Tonga v Japan: Teams
Tonga coach Isitolo Maka has rejigged his line-up for the dangerous clash with Japan in Whangarei on Wednesday.
Last Updated: 21/09/11 7:15am
Tonga coach Isitolo Maka has rejigged his line-up for the dangerous clash with Japan in Whangarei on Wednesday.
The Tongans are expected to be too strong for the Cherry Blossoms, but it is a match that Japan coach John Kirwan has targeted for a win.
And having also suffered an upset to Canada, the Tongans know they can ill-afford to take things for granted.
Worcester hooker Aleki Lutui has been handed the captaincy and joins Taufa'ao Filise and Soane Tonga'uiha in the front row, while Paino Hehea, Sione Kalamafoni and Viliami Ma'afu also come into the pack.
Vungakoto Lilo and Sukanaivalu Hufanga are handed starts in the backs, with Kurt Morath switching to fly-half from full-back and Taniela Moa moving from No.10 back to scrum-half.
Japan went into the World Cup with ambitions of beating Canada and Tonga - and as a result they have named their strongest possible line-up.
Kirwan's side won over a number of fans with their displays in the defeats to France and New Zealand and they will be confident of finally recording a victory.
Only Hirotoki Onozawa, Takashi Kikutani, Michael Leitch, Itaru Taniguchi and Toshizumi Kitagawa retain their places after the 83-7 loss to New Zealand.
That means the likes of Shaun Webb, Kosuke Endo, James Arlidge, Luke Thompson, Fumiaki Tanaka and Shota Horie all return.
Tonga: 15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Alipate Fatafehi, 11 Sukanaivalu Hufanga, 10 Kurt Morath, 9 Taniela Moa, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Sione Vaiomo'unga, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Paino Hehea, 4 Tukulua Lokotui, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Aleki Lutui (captain), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Aloisio Ma'asi, 17 Alisona Taumalolo, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Joseph Tu'ineau, 20 Samiu Vahafolau, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Viliame Iongi.
Japan: 15 Shaun Webb, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Alisi Tupuailai, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Takashi Kikutani (c), 7 Michael Leitch, 6 Itaru Taniguchi, 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Hisateru Hirashima.
Replacements: 16 Yusuke Aoki, 17 Nozomu Fujita, 18 Hitoshi Ono, 19 Sione Talikavili Vatuvei, 20 Atsushi Hiwasa, 21 Takehisa Usuzuki, 22 Murray Williams.
