Japan make four changes for crucial Rugby World Cup game with Scotland

Image: Luke Thompson will make a record 13th World Cup appearance for Japan

Japan have made four changes to their starting line-up for Sunday's crucial World Cup game with Scotland.

Victory over Scotland will clinch top spot in Pool A and a quarter-final against South Africa but the match in Yokohama remains in doubt because of Super Typhoon Hagibis.

World Rugby says a decision on whether it goes ahead will be taken just hours before the scheduled 7.45pm Japan time (11.45am BST) kick-off.

Kenki Fukuoka, who scored the winning try against Ireland, replaces Lomano Lemeki on the left wing while William Tupou comes in at full-back.

Image: Kenki Fukuoka returns after scoring the winning try against Ireland

Shota Horie starts at hooker after coming off the bench in the bonus-point win over Samoa, with Luke Thompson preferred to Wimpie van der Walt in the second row.

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Thompson will become the first Japan player to make 13 Rugby World Cup appearances, breaking the record he currently shares with Hirotoki Onazawa.

Japan: 15 William Tupou, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nagare; 1 Keita Inagaki, 2 Shota Horie, 3 Jiwon Koo, 4 Luke Thompson, 5 James Moore, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 8 Kazuki Himeno.

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Replacements: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Isileli Nakajima, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Uwe Helu ,20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka.

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