last weekend after suffering a second defeat to Australia. A win over the USA would put them into the Pacific Nations Cup final and add another block of Test experience to a squad Jones is carefully constructing for rugby’s biggest stage.