Japan select uncapped flyhalf Ito to start against Italy

July 2 - Japan have named uncapped flyhalf Ryunosuke Ito to start their first Nations Championship test against Italy at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Saturday.

• Ito, 21, is one of four uncapped players in the matchday squad along with prop Sojiro Otsuka, Australian-born lock Michael Stolberg and scrumhalf Itsuki Kamimura, who were all named as replacements.

• Warner Dearns, who had an outstanding season in Super Rugby Pacific, captains the side from the second row. Former skipper Michael Leitch looks set to win his 93rd cap from the bench.

• Japan also play Ireland in Australia and host France in Tokyo in the July portion of the inaugural Nations Championship.

• Forwards coach Neil Hatley named the Japan team in the absence of Eddie Jones, who is serving a four-match ban imposed on him by the Japan Rugby Union for abusing officials.

• Japan: 15–Takuro Matsunaga, 14–Kazuma Ueda, 13–Dylan Riley, 12–Yuya Hirose, 11–Kippei Ishida, 10–Ryunosuke Ito, 9–Naoto Saito, 8–Jack Cornelsen, 7–Kanji Shimokawa, 6–Ben Gunter, 5–Warner Dearns, 4–Harry Hockings, 3–Shuhei Takeuchi, 2–Mamoru Harada, 1–Takato Okabe

• Replacements: 16–Hayate Era, 17–Sojiro Otsuka, 18–Keijiro Tamefusa, 19–Michael Stolberg, 20–Michael Leitch, 21–Tiennan Costley, 22–Itsuki Kamimura, 23–Sam Greene REUTERS