Preview: Japan v Russia
WORLD CUP POOL MATCH: Russia coach Lyn Jones said he had a cunning plan to ambush hosts Japan in the tournament opener, revealing only that it involves a little mayhem.
The Russians, known as the Bears, will tower over their opposite numbers when they line up in Tokyo on Friday, but few people are giving them much chance of springing an upset against the world’s 10th-ranked side.
“With structured and organised sides like Japan you need to create chaos to get them to think for themselves,” Jones told AFP after naming a full-strength side led by his skipper Vasily Artemyev.
“I don’t know if they’re educated to do that, but it’s all theory anyway.
“We do have a plan,” added the former Wales international.
“We have got a formula and we think we can take Japan on and make life as difficult as possible for them.”
Russia gave Japan a fright the last times the teams met in November, the Brave Blossoms scraping a 32-27 victory in Gloucester.
“We just need to enter that last 20 minutes with everything to play for,” said Jones.
“Let’s be realistic – there’s probably a 20 percent chance of us winning the game,” he admitted ahead of the Pool A fixture.
Jones pointed to wingers Kirill Golosnitskiy and German Davydov as potential match-winners for Russia if the Japanese fail to fire.
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‘Fast and furious’
“They’re fantastic players and they know the way to the line,” the former flanker, who only took charge of Russia last year, said.
“But we appreciate the 10 years advantage Japan has over us and that they’re entering the game as firm favourites.
“We’ve fit four years of preparation into one year,” he added.
“We don’t know what to expect but we know it’s going to be fast and furious.”
Russia’s results have been a mixed bag in the build-up to their second World Cup appearance, and first since 2011, which included a record 85-15 pummelling by Italy.
“Look we’re not playing a different level – we’re playing a different sport,” shrugged Jones, whose side face further pool games against Ireland, Scotland and Samoa.
“The ball is the same shape, but it’s tier-one rugby and it’s something we don’t play very often.”
Artemyev, his country’s record try-scorer, called on Russia to rise to the challenge.
“Through the last week we’ve had an unprecedented amount of attention,” said the 32-year-old.
“It’s a bit unusual for our boys – we’re quite humble players and don’t get this exposure in Russia.
“But it’s going to be awesome and everyone is hugely motivated. We’ve put in the work and now we’re looking to get results.”
Players to watch
For Japan: The Brave Blossoms are leaning heavily on their South African-born players – with lock Wimpie van der Walt and loose forward Pieter Labuschagne top of the list. Then there is wing Kotaro Matsushima, born in Pretoria, but of Japanese descent. Japan stalwarts Yu Tamura and Shota Horie also feature in an experienced starting line-up.
For Russia: Sale Sharks prop Valery Morozov and Grenoble lock Andrey Ostrikov are the only players based outside Russia to make the starting line-up.
Head to head
In a game where the hosts would like to stamp their mark on the event, flyhalf Yu Tamura (Japan) will face an intriguing test against Yury Kushnarev (Russia). The set pieces will also be key – James Moore, Wimpie van der Walt, Asaeli Ai Valu, Shota Horie and Keita Inagaki (Japan) against Bogdan Fedotko, Andrey Ostrikov, Kirill Gotovtsev, Stanislav Selskii and Valery Morozov (Russia).
Most recent result
2018: Japan won 32-27, Gloucester
Prediction: This is an intriguing match-up between two contrasting styles. Japan are outright favourites, with bookmakers giving them a 40-point handicap. We believe they will win, but by less than that – between 25 and 30 points.
Teams
Japan: 15 William Tupou, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Lomano Lava Lemeki, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 James Moore, 4 Wimpie van der Walt, 3 Asaeli Ai Valu, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki.
Replacements: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Isileli Nakajima, 18 Koo Ji-won, 19 Luke Thompson, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka.
Russia: 15 Vasily Artemyev (captain), 14 German Davydov, 13 Vladimir Ostroushko, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Vasily Dorofeev, 8 Nikita Vavilin, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Vitaly Zhivatov, 5 Bogdan Fedotko, 4 Andrey Ostrikov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Valery Morozov.
Replacements: 16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Andrei Polivalov, 18 Azamat Bitiev, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Anton Sychev, 21 Dmitry Perov, 22 Ramil Gaisin, 23 Vladislav Sozonov.
Date: Friday, September 20
Venue: Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo
Kick-off: 19.45 (10.45 GMT; 13.45 Russia [Moscow] time)
Expected weather: Mostly cloudy, with a touch of rain late. High of 27°C and a low of 19°C
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
* Additional reporting by @rugby365com
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