Under the expert guidance of Eddie Jones, Japan became the talk of the sporting world when they lit up the 2015 Rugby World Cup with their stunning win over South Africa in Brighton. As the defence coach, Jones was able to take some of the credit.
The Welshman, now back in Hong Kong as High Performance Manager at the Hong Kong Rugby Union, spent 20 months working under Jones in the build-up to last year’s World Cup. He saw first-hand how the game is developing in the country that will host the 2019 tournament.
“They were the fittest team I’ve ever worked with and they trained and played at an incredibly high tempo. All their players have real mental toughness and are prepared to work incredibly hard,” said Jones.
“Part of the attraction of joining the Japanese coaching team was to work alongside Eddie Jones and I feel I was part of a unique playing and coaching environment for those 20 months. Eddie really was both brilliant and a little bit mad.
“He was a tough guy to work for, a workaholic who probably gets by on four or five hours’ sleep a day – and expects his staff to do the same. I’d never worked so hard since I left industry 20 years earlier.
“The Japanese aren’t shy of hard work, but what Eddie taught them was to work smarter rather than just harder. That win against the Springboks is right up there with the best moments of my rugby career.
“I’ve been part of some great coaching teams in my career, but helping to turn-over a Tier 1 nation like South Africa was simply fantastic. It was a unique experience.
“The funny thing about that game was there was no fear factor among the Japanese players about facing a team that had won the World Cup twice. They play against so many of the top Springboks in their league that they took the field with a level of confidence.”
So what sort of challenge does Jones, a former Wales A and Wales assistant coach under Graham Henry, expect the home side to face in Cardiff this afternoon? There is a new coach, the former New Zealand and Japanese international Jamie Joseph, and a group of players that contained 17 uncapped players when it was selected for their European tour.
But if anyone in Wales is expecting an easy ride on today, then think again. Joseph may have seen his team concede seven tries to the Pumas in the 55-24 defeat in Tokyo two weeks ago, but they made a big recovery in Tbilisi when they ended Georgia’s eight match unbeaten run with a stunning second half fightback to win 28-22.
“Jamie’s challenge is to build on the togetherness in the squad and develop a team capable of competing at the highest level as they move towards the 2019 World Cup. He is a smart appointment because he is a good coach who knows the Japanese rugby culture inside out,” said Jones.
“He is likely to experiment a little bit at the start of his reign in order to find the right mix, but he certainly has some very good players to work with. The way they like to play is to keep the tempo of the game as high as possible to make life uncomfortable for the opposition.
“If Japan can get some good set-piece ball against Wales then they will look to play with a speed and intensity that will pose some difficult questions. Their win over Wales in 2013 may have come against a weakened Welsh team because of the Lions tour, but it was a major scalp for them.
“That victory gave them confidence moving forward into the World Cup and helped to create an almost unstoppable momentum. The big question for me is can they reproduce that kind of form away from home?
“The Japanese tend not to be the best of travellers, so it will be interesting to see how they cope playing in front of a packed house at the Principality Stadium. But if they settle early, and play with confidence, then it will be a tough day at the office for Wales.”
