JPN
	No.	Name
15Will Tupou, FB
14Kotaro Matsushima, W T 3
13Timothy Lafaele, C
12Ryoto Nakamura, C
11Lemeki Lomano Lava, W
10Yu Tamura, FH   2
9Yutaka Nagare, SH
1Keita Inagaki, P
2Shota Horie, H
3Asaeli Ai Valu, P
4Wimpie van der Walt, L
5James Moore, L
6Michael Leitch, FL
7Pieter Labuschagne, FL T
8Kazuki Himeno, N8
Replacements
16Atsushi Sakate, R
17Isileli Nakajima, R
18Jiwon Gu, R
19Luke Thompson, R
20Hendrik Tui, R
21Fumiaki Tanaka, R
22Rikiya Matsuda, R 
23Ryohei Yamanaka, R

RUSS
	No.	Name
15Vasily Artemyev, FB
14German Davydov, W
13Vladimir Ostrushko, C
12Dimitri Gerasimov, C
11Kirill Golosnitskiy, W T
10Yuri Kushnarev, FH  
9Vasily Dorofeev, SH
1Valery Morozov, P
2Stanislav Selskii, H
3Kirill Gotovtsev, P
4Andrei Ostrikov, L
5Bogdan Fedotko, L
6Vitaly Zhivatov, FL
7Tagir Gadzhiev, FL
8Nikita Vavilin, N8
16Evgeni Matveev, R
17Andrei Polivalov, R
18Azamat Bitiev, R
19Andrei Garbuzov, R
20Anton Sychev, R
21Dmitry Perov, R
22Ramil Gaisin, R
23Vladislav Sozonov, R

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Ajinomoto Stadium

11:45 AM, September 20, 2019

1674dReuters

Rugby World Cup hosts Japan overcome first-night nerves to see off Russia

Winger Kotaro Matsushima scored a hat-trick as Japan overcame a severe case of opening-night nerves to give the host nation a winning start to the Rugby World Cup.

Match Commentary

81'+1		30-10 End of second half
80'		And it's over! Japan score four tries to bring open the 2019 World Cup with a resounding win, despite early fears of an upset.
80'		Russia kick the ball out from a penalty at the Japan 22, rather than finish it. They're looking to finish with a try.

Match Stats

JPN

RUSS

50%

48%

52%

JPN

RUSS

141	Runs	112
653	Metres Run	289
16	Clean Breaks	11
134	Tackles	144
21	Missed Tackles	48
15	Turnover Knock On	11

Standings

Pool A
R	Team	GP	PD	P
1	FRA	4	+178	18
2	NZL	4	+206	15
3	ITALY	4	-67	10
4	URUG	4	-99	5
5	NAMIB	4	-218	0
Pool B
R	Team	GP	PD	P
1	IRE	4	+144	19
2	SA	4	+117	15
3	SCOT	4	+75	10
4	TONGA	4	-81	5
5	ROM	4	-255	0
Pool C
R	Team	GP	PD	P
1	WALES	4	+84	19
2	FIJI	4	+5	11
3	AUS	4	-1	11
4	POR	4	-39	6
5	GEO	4	-49	3
Pool D
R	Team	GP	PD	P
1	ENG	4	+111	18
2	ARG	4	+58	14
3	JPN	4	+2	9
4	SAMOA	4	+17	7
5	CHI	4	-188	0

Rugby World Cup 2019 News

Friday Five: Foster bemoans 'unacceptable' RWC Final length
It's been another busy week across the rugby world, with Ian Foster, in particular, right in the spotlight.
Wallabies dreams keep Max Jorgensen in rugby
Max Jorgensen has revealed how the despair of being ruled out of last year's Rugby World Cup was "100 percent" a major driver in his decision to recommit to the NSW Waratahs.
Springboks could replace Siya Kolisi as captain - Erasmus
South Africa's double World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi may not lead the side this year despite playing excellent rugby for French club Racing 92, coach Rassie Erasmus said on Tuesday.
Springboks 1995 RWC winner Hannes Strydom dies in car crash
Former Springbok lock Hannes Strydom has died in a car accident, South African Rugby confirmed on Monday, the fifth player from their victorious 1995 World Cup team to pass away.
Wallabies' Tupou: 'Experienced 10' would have helped in France
Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou have lamented Australia's woeful World Cup campaign, pointing to injuries to key forwards and the non-selection of an "experienced 10" as the chief reasons behind a maiden pool-stage exit.
Bongi Mbonambi: Tom Curry's accusation in Rugby World Cup semifinal was 'unprofessional'
South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonambi has denied he used discriminatory language towards England flanker Tom Curry in their Rugby World Cup semifinal in October, labelling the allegations against him "unprofessional".