Eddie Jones had an extraordinary interest in the development of Japanese rugby long before he took over as head coach of the national team, stretching back to when the very concept of a World Cup being staged in Asia would have bordered on surreal.
Jones, a decent hooker at provincial level who never quite cracked it as a player in the Australia set-up, had his first coaching assignment in Japan in 1996, one of the steps leading to his five-year tenure as coach of the Wallabies, which included a narrow 2003 World Cup final loss to England.
When he took the Japan job before the 2012 season, replacing All Blacks great John Kirwan, Jones said the reason for returning was partly because of his Japanese heritage and partly because of the challenge of helping the nation fulfill its rugby potential.
Photo: AFP
Winning games at the World Cup, breaking into the top 10 and relying less on foreign players have been among his “lofty” aims.
“We want to make the final eight at the World Cup and be remembered as the team of the tournament,” Jones said. “If you look at what we’ve done over the last four years, we’ve edged into the top 10 once, we’ve beaten Italy and Wales. We want to go to the World Cup and show that Japan is a serious rugby country.”
Japan are ranked 13th — above Six Nations side Italy at No. 14 — but have not won a World Cup game since their sole victory against Zimbabwe in 1991. The best results since then are two draws — against Canada in 2007 and 2011 — and there have been 21 defeats.
Under Jones, Japan won nine out of 10 games last year and seven of 10 this year, but mostly against lower-tier teams.
Now his squad enters the World Cup — his last assignment in charge — under an enormous cloud. On top of the usual challenges, Jones has been forced to think about the 2019 tournament — which is to be staged in Japan, a first for Asia.
Doubts about the nation’s ability to host the tournament intensified when the Japanese government scrapped initial plans for the new national stadium, which was supposed to serve as the main venue for the Rugby World Cup a year before becoming the centerpiece of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The delay means a new stadium will not be ready in time for the 2019 World Cup, and there was no immediate fallback plan.
Jones, speaking after Japan’s win over Georgia in a warm-up game, said he had heard Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had guaranteed money for the World Cup, leaving Japan with the chance to keep the tournament rights and keep building the game domestically.
“If they did lose it, it would be disastrous,” Jones said. “It could be the end of Japan as an international rugby country.”
That is quite a burden ahead of tough games in Pool B, starting against two-time champions South Africa on Saturday next week. Others matches follow against Scotland, Samoa and the US Eagles, who have won more than they have lost against Japan.
“Most have worked hard for the last four years to change Japanese rugby and now the ultimate test is in front of us,” Jones said. “We’ve had three good wins on the trot going into the World Cup and we’re looking to peak on Sept. 19. Everyone’s happy and we go into a World Cup with smiles on our faces.”
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