Japan's Kiwi blueprint the real threat
WORLD CUP PLAY-OFFS: The spotlight is shining brightly on Japan’s fleet-footed wings, but perhaps the bigger threat is the New Zealand blueprint of coach Jamie Joseph.
Kenki Fukuoka and Kotaro Matsushima have been stand-out performers at the tournament, delighting home fans in scoring a hatful of tries thanks to Japan’s open, running style and attacking game.
This prompted Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick to suggest South Africa will look to shut down Japan’s fleet-footed ‘Ferrari’ wing pairing in Sunday’s World Cup quarterfinal.
Stick vowed that the electric duo would be on the Springbok radar for the last-eight clash in Tokyo.
Japan coach Jamie Joseph, who played for New Zealand (1995) and Japan (1999) at previous World Cups, previously compared the two wings to Ferraris, given their raw pace.
“We have to not allow those Ferraris to go to fifth gear or sixth gear!” Stick quipped.
Japan defied pre-tournament odds to win all their games to finish top of Pool A – ahead of Ireland, who play defending champions New Zealand on Saturday.
And Stick said South Africa would be sure to not underestimate the Japanese team.
“They are a proper side at the moment. We don’t talk about a Tier Two side anymore, because they are ranked seventh,” he said.
“Whatever surprises they throw at us on the day, we must make sure we can handle those.
“We are also proudly South African, and we have our strengths that we will focus on.”
Japan’s 28-21 victory over Scotland in their final pool game, in Yokohama on Sunday, demonstrated a gameplan based on ball retention, precision and speed of play.
It made for a wonderful spectacle of running rugby that has had not just fans in Japan purring but also pundits worldwide.
“Japan is a very good side,” Stick said.
“The entire country is excited and behind them and we’ve seen how much they have developed in the last couple of years.”
Stick said the way Japan was playing had the hallmark of a strong Kiwi-influenced backroom staff – which include Joseph and another retired All Black in backs coach Tony Brown.
“We know the New Zealand philosophy about the game, and putting the ball through the hands,” Stick said.
“So, we can expect something close to how the All Blacks are playing.
“They’re also a very skilful side and you can see that they are well-coached.
“We saw the speed and the tempo of how they play the game – it was a proper performance to get them through the play-offs.
“We must make sure we are at our best with our defensive systems, because they are very skilful and have quick players.”
Japan famously beat South Africa 34-32 in pool play at the 2015 World Cup.
In their second-ever encounter, the Boks saw off Japan 41-7 in World Cup warm-up match.
“When we played them a few weeks back, it was a warm-up game, there was obviously less pressure for both sides,” said centre Lukhanyo Am.
“We’ve seen how much they’ve grown over their last four games.
“Whichever team controls the pressure more comes out tops,” said Am, who will have his hands full containing Japan’s dangerous midfield combination of hard-hitting Ryoto Nakamura and deft playmaker Timothy Lafaele.
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