In July 2022, France played a two-test series against Japan as part of the 2022 mid-year rugby union tests. The first test was played at Toyota Stadium in Aichi on 2 July, followed by the second test at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo on 9 July.
Coming into the series, France were ranked in second place in the World Rugby Rankings, while Japan sat eight places below in tenth. The two nations last faced each other in a test match during 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals, which ended up in a 23-23 draw.
Fixtures Date Venue Home Score Away 2 July 2022 Toyota Stadium, Toyota 23–42 9 July 2022 Japan National Stadium, Tokyo 15–20
Squads France Among the starting 15 French players, 2 of them earned their first caps and 4 more had single-digit caps. French coach intended to give test experience to the fringe players.
Notes: 1 On 23 June 2022, Dorian Aldegheri withdrew from the squad following a thigh injury, while Aymeric Luc and Max Spring were on standby, being COVID-19 positive like assistant coaches Shaun Edwards and Laurent Labit. On 25 June 2022, Luc and Spring tested negative and joined the rest of the team in Japan.
Head coach: Fabien Galthié
Japan On 31 May, a 34-man squad was named for Japan's 2-test series against Uruguay and their 2-test series against France.
On 7 June, Yutaka Nagare withdrew from the squad due to injury and Toshiya Takahashi was called up as his replacement.
On 17 June, Craig Millar withdrew from the squad due to injury and Shogo Miura was called up as his replacement. Also called up were, Takayasu Tsuji, Wimpie van der Walt and Tevita Tatafu.
On 27 June, Kaito Shigeno joined up with the squad ahead of Japan's 2-test series against France replacing Toshiya Takahashi and Amanaki Saumaki also withdrew due to injury.
Head Coach: Jamie Joseph
Matches First test
Team details FB 15Ryohei Yamanaka RW 14Gerhard van den Heever OC 13Dylan Riley IC 12Shogo Nakano LW 11Siosaia Fifita FH 10Takuya Yamasawa SH 9 Kaito Shigeno N8 8 Tevita Tatafu (c) BF 7 Ben Gunter OF 6 Michael Leitch RL 5 Jack Cornelsen LL 4 Wimpie van der Walt TP 3 Asaeli Ai Valu HK 2 Atsushi Sakate LP 1 Keita Inagaki Replacements:HK 16Daigo Hashimoto PR 17Yukio Morikawa PR 18Shinnosuke Kakinaga LK 19Warner Dearns FL 20Faulua Makisi SH 21Daiki Nakajima FH 22Lee Seung-sin WG 23Taichi Takahashi Coach: Jamie Joseph FB 15Melvyn JaminetRW 14Damian PenaudOC 13Virimi Vakatawa IC 12Yoram MoefanaLW 11Matthis LebelFH 10Matthieu Jalibert SH 9 Maxime Lucu N8 8 Yoan Tanga OF 7 Dylan CretinBF 6 Charles Ollivon (c)RL 5 Thomas Jolmès LL 4 Thibaud FlamentTP 3 Demba Bamba HK 2 Peato Mauvaka LP 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros Replacements:HK 16Pierre Bourgarit PR 17Dany Priso PR 18Sipili Falatea LK 19Thomas Lavault FL 20Selevasio Tolofua FL 21Sekou Macalou SH 22Baptiste Couilloud FH 23Antoine Hastoy Coach: Fabien Galthié Assistant referees: Chris Busby (Ireland) Shuhei Kubo (Japan) (Replaced Mike Adamson 2 days out from the game) Television match official: Ben Whitehouse (Wales) Notes: Thomas Jolmès, Yoan Tanga and Thomas Lavault (France) made their international debuts. France winning-streak of 9 consecutive test matches is their best series since 1937.
Second test
Team details FB 15Ryohei Yamanaka RW 14Gerhard van den HeeverOC 13Dylan Riley IC 12Shogo Nakano LW 11Siosaia FifitaFH 10Lee Seung-sin SH 9 Naoto Saito N8 8 Jack CornelsenBF 7 Ben Gunter OF 6 Michael Leitch RL 5 Sanaila Waqa LL 4 Warner Dearns TP 3 Asaeli Ai Valu HK 2 Atsushi Sakate (c) LP 1 Keita InagakiReplacements:HK 16Shota Horie PR 17Yukio MorikawaPR 18Yusuke Kizu LK 19Takayasu Tsuji FL 20Tevita Tatafu SH 21Kaito Shigeno FH 22Yu Tamura CE 23Shane Gates Coach: Jamie Joseph FB 15Max SpringRW 14Damian Penaud OC 13Virimi VakatawaIC 12Yoram MoefanaLW 11Matthis LebelFH 10Matthieu JalibertSH 9 Maxime Lucu N8 8 Yoan TangaOF 7 Charles Ollivon (c)BF 6 Dylan Cretin RL 5 Thomas Jolmès LL 4 Thibaud FlamentTP 3 Demba Bamba HK 2 Peato Mauvaka LP 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros Replacements:HK 16Pierre Bourgarit PR 17Dany Priso PR 18Sipili Falatea LK 19Thomas Lavault FL 20Ibrahim Diallo FL 21Sekou Macalou SH 22Baptiste Couilloud FH 23Antoine HastoyCoach: Fabien Galthié Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland) Chris Busby (Ireland) Television match official: Ben Whitehouse (Wales) Notes: Max Spring (France) made his international debut. France equals his record winning streak of 10 consecutive international test matches.
Climatic conditions The hot weather had been a major concern. At kick off of the first match, it recorded 34.5°C in Toyota. 24 hours before the first match, Toyota city recorded a historic high 39.8°C. As a result, three water breaks were put in place during each half of the match. Just after kick off of the second match, it recorded 31.5°C in Tokyo. Water breaks were also in place.
Condolences to Shinzo Abe Before the second match, the 57,000 crowd observed a minute's silence for the assassination of Shinzo Abe. After the match, French captain Charles Ollivon offered a French jersey with the name "Abe Shinzo" printed. Abe was a keen supporter of Japanese rugby. He visited the Japan dressing room during the 2019 Rugby World Cup and invited the team to the prime minister's office.
See also 2022 mid-year rugby union tests
References