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Jones to face familiar foes as Japan update 'historic' 2024 schedule
By Ned Lester
Japan’s Brave Blossoms will play a “full season” of international Tests in 2024, with four opponents visiting the land of the rising sun.
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Those opponents will be England, Italy, Georgia and New Zealand, while a Japan XV side will play a two-match series against the Maori All Blacks.
The Test against England will technically be the first Test between the two nations on Japanese soil, and will see former England coach Eddie Jones tussle with the team he coached to a silver medal at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
The contests against both Georgia and Italy have been added to the schedule and will be played in northern Japan, with Sendai and Hokkaido hosting the matchups.
The game against the All Blacks will take place at the same venue as the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.
Jones was excited to get his second tenure as Brave Blossom’s coach underway against a familiar opponent.
📢 Match schedule update! 🌸
2024 is set to be a historic year for Japan Rugby as we add another two exciting fixtures to the Brave Blossoms calendar
v England 🏴
v M?ori All Blacks 🖤
v Georgia 🇬🇪
v Italy 🇮🇹
v New Zealand 🇳🇿ADVERTISEMENT🔗 https://t.co/AKmUUhvC5l#BraveBlossoms pic.twitter.com/Qwveurjx53
— Japan Rugby (@JRFURugby) January 13, 2024
“To start the domestic season with Rugby World Cup semi-finalists England and to then finish against finalists New Zealand is a great honour and a massive opportunity for Japan to benchmark our level against teams we have never beaten before in our history,” he said.
“In between, the Japan XV will take on the mighty M?ori All Blacks in what should be two entertaining matches and then we bring rugby to the north of Japan against the vibrant Italians and rapidly improving Georgians, giving us a full season.”
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JRFU President, Masato Tsuchida echoed the coach’s sentiment.
“We’re honoured to welcome Georgia and Italy to Japan this summer, in addition to England, and the All Blacks and M?ori All Blacks from New Zealand, and to host these incredible matches in front of our home fans. I would like to thank the prefectural unions, local governments and regional organisations for their support and cooperation in the public bid process to bring these matches to their regions. We are blessed with wonderful host cities and stadia, and we are delighted to be able to work with local communities to prepare for these fixtures.
“We will make every effort to ensure that the Brave Blossoms, which are making a fresh start under new Head Coach Eddie Jones, will play in packed stadiums and that people from all over the country will be able to enjoy watching these matches. We look forward to your continued support and enthusiasm for the successful growth of Japanese rugby.”
