VIDEO SHOWS: AUSTRALIA'S WALLABIES AND JAPAN'S BRAVE BLOSSOMS HOLD TRAINING SESSIONS / SOUNDBITES FROM WALLABIES CAPTAIN NICK CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY AND BRAVE BLOSSOMS PLAYER DYLAN RILEY SHOWS: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 24, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) 1. AUSTRALIA’S WALLABIES PLAYERS CONDUCTING DRILL ON PITCH 2. WALLABIES CAPTAIN NICK CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY AND NUMBER EIGHT ROB VALETINI DURING TRAINING SESSION 3. CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY THROWING BALL AND RUNNING 4. PLAYERS PASSING BALL DURING TRAINING 5. DRILL IN PROGRESS 6. PLAYER CARLO TIZIANO IN DRILL 7. BALL ON PITCH 8. DRILL IN PROGRESS 9. CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY ARRIVING FOR MEDIA BRIEFING 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN OF AUSTRALIA’S WALLABIES, NICK CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY, SAYING: "I'm super honored and proud to be able to represent Australia and to have this sort of opportunity as well. Yeah, it's a massive privilege and something I don't take lightly. You know, I'm very proud to be Australian and, you know, you dream of playing for your country when you're younger, and to be able to be captain and to represent the group especially is very special to me.” 11. PLAYERS INCLUDING CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY WARMING UP 12. TRAINING SESSION IN PROGRESS 13. PLAYERS INCLUDING TIZIANO WARMING UP 14. TRAINING SESSION IN PROGRESS 15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN OF AUSTRALIA’S WALLABIES, NICK CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY, SAYING: “You know I just want to be able to put the team first in everything I do. So it's somewhat surprising and not something which I think as a little boy you always look up to the Wallabies, and then I was fortunate enough to grow up and watch John Eales, George Gregan, Michael Hooper captain this country, and you know you look up to those guys from since you were little, so yeah, it's a massive honour and privilege, and yeah, something I don't take lightly.” 16. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS WARMING UP 17. VALETINI WALKING ON PITCH 18. TIZIANO STRETCHING 19. CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY, TIZIANO AND PLAYER AIDAN ROSS STRETCHING 20. CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY STRETCHING 21. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN OF AUSTRALIA’S WALLABIES, NICK CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY, SAYING: "I think for us, we've got a great squad here with a lot of depth. Like you look at the team of names, you've got Angus Bell, who's coming up on 50 caps, like Lukhan (Salakaia-Loto), who's one of the best locks in the world. You've got Bobby (Rob) Valetini, Carlo Tiziano, who's named Super Rugby Player of the Year. You've got those combinations like myself and Carlo (Tiziano), (Josh) Flook and Hunter (Paisami) . Josh Nasser and Zane Nonggorr. So, as a team, we're really confident in the sort of performance we can put out there. We want to put a performance out there that we can be proud of and the Australian public can be proud of. We're sort of very internally driven and, yeah, just want to keep growing the Wallabies' game every week.” 22. VALETINI TALKING TO HARRY WILSON 23. HEAD COACH JOE SCHMIDT ARRIVING FOR PHOTO SESSION 24. SCHMIDT AND CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY SEATED 25. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS AND HEAD COACH POSING FOR PHOTO 26. PHOTO SESSION FINISHING 27. PLAYER JAKE GORDON 28. STUFFED TOY MASCOT AND BALL ON PITCH 29. PLAYER ROSS 30. CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY WALKING AND TALKING TO ASSISTANT COACH 31. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAPTAIN OF AUSTRALIA’S WALLABIES, NICK CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY, SAYING: "We're very impressed with the Japanese side. They play a very fast and skilful brand of rugby, and they've had some great results lately, like in the Pacific Nations Cup, finishing second with a bonus point loss to Fiji, and then they beat Wales earlier in the year. So, for us, we know they're a great side, especially at home, and they've got lots of threats across the park. But yeah, I think we're very focused on ourselves internally to put in a performance that we can be proud of and be proud for the Australian public as well.” 32. JAPAN’S BRAVE BLOSSOMS CAPTAIN WARNER DEARNS ENTERING PITCH, CATCHING BALL AND KICKING BALL 33. BRAVE BLOSSOMS PLAYERS ENTERING PITCH 34. NUMBER EIGHT MICHAEL LEITCH JOGGING ON PITCH WITH BALL 35. PLAYER JAKE CORNELSEN CATCHING BALL AND PASSING IT ON 36. LEITCH GETTING UP AND WARMING UP 37. PLAYER TOMOKI OSADA CHECKING PITCH 38. DEARN GETTING BALL AND CHATTING WITH CORNELSEN 39. PLAYER DYLAN RILEY WARMING UP 40. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAPAN’S BRAVE BLOSSOMS PLAYER, DYLAN RILEY, SAYING: “Obviously, I've talked about it a lot before, the place where I grew up and the country that gave me the opportunity to play against the Wallabies then and now. Always just grateful, even just to wear this jersey. I'm super honoured and grateful to be in this position and to give back. So that's just what I look to do from tomorrow.” 41. PLAYER BEN GUNTER TALKING TO ASSISTANT 42. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS HUDDLING 43. DEARNS TALKING TO PLAYERS 44. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAPAN’S BRAVE BLOSSOMS PLAYER, DYLAN RILEY, SAYING: "Obviously, the emotion comes into it when you're out on the field, but I know my role and what I need to do for the game, so I just try and focus on that.” 45. PLAYERS ON PITCH 46. DEARNS CHATTING WITH GUNTER WHILE JOGGING 47. PLAYERS PREPARING FOR TRAINING 48. RILEY WARMING UP 49. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAPAN’S BRAVE BLOSSOMS PLAYER, DYLAN RILEY, SAYING: “It's not what you see when you're carrying the ball. It's the work off the ball and how we can use those numbers and move teams around. So we obviously like to play fast, so we have to be fast in the way we think and the way we move. So just learning how to use that and connect it within our attack." 50. DEARNS SWINGING SANDBAG 51. DEARNS WARMING UP 52. PLAYERS WARMING UP ON PITCH 53. PLAYERS LIFTING UP SANDBAGS 54. OSADA WALKING ON PITCH 55. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAPAN’S BRAVE BLOSSOMS PLAYER, DYLAN RILEY, SAYING: "There are a few boys that I would have played against in a few games with. It's been a very long time, obviously I've been over here for seven, eight years now so. But yeah, it'll be good to catch up after the game, but for now I'm focused on what I need to do to stop them within the game. Yeah, we obviously know that they're a strong team, they're a team that's played well the last couple of weeks. It's obviously a different combination from what they've put out previously, but nonetheless very strong. So we'll look to shut down their key ball runners and put pressure on them the way we play our rugby." 56. PLAYERS DOING DRILL 57. GUNTER AND DEARNS DOING DRILL 58. DRILL IN PROGRESS 59. DEARNS ON PITCH STORY: At the start of the year few Australian sports fans would have had heard of Nick Champion de Crespigny, but on Saturday the 29-year-old will lead his nation against Japan as the 92nd Wallabies captain. The burly loose forward, who returned to Australia from France at the start of the season, was an unexpected inclusion in Joe Schmidt's squad for the British & Irish Lions series and a shock debutant starter in the first test in Brisbane. Another cap off the bench against South Africa gave him a grand total of 72 minutes of test experience and he might be accused of understatement by describing his naming as captain for the Japan clash as "somewhat surprising". "I'm super honoured and proud to be able to represent Australia and to have this sort of opportunity as well," he told reporters at Tokyo's National Stadium on Friday (October 24). "As a little boy you always look up to the Wallabies, and I was fortunate enough to grow up watching John Eales, George Gregan, Michael Hooper captain this country. You know you look up to those guys from since you were little so it's something I don't take lightly." Schmidt made 13 changes to his starting side for Saturday's match as he tries to keep his players fresh for an end-of-season tour that continues with visits to England, Italy, Ireland and France. However, Japan’s brave blossoms led by Eddie Jones are plotting an upset of the Wallabies on Saturday with Dylan Riley and his teammates Ben Gunter, ... (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
