Tokyo, 18 June, /AJMEDIA/
Eddie Jones will come up against his former team when Japan meets England in a rugby test match at the National Stadium in Tokyo on June 22.
The veteran rugby coach is in his second spell in charge of Japan after a successful first stint from 2012 to 2015. Under Jones, Japan saw one of the biggest rugby union international upsets of all time when they beat South Africa in the 2015 World Cup.
The result put Japan firmly on the rugby map and they proved it wasn’t a one-off when they hosted the 2019 World Cup and beat Ireland and Scotland and remained unbeaten in the Group Stage.
Japan is currently ranked 12th in the world, just two places behind Wales and three behind Australia. England, now under coach Steve Borthwick, sits at No. 5 in World Rugby’s rankings.
While Japan has never beaten England, Borthwick knows that the Japanese team cannot be underestimated and will be wary of a team coached by Jones, who was sacked – some say prematurely – by England in 2022. While Jones is well-acquainted with the England set-up and players, Borthwick also has inside knowledge of Japan, having worked with Jones in Japan as a forwards coach, a post he also took for England under Jones.
“What we expect is a really well-coached Japan side,” Borthwick said. “What I’m saying to the players is focus on what we’re doing as a team and what we can control.”
As well as knowing the game in Japan, Borthwick also knows the weather in June can be hard to deal with as heat and humidity play their part during Japan’s rainy season.
“We’ve worked to try and replicate heated conditions indoors,” Borthwick said. “It’s going to be very humid in Japan with a very wet ball and those are the conditions we’ve tried to replicate.”
Mid-summer test matches are usually experimental affairs that give the coaches the opportunity to try out new players and combinations, and both Japan and England are going through transitional phases.
Perhaps critically for Borthwick and England will be the absence of Owen Farrell and George Ford as fly-half options. Veteran Farrell was deemed ineligible after deciding to continue his club career in France, while Ford is out injured. Borthwick does, however, have two pretty good replacements in Northampton Saints’ Fin Smith and the more experienced Marcus Smith of Harlequins. Fin Smith only has two caps so far but was a key player as Northampton beat Bath 25-21 in the Premiership final at Twickenham on June 8.
“I think you’ve seen the progression of Fin in a relatively short time, with consistent performances he’s put in for Northampton,” added Borthwick. “And I think Marcus is a player who’s an experienced international. To have two players like that at our disposal is terrific.”
The young players in the England squad have Borthwick’s approval to express themselves without fear. “I don’t want players in the shadows,” he said. “I don’t want players thinking of not making a mistake. I want them coming on the pitch and trying to win.”
Other players not making the trip to Japan include Danny Care, who has retired from international duty, and Manu Tuilagi, who is also playing in France. Exciting center Elliot Daly is also injured. Borthwick has picked six backs from English champions Northampton.
“We do have areas of the team where we don’t have a lot of caps,” Borthwick admitted. “But we do have some great players. Guys who have been playing in a tough Premiership competition and are match-hardened and ready to go. Several were playing in the Premiership final in what was about as close to a test match atmosphere as you can get in club rugby. Those experiences can be transferable straight into the test match arena.”
Borthwick says his team has pace, footwork and dynamism, “attributes we want to use in the way we play.”
Like England, Jones is shaping a new generation of players to carry the Brave Blossoms’ banner into the future. Two university students – Tsubasa Moriyama of Teikyo University and Kenji Sato of Waseda University – have been included in Jones’ squad to face England and there is a total of 12 uncapped players. Brave Lupus Tokyo hooker Mamoru Harada and Saitama Wild Knights scrumhalf Taiki Koyama could make their test debuts after impressing in the recent Japan Rugby League One season.
But Jones still has the evergreen Michael Leitch to call on at the age of 35. Leitch believes that under Jones, Japan can only get better and sees the national team rising in the world standings.
“I believe we have a chance to break into the (world’s) top four,” he said. “We are looking to play the world’s most exciting rugby.”
Jones says he is looking to play a “super-fast” brand of Japanese rugby but will be without World Cup captain Kazuki Himeno due to injury and popular veteran back Kotaro Matsushima, who has made himself unavailable.
“As you know, we’re at a bit of a turning point for Japanese rugby,” Jones told Kyodo News. “There’s a lot of responsibility in developing the next generation of players for Japan and certainly I’m enjoying the task of doing it. I find the players are learning very quickly and I find their desire to want to get better is absolutely first class.” Jones now believes Japan is set up to make significant progress and join the big boys of rugby.
“I don’t think previously Japan had any inkling of what high performance was about,” Jones said. “I think it was just we’ll do our best. And we basically did our best out of a situation where traditionally, you know, everything had gone along as it has. But now I think definitely there’s an intent to create a high-performance environment.”
“What I mean by that is that the top players have the opportunity to be the best in the world. And I think League One has definitely changed in that regard. Most of the League One teams are coached by the best coaches in the world, they’ve got great training environments and they’re really bringing the players through.”
Jones was full of praise for Jamie Joseph, the man who succeeded him and led Japan to their impressive 2019 World Cup campaign. “Jamie and Tony Brown did an absolutely fantastic job. They should make a statue of him at the new Chichibunomiya Stadium. Japan’s really risen remarkably, haven’t they? Think about where Japan was to where they are now.”
Jones also praised his England successor and believes that his old team is heading in the right direction. “England have brought through some new good young players, which is great to see,” he said. “And Steve Borthwick is a fantastic coach. They found some good new young talent.”
Japan vs. England, National Stadium, Tokyo; June 22, kickoff 2:50 p.m.
© Japan Today
