The British and Irish Lions have announced they will play Japan at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium the weekend before the tour party departs for South Africa next year.
Former Wales coach Warren Gatland will take charge of the the Lions for the third consecutive tour against the world champion Springboks, with the first of five warm-up matches due to take place on Saturday 3 July next year.
Next year's tour will see the Lions embark on a shortened format, which has seen the number of matches reduced from 10 to eight.
So Gatland will be delighted to have an extra match on home soil to add to his preparations - with Japan facing the Lions for the first time on Saturday June 26.
“We saw Japan play some excellent rugby during the World Cup and they will come to Edinburgh fully-motivated to win,” said Gatland.
“They are a talented side who play high-tempo rugby, so it’ll be a good challenge for us ahead of the Tour, and a chance for the match day squad to put their hands up for Test selection.”
The Test will clash with the English Premiership final, meaning that Gatland will not have his entire squad available for the match against Japan.
The Guinness PRO14 is also likely to conclude around this time, with the second half of the season yet to be confirmed.
Despite this, the match will still go ahead.
“One of our objectives is to give Warren and the playing squad as much meaningful preparation as possible before departing on Tour, so we are delighted to have agreed this fixture,” said Ben Calveley, managing director of the British and Irish Lions.
“A Lions Test is one of the most iconic events in world sport, but a huge number of fans from the home nations never get the chance to see one.
“It will be an ‘I was there’ moment, against an entertaining and highly-respected opposition.”
This will be the first time since 2005 that the Lions have played a match on home soil. Sir Clive Woodward's men faced Argentina in Cardiff ahead of the infamous tour of New Zealand.
While that didn't go to plan back then, Gatland will hope this will provide extra preparation as he seeks to stretch his unbeaten series record as Lions coach to include the Springboks as well as Australia and New Zealand.
It will also provide a boost to Japan as they look to grow after hosting last year's World Cup.
“We are very much looking forward to playing a Test against the Lions next year," said Japan head coach Jamie Joseph.
