Canada vs. Japan Live Blog: Pacific Nations Cup Updates, Analysis & Reaction

The 2013 Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) decider kicks off today in Nagoya, Japan. 

Canada, who are undefeated in this year's PNC competition, will look to complete their perfect run, after a 15-hour flight to the Far East just days ago. 

A quick look at the tournament standings sees a vast difference between these two teams; however, appearances, in this case, are definitely deceiving.

Japan are coming off their greatest win of all time after two strong performances against Wales. The second test in that series resulted in a historic 23-8 upset. 

Canada, on the other hand, are coming off a bruising series of encounters against Fiji, Tonga and a powerful touring Irish side. They are a tired group.

On an individual note, James Pritchard, who has just become Canada's all-time points leader, has a chance to pass 500 international points tomorrow, while at the same time winning his 50th Cap.

The Canadians have a perfect record so far in this competition, but one feels that they will be hard pressed to stay with the high-flying Japanese in the later stages of this match. Should Canada emerge victorious, they will be crowned 2013 Pacific Nations Cup champions.

Canada Starting Roster: 

1. Hubert Buydens, 2. Ryan Hamilton, 3. Jason Marshall, 4. Jon Phelan, 5. Brett Beukeboom, 6. Tyler Ardron, 7. Nanyak Dala, 8. Aaron Carpenter (Capt), 9. Sean White, 10. Liam Underwood, 11. Taylor Paris, 12. Nick Blevins, 13. Ciaran Hearn, 14. James Pritchard, 15. Connor Braid

Canada Bench:

16. Ray Barkwill, 17. Tom Dolezel, 18. Andrew Tiedemann, 19. Cam Pierce, 20. Aaron Flagg, 21. Eric Wilson, 22. Michael Fuailefau, 23. Patrick Parfrey

Japan Starting Roster:

1. Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2. Shota Hoire, 3. Yusuke Nagae, 4. Justin Ives, 5. Shinya Makabe, 6. Hendrik Tui, 7. Michael Broadhurst, 8. Takashi Kikutani, 9. Fumiaki Tanaka, 10. Harumichi Tatekawa, 11. Kenki Fukuoka, 12. Craig Wing, 13. Male Sau, 14. Toshiaki Hirose (Capt), 15. Ayumu Goromaru

Japan Bench:

16. Takeshi Kizu, 17. Masataka Mikami, 18. Hiroshi Yamashita, 19. Hitoshi Ono, 20. Shoji Ito, 21. Atsushi Hiwasa, 22. Yu Tamura, 23. Yoshikazu Fujita

Kickoff Time: 6:10 a.m. EST

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Jeff Hull is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Unless otherwise stated, all quoted material was obtained first-hand.

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