Japan hoping strong bench could be difference against All Blacks

Japan coach Jamie Joseph has opted to fill his bench with experienced Brave Blossoms in the hopes they could make an impact on the result in tomorrow's Tokyo Test against the All Blacks.

Joseph named his side for the fixture this morning with hooker Atsushi Sakate named to lead the side while former skipper, New Zealand-born Michael Leitch, playing his 75th Test at No.6.

Fellow New Zealand-born forward Werner Dearns will line up against the All Blacks for the first time when he starts at lock while another former Kiwi Craig Millar will provide prop cover off Joseph's all-important bench.

"Coming into this weekend, the energy within the team has been really positive and we're excited for the match," Joseph said in a statement.

"This week we need to ensure we've got really experienced, highly competent players coming on during those tough parts of the match, so that's been a big driver with our selections on the bench."

Tomorrow's match is set to break a record for attendance of a one-off rugby Test in Japan with 63,000 tickets already sold for the game in Tokyo - 70,000 watched the World Cup final between South Africa and England in Yokohama in 2019 for contrast.

Japan have not beaten the All Blacks in six meetings with their most recent loss a 69-31 defeat in 2018.

However All Blacks coach Ian Foster isn't taking the side lightly after naming a new-look XV of his own for the match.

“We’re aware that this is a team that will have its moments in this test match and we’ve got to deal with that," he said.

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Japan: 15. Ryohei Yamanaka, 14. Kotaro Matsushima, 13. Dylan Riley, 12. Ryoto Nakamura, 11. Siosaia Fifita, 10. Takuya Yamasawa, 9. Yutaka Nagare, 8. Tevita Tatafu, 7. Kazuki Himeno, 6. Michael Leitch, 5. Jack Cornelsen, 4. Warner Dearns, 3. Jiwon Gu, 2. Atsushi Sakate, 1. Keita Inagaki

Replacements: 16. Takeshi Hino, 17. Craig Millar, 18. Shuhei Takeuchi, 19. Kanji Shimokawa, 20. Faulua Makisi, 21. Naoto Saito, 22. Seungsin Lee, 23. Gerhard Van Den Heever