Eddie Jones Reacts to Japan U23 Opening Tour Win in Australia

The Japan U23 side won the opening match of their 2025 Australia tour, beating Australian Barbarians at C.ex Coffs International Stadium in Coffs Harbour on Saturday April 5th 43-31, and Brave Blossoms Head Coach was happy with the performance.

The tour sees the side play against the Australian Barbarians, Australia U20 and historic Sydney club side, Randwick and is the first time in 19 years Japan’s U23 side has toured internationally, having last toured New Zealand back in 2006. The 35-man squad were selected from players in the 2025 Japan Talent Squad (JTS), and is coached by Brave Blossom’s Head Coach, Eddie Jones.

The side implemented Jones’ vision of Chosoku or ‘super-fast rugby’ for sustained periods throughout the first half as he looks to keep developing players who will be pushing for a spot in his senior side for RWC 2027 in Australia and for the Pacific Nations Cup later in 2025.

Photo Credit –  JRFU – Players happy after the Japan U23 Tour in Australia 2025 opening win

It was as first-ever victory over an Australian opposition in Australia by a senior Japan men’s side and Jones told Japanese media as they prepare for the second tour match against Australia U20, he said: “Definitely we wanted to play like Japan, and as I’ve been talking about, we want to create a Japanese style of play that suits the players we have. The players were able to show that, particularly in the first half. If you look at the score, at the 60-minute mark, we were 43 to 7 ahead.

I was really pleased with their effort. In terms of the squad, it’s the first time they’ve played against professional players, so it was a great experience for them, and it’s the first time in the history of Japanese rugby that a senior men’s team has won in Australia. That’s significant leading towards the World Cup in 2027. What we’re hoping to do on this tour is to find three or four players who are capable of being in the World Cup squad.”

Japan U23 vs Australia U20 – Friday 11 April 2025

Japan U23 were well ahead going into the final quarter but there will be some concerns with leaking 24 unanswered points to see out the game, an area they will need to improve on when they face Australia U20 on Friday, April 11. The fixture will take place at the same Coffs Harbour venue.

Jones said of the upcoming Japan U23 game, “Our next game against Australia U20 is going to be a real step up. In the rankings at U20 level, Australia is ranked sixth while Japan is ranked fifteenth. Our team is called U23, yet the average age is 21. The Aussies will be very similar in age profile and we’ll get a clearer picture of where our players are in terms of world rankings and their capacity to go forward and win games for Japan at test match level.”

Japan U23 Squad vs Australia U20

The matchday 23 sees six changes from their last match. There are two debutants moving into the starting forward pack, while the remaining four players come onto the reserves bench. The same starting backline has been selected.

Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones said, “Against the Baa-Baas, 70% of our tries came from turnover ball. We know that to win at this level, Japan’s general problem has always been defence. If you look at the history of games between Japan and teams in Australia or elsewhere in the world, the problem is not scoring points, it’s stopping the opposition from scoring points. We’ve done a lot of work on our defence, but there is still more progress to be made. We will look to prioritise setting an aggressive defensive line that then creates opportunities for us to attack.”

Australia U20 Squad vs Japan U23

How To Watch Japan U23 Squad vs Australia U20

The Japan U23 vs Australia U20 fixture will be streamed live on NSWRugbyTV.com.au and via WOWOW On Demand and catch-up.

Japan U23 Australia Tour 2025 Schedule

The full U23 Japan squad can be seen here.

• Saturday 5 April –  Japan U23 31-43 Australian Barbarians
• Friday 11 April – Australian U20 vs Japan U23 17:30 Kick-off (16:30 Japan Time) Coffs Harbour
• Tuesday 15 April – Randwick vs Japan U23 – 14:00 Kick-off (13:00 Japan Time) – Randwick Rugby Club, Sydney

Photo Credit -JRFU

How To Watch The Japan U23 Australia Tour 2025

The Australia U20 fixtures will be streamed live on NSWRugbyTV.com.au. Broadcast details for the Randwick match will be announced at a later date.

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