Japan are determined not to be a World Cup failure like England and fail to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament they are hosting.
The Cherry Blossoms start the ninth World Cup when they face Russia at Tokyo Stadium on Friday night (local time) four years after England became the first hosts not to progress from their group following defeats against Wales and Australia.
“I think this will be Japan’s best World Cup,” said the hosts’ captain, Michael Leitch, after the announcement of the side to face Russia. Leitch is one of eight survivors from the matchday 23 for the victory over South Africa in the opening round in 2015, a year when they became the first team to win three group matches and not make the last eight. “We have the opportunity to inspire the nation and we have prepared well. We have four matches and we will use all of them as a step towards the quarter-finals and improve. We have had pressure for the last four years, but I have told the players to enjoy what is a celebration of rugby.”
Japan are in the same pool as Ireland and Scotland, who face each other in Yokohama on Sunday. “We will be ready and I think we will shock a few teams in this tournament,” said the wing Lomano Lemeki. “Two years ago, we drew against France in Paris and should have won the match. We surprised ourselves and it gave us confidence. We showed we could do it away to a good team and there is no reason why we cannot at home in the World Cup.” Japan were coached by Eddie Jones four years ago. He was succeeded by the former New Zealand flanker Jamie Joseph and Leitch said it took the players a couple of years to fully adjust to the different coaching methods. “There was a transition, but growth areas are the leadership growth and the mentality of the players. The Sunwolves playing in Super Rugby helps because of the regular exposure to top players. We have been getting better each year.”
Joseph was the one to sound a note of caution, saying he did not believe Japan were favourites to beat Russia, who are 20th in the world rankings. “You only have to look at when we played them last year [at Kingsholm] and conceded penalties when they put us under a lot of pressure and we had to come from behind to win. There is a lot of expectation and pressure on us but we have prepared well.”
