'Cherry Blossoms' in with an outside chance

Japan make seven changes for Fiji clash

Japan still have an outside chance of making the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup if they win their remaining matches against Fiji and the USA and if the other matches in Pool B go their way. With this in mind, the 'Cherry Blossoms' game against Fiji on Thursday is crucial.

Coach Shogo Mukai has made seven changes to his starting line-up for Thursday's clash following their 51-29 defeat to France on Saturday.

In the backline, Tsutoomu Matsuda starts ahead Toru Kuihara at fullback, Reuben Parkinson replaces fellow Kiwi George Konia at outside centre, Yukio Motoki starts on his inside in place of Hideki Namba and scrum-half Yuji Sonoda is replaced by Takashi Tsuji.

Kuihara, Konia and Sonoda all move to the bench, while Namba drops out of the squad altogether.

Up front, lock Hajime Kiso replaces Hiroyuki Tanuma and props Chang Nam Oh and Mashito Yamamato replace Ryo Yamamura and Shin Hasegawa respectively.

Japan have proved a revelation at the tournament this year and while their chances of reaching the knockout stages are slim, many feel against Fiji - the big disappointments of the 2003 RWC thus far - they stand a realistic chance of causing an upset.

Japan: 15 Tsutomu Matsuda, 14 Daisuke Ohata, 13 Reuben Parkinson, 12 Yukio Motoki, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 Andrew Miller, 9 Takashi Tsuji, 8 Takeomi Ito, 7 Takuro Miuchi, 6 Naoyo Okubo, 5 Hajime Kiso, 4 Adam Parker, 3 Chang Nam Oh, 2 Masaaki Sakata, 1 Masahito Yamamato.
Replacements: 16 Shin Hasegawa, 17 Masao Amino, 18 Koichi Kubo, 19 Ryota Asano, 20 Yuji Sonoda, 21 George Konia, 22 Toru Kuihara.

Kick-off: 22.00 local time (10.00 GMT, 11.00 BST), Live in the UK on ITV2