A Maori All Blacks rugby squad will visit Japan in 2024 for a two-match series as part of the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup. The Māori All Blacks and the Japan XV will square off in two games during the 2024 Lipovitan D Challenge Cup.
The two games are scheduled on Saturdays, June 29 and July 6, of this year. This will be the Māori All Blacks’ fourth and first visit to Japan since 2014.
The two nations have strengthened their cooperation since the JRFU and New Zealand Rugby (NZR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in May, and they faced an All Blacks XV this past weekend.
Read more: 2024 NRL Harvey Norman All Stars Fixtures
Japan Maori All Blacks Rugby 2024 Schedule
2024 June 29 – Japan vs Maori
2024 July 6 – All Blacks Maori vs Japan
The match in 2019 will be the third consecutive year that a team representing New Zealand visits Japan.
The Māori All Blacks will play their first matches in Japan after splitting a two-match series against Ireland in Wellington and Hamilton the previous year.
Playing regular matches against strong teams like the All Blacks and Māori All Blacks, according to Japan Rugby Football Union head Kensuke Iwabuchi, “is a major component of our strategy to grow the competitiveness of our national teams”.
Japan vs Māori All Blacks past results:
- November 8, 2014 (W) 20-18 Tokyo
- November 1, 2014 (W) 61-21 Hyogo
- June 28, 2008 (W) 65-22 Napier