Duncan Paiaaua, plays in the three-quarter position and is 28 years old. With his international team he has played eight matches in which he has scored four tries and one conversion. In this final phase of the World Cup he has played two matches in which he has scored a try.
Jone Naikabula plays in the wing position and is 29 years old. He has made six appearances for Japan and has scored four tries, including one in the opening match of the Rugby World Cup 2023.
Samoa started with a victory in their first match against Chile, but lost against Argentina (19-10). Right now they are second in the group and would be qualified for the quarterfinals, but they have the same points as Japan and one behind Argentina. In their preparation they played two friendly matches where they beat Barbarians and lost against Ireland.
In their first match of the Rugby World Cup finals, they overwhelmed and defeated Chile by 42-12, while they lost to Japan by 34-12. Before playing the world championship they lost in a friendly against Italy and played the Pacif Nations Cup where they lost two matches and won only one of them. Right now they are third in the group with 5 points, the same as Samoa and one more than Argentina, which are the two teams with which the qualification to the quarterfinals will be played.
Five times Samoa and Japan have faced each other with a balance of three victories for the Japanese team and two for Samoa. The last time they met was on July 22 of this same year in a Pacif Nations Cup duel that Samoa won 22-24. They already met in the 2019 World Cup finals in which Japan won by 38-19.
Japan and Samoa will meet in the Rugby World Cup finals match. For both teams it will be their third match and they are in Pool D together with England, Argentina and Chile.
