Japan vs Italy Predictions - Italy to start their Nations Championship campaign with a victory

Brad Newcomb

Editor

Last updated: 2 hours ago

Brad Newcomb 2 hours ago

Share this article

Italy have won 3 straight matches vs Japan.
Japan have lost 5 of their last 6 games.
Italy favoured to cover the -7.5 handicap.

Italy have been in solid form in recent outings (Getty Images)

Japan have often lost their matches recently. Italy performed well at the recent Six Nations Championship and are on a winning streak against Japan.

Italy have won 3 of their last 6 fixtures.
Italy have won 3 consecutive matches against Japan.
Japan have lost 5 of their last 6 games.

Head to Head

Italy have a slight edge with four victories to two against Japan in six meetings.

Japan Form

Japan had some success during their Autumn Nations Series tour at the end of last year. They lost 41-10 to Ireland and 24-23 to Wales before edging Georgia 25-23.

Before that, Japan lost to Australia 19-15 and South Africa 61-7.

At the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup, the Brave Blossoms thrashed Canada 57-15 and defeated the USA 47-21 in the pool stages. They subsequently thumped Tonga 62-24 in the semi-finals before losing 33-27 to Fiji in the final.

Japan have a tricky opening Nations Championship match against Italy, as they have been defeated twice by their opponents in recent meetings, losing 42-21 in 2023 and 42-14 in 2024.

Italy Form

Italy had a successful 2026 Six Nations Championship earlier this year, finishing fourth overall. They beat Scotland 18-15, lost 20-13 to Ireland and 33-8 to France, and defeated England 23-18 before losing to Wales 31-17.

Before that, the Azzurri performed well during the Autumn Nations Series last year. They defeated Australia 26-19 and lost 32-14 to South Africa before beating Chile 34-19.

Italy have been in fine form in recent outings, defeating the likes of Australia, Scotland, and England, giving them the advantage in their opening Nations Championship match against Japan.

Team News

Japan

Forwards: Takuro Hojo, Itsuki Kamimura, Naoto Saitō, Haruto Watanabe, Ryunosuke Ito, Shinya Komura, Samisoni Tua, Yuya Hirose, Shōgo Nakano, Dylan Riley, Inoke Burua, Kippei Ishida, Haruto Kida, Kazuma Ueda, Takuro Matsunaga, Shunsuke Uenobo

Backs: Hayate Era, Mamoru Harada, Kenji Sato, Yota Kamimori, Takato Okabe, Sojiro Otsuka, Izi Sword, Shuhei Takeuchi, Keijiro Tamefusa, Jack Cornelsen, Warner Dearns, Harry Hockings, Michael Stolberg, Tiennan Costley, Ben Gunter, Esei Ha'angana, Michael Leitch, Waisake Raratubua, Kanji Shimokawa

Italy

Forwards: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Pablo Dimcheff, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Danilo Fischetti, Muhamed Hasa, Ion Neculai, Marco Riccioni, Mirco Spagnolo, Niccolò Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Alessandro Ortombina, Federico Ruzza, Andrea Zambonin, Lorenzo Cannone, Michele Lamaro, Giulio Marini, David Odiase, Ross Vintcent

Backs: Alessandro Fusco, Alessandro Garbisi, Stephen Varney, Tommaso Allan, Giacomo Da Re, Paolo Garbisi, Giulio Bertaccini, Ignacio Brex, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Malik Faissal, Monty Ioane, Louis Lynagh, Paolo Odogwu, Lorenzo Pani