The Japan U23 team has been selected for the Australia tour from April 1-15, 2026, with the team set to face the U20 Fiji national team, the U20 Australia national team, Stockman Australia, and Randwick.
Feature Photo Credit – JRFU – Japan U23 Tour of Australia 2025
This will be the second consecutive year that the U23 Japan national team will travel overseas, and the squad selected by Brave Blossoms and U23 coach Eddie Jones features 19 forwards and 16 backs.
Last year, the Japan U23s won the opening match of their Australia tour, beating the Australian Barbarians before losing 54-26 against Australia U20, and 36-31 against Randwick in their final match.
The U23 Japan national team consists of members selected through multiple training camps conducted as part of the “JAPAN TALENT SQUAD Program 2026,” which the JRFU says is aimed at ‘accelerating the development of future Japan national team players.”
Eddie Jones said, “The trip to Australia will be a great opportunity for our university students to compete against talented young athletes from Fiji and Australia. We have prepared thoroughly through our pre-tournament training camp. All of our athletes have been training very hard, so we are looking forward to putting on a good performance in Australia.”
Japan U23 Tour of Australia 2026 Fixtures
The U20 matches against Fiji and Australia are part of the U20 Coffs Coast Festival of Rugby, with all matches played in Coffs Harbour, Sydney, Australia.
April 4th: Japan U23 vs Fiji U20, kickoff at 15:00 local time (AEDT) (13:00 Japan time) – Hay Street Rugby Union Fields
April 8th, Japan U23 vs. Stockman, Australia. Kick-off: 15:00 local time (AEST) (14:00 Japan time) – C.ex Coffs International Stadium
April 11th: Japan U23 vs Australia U20, kickoff at 19:00 local time (AEST) (18:00 Japan time) – Verge Street Oval
April 14th, Japan U23 vs. Randwick, Kick-off at 14:00 local time (AEST) (13:00 Japan time) – Coogee Oval
How To Watch the Japan U23 Australia Tour
The JRFU said that the broadcast schedule is still to be determined. Rugby Australia said the U20 Coffs Coast Festival of Rugby will be streamed on Rugby Xplorer, Rugby.com.au, YouTube and Stan Sport.
Japan U23 Australia Tour Squad 2026
More of the players selected can be seen on the JRFU website here.
All of the players are listed as University players except Ryoku Masuo, who is signed to the Saitama Wild Knights in the JRLO.
Meiji University secured its 14th All-Japan University Rugby Championship in 2026 and has 6 representatives in the squad, while the team they beat in the final, Waseda University, has none.
Japan Rugby News 2026
AloJapan.com