Chairman of Selectors Chris Thurgate has named the 14 players chosen to represent Japan in the upcoming East Asia Cup, to be hosted in Sano from 3rd – 6th November.

The 14 are chosen from the 19-players selected in the 2016 National Training Squad, although Tsuyoshi Takada is unavailable due to being in Australia.

Thurgate said: “This is an exciting opportunity to give players some valuable match experience in the lead up to the EAP World Cup Qualify in Bendigo next year. There are lots of young players and we hope this will help further their development.”

The squad is as follows:

Masaomi Kobayashi © – MAX CC

Takuro Hagihara – MAX CC

Rui Matsumura – Chiba Sharks CC

Wataru Miyauchi – Uenomiya Junior High School & High School CC

Ken Okoshi – Wyverns CC

Tomoki Ota – Wyverns CC

Mian Muneeb Siddique – Chiba Sharks CC

Makoto Taniyama – MAX CC

Marcus Thurgate – Chiba Sharks CC

Nozomi Tomizawa – Chiba Sharks CC

Ryoya Tsutsui – Keio University CC

Kohei Wakita – International Buddhist University CC

Shodai Yamada – Wyverns CC

Jun Yamashita – International Buddhist University CC