(Written by Azul: July 31, 2026)
On July 4, 2026, at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Minato Ward, Tokyo, an official match of the first Nations Championship was held between the Japanese national team, the Brave Blossoms, and the Italian national team, Gli Azzurri.
** What is the Nations Championship? **
Launched in 2026, this is a series of test matches featuring the top 12 teams in the world rankings. The format includes 6 teams from the Northern Hemisphere and six from the Southern Hemisphere.
Participating Teams from the Northern Hemisphere:
The 6 nations participating in the Six Nations Championship are eligible. Specifically,
the six participating nations are the 4 nations of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales—along with France and Italy.
Participating teams from the Southern Hemisphere:
The 6 participating nations are the 4 countries in The Rugby Championship—South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina—along with Fiji and Japan.
It appears that, going forward, countries ranked within the top 12 in the world rankings will be eligible to participate, and lower-ranked nations may be subject to rotation.
In this Test match series, each nation will play 3 matches in July and 3 in November. Matchups will be organized as Northern Hemisphere teams versus Southern Hemisphere teams. Finally, a playoff to determine the final standings will be held in late November.
The purpose of the tournament is to bring together the international test matches that each country has traditionally held individually into a single, consolidated format.
The crowd that gathered that day numbered 21,319, and chickets of this match was sold out.
Japan and Italy have faced each other 10 times in total, with Italy winning 8 matches and Japan winning 2.
Now, let’s introduce the two teams that faced off on this day.
First, an introduction to the visiting team, the Italian national rugby team, Gli Azzurri.
They have competed in international rugby since 1929 and have participated in every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament. A major turning point in the Italian national team’s development was their participation in the 6 Nations Championship—the Northern Hemisphere’s premier rugby tournament—beginning in 2000. However, even after joining the 6 Nations Championship, the Italian national team was unable to secure a victory for quite some time and languished at the bottom of the standings for a long period. In recent years, however, they have improved their skills and are gradually climbing out of last place.
Since the Italian national team has yet to advance beyond the group stage at the Rugby World Cup, their next goal will likely be to achieve their long-cherished dream of reaching the knockout stage in the next tournament.
The starting lineup for this match was as follows.
| Gli Azzurri | ||||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | Club | Italy Caps |
| 1 | Danilo FISCHETTI | 181cm | 120kg | 28 | Teramo | 63 |
| 2 | Tommaso Di Bartolomeo | 179cm | 107kg | 24 | Zebre Parma | 10 |
| 3 | Marco RICCIONI | 183cm | 125kg | 28 | Sarasens | 36 |
| 4 | Niccolo KANNONE | 197cm | 120kg | 25 | Benetton | 63 |
| 5 | Andrea ZAMBONIN | 203cm | 112kg | 25 | Exeter Chiefs | 18 |
| 6 | Alessandro ORTOMBINA | 196cm | 113kg | 23 | Zebre Parma | 0 |
| 7 | Michele LAMARO | 188cm | 103kg | 28 | Zebre Parma | 54 |
| 8 | Lorenzo KANNONE | 190cm | 102kg | 25 | Benetton | 39 |
| 9 | Stephen VARNEY | 185cm | 89kg | 25 | Exeter Chiefs | 37 |
| 10 | Paolo GALBISI | 183cm | 93kg | 26 | Venezia | 54 |
| 11 | Monty IOANE | 180cm | 91kg | 31 | Lyon | 47 |
| 12 | Tommaso MENONCELLO | 187cm | 90kg | 23 | Benetton | 39 |
| 13 | Juan Ignacio BREX | 187cm | 91kg | 34 | Toulon | 52 |
| 14 | Malik FAISSAL | 180cm | 92kg | 20 | Zebre Parma | 0 |
| 15 | Lorenzo PANI | 193cm | 96kg | 24 | Zebre Parma | 12 |
In terms of their preference for open, attacking rugby, they share similarities with the Japanese national team. In their previous match, they secured a decisive victory over Japan thanks to their powerful forward pack.
** Player to Watch **
Paolo GALBISI. 183 cm, 93 kg, 26 years old. Positions: SO, CTB. Italy national team caps: 54. Born in Venice, Italy. He currently plays for RC Toulonnais in France’s TOP 14. After building a strong track record and excelling in Italy’s youth national teams, he was selected for the Italian senior national team in the fall of 2020. Since then, he has become the starting fly-half for the Italian national team, accumulating 54 caps by the age of 26. He will compete in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Known for his solid play as a fly-half, he orchestrates the Italian national team’s fluid backline attacks.
One of Galbisi’s most memorable moments came during the 2022 Six Nations Championship match against Wales, when he kicked the game-winning conversion in the final moments, securing Italy’s first 6 Nations victory since 2015.
Next, we’ll introduce this day’s home team, the Japan national rugby team, the Brave Blossoms.
Currently ranked 10th in the world, the Japan Brave Blossoms are aiming to advance to the knockout stage of the upcoming 2027 Rugby World Cup—their second such appearance since the 2019 tournament. Since 2024, under new Head Coach Eddie Jones, they have been rebuilding the team and working to strengthen their performance.
The key to victory will be how consistently they can execute their team slogan, “Ultra-Fast Rugby.” Since it is impossible to maintain a continuous offensive attack throughout an entire match, their performance in this series will depend on their ability to vary the pace of the game, make quicker decisions than their opponents, and seamlessly transition between offense and defense.
The starting lineup for this day’s match was as follows.
| Brave Blossoms | ||||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | Club | Japan Caps |
| 1 | Takato OKABE | 180cm | 105kg | 31 | Eagles | 8 |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA | 175cm | 101kg | 27 | Moana Pacifica | 12 |
| 3 | Shuhei TAKEUTI | 183cm | 115kg | 27 | Sungoliath | 24 |
| 4 | Harry HOCKINGS | 205cm | 124kg | 27 | Sungoliath | 2 |
| 5 | Warner DEARNS | 201m | 117kg | 24 | Hurricanes | 32 |
| 6 | Ben GUNTER | 195m | 120kg | 28 | Wildknights | 17 |
| 7 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | 188cm | 105kg | 27 | Sungoliath | 23 |
| 8 | Jack CORNELSEN | 195cm | 110kg | 31 | Wildknights | 29 |
| 9 | Naoto SAITO | 165cm | 73kg | 28 | Toulouse | 28 |
| 10 | Ryunosuke ITO | 172cm | 77kg | 21 | Meiji University | 0 |
| 11 | Kippei ISHIDA | 167cm | 75kg | 28 | Eagles | 9 |
| 12 | Yuya HIROSE | 182cm | 94kg | 25 | Spears | 5 |
| 13 | Dylan RILEY | 187cm | 102kg | 29 | Wildknights | 38 |
| 14 | Kazuma UEDA | 177cm | 87kg | 23 | Steelers | 2 |
| 15 | Takuro MATSUNAGA | 172cm | 82kg | 27 | Brave Lupas | 5 |
With the 2027 Rugby World Cup (RWC) just about a year away, the Japanese national team has yet to fully develop its team cohesion. This season, the team has been able to schedule numerous test matches against powerhouse nations, starting with this Nations Championship. We hope that capitalizing on these opportunities to strengthen the team will lead to strong results at next year’s RWC.
** Player to Watch **
Ryunosuke ITO. 172 cm, 77 kg, 21 years old. Position: Fly-half. 4th-year student at Meiji University. This season, Ito was called up to the Japan national team training camp for the first time and was immediately named to the starting lineup as the team’s fly-half. This match will mark his international debut. While KOBELCO Steelers’ Lee is the first-choice fly-half for the national team, his participation in this year’s national team activities was canceled because he is scheduled to undergo foot surgery after the conclusion of this season’s League One. In his place, ITO—who is currently a student—has been selected, and while this brings some anxiety, it also raises expectations among Japan national team supporters. Prior to this match, in June, ITO was named to the starting lineup for his first international match against New Zealand’s Maori All Blacks. In that match as well, he delivered a performance worthy of the Japan national team. ITO is known for his quick decision-making; when he spots an opening in the opposing team’s defense, he takes the initiative to create opportunities. In particular, his running game is spectacular. I hope he gains more experience in the upcoming Test Match series and is ready for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Now, the first half began.
The match kicked off with a kick by Gli Azzurri.
5 minutes into the first half:
Although Italy boasts one of the strongest scrums in the Northern Hemisphere’s 6 Nations Championship, the Brave Blossoms managed to secure possession from their own ball in the first scrum.
However, once Gli Azzurri entered the opposition’s half, they made effective use of off-load passes to break through the line, and CTB BREX easily penetrated the opposition’s in-goal area to score a try.
The conversion kick after the try was also successful, bringing the score to 0–7.
11 minutes into the first half:
In the early stages of the match, the Brave Blossoms held a slight advantage in the scrums. Since they were able to reliably retain possession during set pieces and rucks, this led to gradual forward progress. As the Brave Blossoms approached the opponent’s try line, lock DEARNS carried the ball into the center-right of the opponent’s in-goal area and scored a try.
The conversion kick after the try was also successful, tying the score at 7–7.
The kicker for the day was fullback MATSUNAGA.
17 minutes into the first half:
What stood out in this match was the kicking of Brave Blossoms’ scrum-half, Saito. His kicks carried great distance and consistently sent the ball out of play, giving the Brave Blossoms a rhythm on offense.
25 minutes into the first half:
Even at this stage of the game, the Brave Blossoms’ forwards continued to dominate at the rucks, steadily advancing deep into the opponent’s territory. At this point, scrum-half Saito fed the ball to the backs with impeccable timing; CTB Hirose successfully broke through the line, and when the ball finally reached fullback Matsunaga, he circled around to the very base of the goalposts and scored a try.
The conversion kick after the try was also successful, bringing the score to 14–7.
24 minutes into the first half:
Gli Azzurri made a series of mistakes while attacking in the opponent’s half, which ultimately led to the Brave Blossoms regaining possession. They then penetrated deep into the opponent’s half and committed a foul. The Brave Blossoms opted for a penalty goal. The foul occurred diagonally to the left of the goalposts, a somewhat difficult position at a distance of 30 meters.
Fullback MATSUNAGA converted the penalty kick, bringing the score to 17–7.
44 minutes into the first half:
Just before the end of the first half, Gli Azzurri had a scoring opportunity. Deep in the opponent’s territory, Gli Azzurri retained possession and launched a series of attacks centered on their forwards, repeatedly threatening the try line. The Brave Blossoms repelled these attempts with a valiant defense. In the end, Gli Azzurri switched from aiming for a try to a penalty goal, which they converted to make the score 17–10 as the first half came to a close.
As this marked the opening of the test match series for both teams, there were some minor errors in their coordination. However, while Gli Azzurri displayed fluid, beautiful play when transitioning from forward breaks to the backs, they made a series of mistakes at the center and wing positions, which prevented them from scoring. Once they iron out these issues, a sudden comeback is certainly possible.
On the other hand, the Brave Blossoms maintained dominance in the forward pack during the first half, and whenever they penetrated deep into the opponent’s territory, they almost always converted it into points. As for the backs, with the fly-half making his international debut, their combination play was not quite there yet, but up to this point, they had been able to make gains even with simple, direct attacks.
This is a clash between two teams with similar world rankings,
And now, the second half began.
7 minutes into the second half:
The Brave Blossoms were the first to score in the second half. After crossing the opponent’s 22-meter line and closing in on the try line, the forwards and backs worked as one to advance toward the in-goal area. However, Gli Azzurri’s defense just short of the try line was formidable, and the Brave Blossoms were unable to score a try. Yet, if they cannot score tries through this kind of contact play, they will not be able to secure victories in the actual RWC. The Brave Blossoms continued to apply relentless pressure, and flanker GUNTER forced the ball into the left-center of the opponent’s in-goal area to score a try.
The conversion kick after the try was also successful, bringing the Brave Blossoms’ lead to 24–10.
25 minutes into the second half:
With three-quarters of the match time elapsed, both teams made player substitutions.
Up to this point in the match, the Brave Blossoms had maintained dominance throughout, led primarily by their forwards. Then, having penetrated deep into the opponent’s territory, the Brave Blossoms earned a penalty goal opportunity from a scrum following an opponent’s foul. The kick was taken from a position slightly to the right of the goalposts, at a distance of approximately 25 meters. Fullback MATSUNAGA converted the penalty goal, bringing the score to 27–10.
Matsunaga had converted all of his penalty and conversion kicks so far in the match, making a significant contribution to the team’s success.
32 minutes into the second half:
As the match entered its final stages, the hot and humid conditions seemed to be taking a toll on the Italian players, as fouls and poor decision-making became more frequent.
The Brave Blossoms had already scored 3 tries, but since scoring 4 tries in a single match earns an extra winning point, they set their sights on achieving that. Given the time remaining, the Brave Blossoms’ victory was already assured, but they wanted another try to improve their final ranking.
However, the match ended with the score remaining as is, and Japan secured a historic first victory in their opening match of the inaugural Nations Championship.
The series will continue through November of this year, when the final standings will be determined. We look forward to seeing the Brave Blossoms continue their strong run.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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