Warner Dearns to co-captain Japan against England at Allianz Stadium

Warner Dearns will co-captain Japan against England at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, having spent the past decade building his life and rugby career in Japan after moving there as a 14-year-old.

Dearns relocated from New Zealand when his father, Grant, took a role as a strength and conditioning coach with NEC Green Rockets, a top-flight Japanese club. He initially resisted the move: "I said I didn't want to go," he recalls, adding that his mother, Tanya, a former New Zealand netballer, gave up her coaching role to help the family settle. "The first year or two took a bit to adapt to, it is a very different culture from New Zealand, and the language barrier didn't help much either," he said, noting that at high school "there was no-one else who spoke English. I was the kid who stood out, the only one with blond curly hair, so it was lots of fun."

At Kashiwa Senior High School — described in the source as one of Japan's strongest rugby-playing schools — coaches transformed Dearns from a basketball-minded teenager into a forward with rare physical gifts. Even as a youngster he measured 6ft 8in and weighed more than 19 stone (120.6kg), and school staff added gymnastics to his training to improve his agility, asking him to hurdle team-mates and perform flips. Away from school he trained at his father's employer's gym, working alongside former England full-back Alex Goode.

Dearns qualified for Japan on residency grounds and made his international debut in November 2021 at the age of 19. He became a regular selection and featured in all four of Japan's matches at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

Last season he spent a sabbatical with the Hurricanes in New Zealand, where his "bottomless energy, soft hands and line-out prowess" contributed to the Wellington side's first Super Rugby title in a decade. He played alongside All Blacks Jordie Barrett, Ruben Love, Cam Roigard and Peter Lakai during that spell, and described the experience: "It was awesome, I got to sit back and see how the boys prepare. The All Blacks guys especially lead the way and are part of the leadership group, I got to enjoy playing footy and watch how they do things."

There was speculation within New Zealand rugby that Dearns might return home and become eligible for the All Blacks after serving a three-year Test stand-down, but he dismissed those approaches as informal and unwelcome. "It was nothing official, it was all sort of hearsay," he said, and added: "I had a couple of people coming up to me asking me if I would ever think about it. It was never an option for me."

Dearns has developed a strong personal connection to Japan: he speaks the language fluently, his son was born there, and he has spoken of being moved to tears during his adopted nation's anthem at the last World Cup. On the field he has produced memorable moments, setting up a try at Twickenham in November 2022 with a break and offload to scrum-half Naoto Saito and assisting two tries in Tokyo in 2024, including one after a one-handed grab-and-go; both previous visits to Twickenham ended in heavy defeats for Japan.

A victory on Saturday would represent a major step in Dearns's career; Japan meet England at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, and Dearns has stressed the challenge ahead, saying: "It is always a set-piece battle and England do a very good job of scrum and line-out, they are obviously very physical."