| Home team | Japan |
| Away team | USA |
| Venue | Hanazono Rugby Stadium |
| Competition | Pacific Nations Cup |
| Kick-off time | 11:05 am (UK) |
| Watch Live in the UK | Rugby Pass TV |
Japan vs USA Pacific Nations Cup preview as the sides meet at Hanazono Rugby Stadium. Japan currently sit 12th in the World Rankings, while the USA sit 14th.
Read more match previews here
Japan vs USA confirmed lineups
| Japan | USA | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Otsuka | 1 | Telea-Ilalio | |||
| Harada | 2 | Klein | |||
| Takeuchi | 3 | Kofe | |||
| Stolberg | 4 | Damm | |||
| Hockings | 5 | Den Hoedt | |||
| Gunter | 6 | Redelinghuys | |||
| Shimokawa | 7 | Ryan | |||
| Cornelsen | 8 | Alikhan | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Sato | 9 | De Haas | |||
| Ito | 10 | Hilsenbeck | |||
| Ueda | 11 | Brown | |||
| Hirose | 12 | Besag | |||
| Riley | 13 | Lopeti | |||
| Burua | 14 | O’Keefe | |||
| Greene | 15 | Wilson | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| Sato | 16 | Taufete’e | |||
| Kimura | 17 | Pifeleti | |||
| Inaba | 18 | Maughan | |||
| Haangana | 19 | Golla | |||
| Costley | 20 | Bonasso | |||
| Makisi | 21 | Baska | |||
| Fujiwara | 22 | Carty | |||
| Tua | 23 | Roberts | |||
Recent Form:
Japan (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Won | 5th September 2026 | Test | Canada | 57-12 |
| Loss | 15th August 2026 | Test | Wallabies | 56-17 |
| Loss | 8th August 2026 | Test | Wallabies | 32-35 |
| Loss | 18th July 2026 | Rugby Nations Champions | France | 15-42 |
| Loss | 11th July 2026 | Rugby Nations Championship | Ireland | 20-36 |
Japan started the Rugby Nations Championship with a famous win over Italy and were narrowly beaten by the Wallabies in the first of their two-test series. They got a win last week against Canada, scoring nine tries on their way to victory.
USA (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Won | 16th August 2026 | Friendly | Argentina XV | 25-24 |
| Won | 19th July 2026 | Rugby Nations Cup | Spain | 29-22 |
| Won | 12th July 2026 | Rugby Nations Cup | Zimbabwe | 31-15 |
| Won | 5th July 2026 | Rugby Nations Cup | Portugal | 30-29 |
| Won | 15th November 2025 | Rugby Nations Cup | Romania | 18-26 |
The USA have won five matches in a row, but Japan will be the biggest test they have played in 2026. In the Nations Cup, they won three from three, picking up narrow wins in each of these games, with two won by a score or less.
Japan vs USA head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 7th September 2025 | Pacific Nations Cup | Japan | 21-47 |
| 7th September 2024 | Pacific Nations Cup | Japan | 41-24 |
| 10th August 2019 | Pacific Nations Cup | Japan | 20-34 |
| 11th November 2015 | World Cup | Japan | 18-28 |
| 25th July 2015 | Pacific Nations Cup | USA | 23-18 |
Japan have won the last four meetings between these nations dating back to 2015, before the World Cup that same year, where they met again, and Japan won.
Predictions
- Japan win by more than 15 points
- Over 60 points in the game
