A BONUS-POINT victory to start their home World Cup was a positive outcome for Japan on a nervy night in Tokyo, as Jamie Joseph’s side met with spirited resistance from Russia.
A hat-trick for wing Kotaro Matsushima, as well as a turnover try from flanker Pieter Labuschagne, sent the outstanding Japan supporters home happy, although there were worrying elements in the Japanese performance.
Their troubles in the kicking contest – both in terms of catching the ball but also pressuring Russia with their own tactics – will have been noted by the watching Joe Schmidt, whose Ireland side are next up for Japan in Pool A.
Japan made sloppy handling errors too, often stunting the momentum that had been built by powerful ball-carriers like the impressive Kazuki Himeno.
Joseph had frustrations around aspects of Japan’s performance, but he took some encouragement from how Japan got over their first-night nerves to do the job.
“We’ve been building up to this for four years and there was a lot of pressure,” said the Kiwi head coach. “At times, it was obvious that the pressure got to some of our players but I’m pretty proud of how we battled through that and scored 30 points.
“We were put under a lot of pressure from a very good Russian defence and also their kicking game, particularly their contestable kicks put us under pressure.
“The players had good preparation and were confident, but you can’t really train for a game like that, a game the players have been waiting such a long time for.
“We missed the very first kick-off and suddenly we were under all sorts of pressure. That’s going to happen in a World Cup and we’ve got to deal with that.”
Joseph heavily praised Russia for their performance, saying they had come into this game treating it as “a cup final” and highlighting their physicality.
Japan will certainly need to get better quickly, with their second pool tie seeing them clash with Schmidt’s Ireland in Shizuoka on 28 September.
The hosts have the advantage of an eight-day turnaround compared to Ireland’s six after their clash with Scotland on Sunday, but the pressure will likely ease for Joseph and co. given that most people expect Japan to come up short.
“The pressure is always going to be on the players because their expectations of themselves are so high,” said Joseph, however. “We’ve talked a lot about a home World Cup and home nations will generally always have those high expectations.
“The fact that we’re a Tier 2 team and we’re playing the best-ranked team in the world, it doesn’t change anything for us. We’ll set our goals, just like the rest of the teams.
“With Ireland, it’s going to be a difficult Test match, anyone who plays them understands that.
“Internally, the pressure will be on.
“Externally, I don’t think anyone gives us a shot outside of Japan.”
Joseph delivered the last line with a smile, perhaps indicating the Japanese squad will embrace this challenge. The head coach did seem confident his team will improve after getting over the nervy opening fixture in front of a passionate home crowd.
Meanwhile, Russia coach Lyn Jones pointed to his side’s inability to win the gainline as key in their defeat and said his players had struggled with Japan’s desire to keep the ball in play for long periods.
The Russians now face an extremely demanding four-day turnaround to their second Pool A fixture against Samoa on Tuesday in Kumagaya.
“What’s important for us now is recovery and confidence,” said Jones. “As long as we have the right plan in front of us, let’s keep working with more focus, concentration, and intensity and try to play at this higher pace.
“We all understand the ability Samoa has to produce and develop fantastic players who play all over the world, not just for Samoa.”
