All Black legends to face Japan

Legendary veterans such as Jonah Lomu, Carlos Spencer and Justin Marshall will form a New Zealand side that will take on Japan in May, as part of the Asian side's World Cup preparations.

The matches are scheduled for May 9 and May 12, in the cities of Kobe and Tokyo in Japan.

The Japanese are coached by another All Blacks legend, winger John Kirwan, who played for New Zealand's World Cup-winning 1987 side.

"We need games like this to give us confidence," Kirwan told the Australian Associated Press (AAP).

"They are going to go out and play like All Blacks. They won't want to lose but neither do we," he said.

Japan's goal in this year's showpiece is to win twice, thus tripling their all-time tally of World Cup wins.

In a campaign spearheaded by rugby-loving former premier Yoshiro Mori, Japan is bidding to host the World Cup in 2015.

"We have to demonstrate to the world that we are serious about being a world player," Kirwan said.