Leitch to captain inexperienced Japan side against England
Jun 20, 2024Michael Leitch will captain a young and inexperienced Japan side when the Brave Blossoms kick off their new era under Eddie Jones against England on Saturday.
Leitch captained Japan at the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and 2019, but the 35-year-old loose forward was succeeded by the now injury-sidelined Kazuki Himeno at the most recent edition of the tournament last year in France.
Since retaking the reins in January, Jones has outlined his vision of a "super-fast" brand of Japanese rugby that maximizes its players' attributes.
He said Leitch had been the "obvious selection" as captain once the extended squad assembled for their training camp in the southwestern Japan city of Miyazaki.
"You've got to look at where your team is and what sort of a captain the team needs at that particular time," Jones said. "When it became clear, particularly with a number of retirements of players who'd been at the previous World Cup, that we were going to have a very young team, we needed a very experienced captain."
