Jamie Joseph demands focus as Japan face Fiji in World Cup warm-up
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Japan's Rikiya Matsuda (second from left) embraces Shota Horie after their win against Tonga in Osaka on July 29.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO – Japan coach Jamie Joseph on Thursday urged his players to cut out “small mental lapses” when they face Fiji in their final home game before the Sept 8-Oct 28 Rugby World Cup.
The New Zealand-born Japanese made four changes to the team that beat Tonga 21-16 last week, as Japan look for a successful send-off against the in-form Fijians in Tokyo on Saturday.
Joseph was full of praise for his team and said that they “came back to some of our best rugby” against the Tongans after losing 24-22 to Samoa the previous week.
But the 53-year-old also warned his players to stay switched on against Fiji, who are coming into the game on the back of two straight wins.
“I feel that every week we’re getting a little bit better – we’ve just got to get rid of these small mental lapses that are putting ourselves under pressure,” said Joseph.
“We’ve got a very experienced group of players who are taking responsibility for that and we’re looking forward to watching them play on the weekend.”
Joseph brought 2019 World Cup veteran forwards Pieter Labuschagne and James Moore into the starting line-up to replace Ben Gunter and the injured Uwe Helu.
Rikiya Matsuda comes in at fly-half in place of Lee Seung-sin, and Kotaro Matsushima takes over from Ryohei Yamanaka at full-back.
Former captain Michael Leitch is still suspended after being sent off late in the first half against Samoa.
Fiji beat Samoa 33-19 last week, seven days after taking down Tonga 36-20, so they are set to be tough opponents.
Joseph also said that his team were “in really good shape” physically and ready to deal with challenges and the steamy summer heat in Tokyo.
“The conditions in Japan are very hot but, in terms of what we want to play at the World Cup, we’re trying to build on that,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to a really tough match against an in-form Fijian side.”
Fiji coach Simon Raiwalui, meanwhile, also expects a difficult clash against the Japanese.
“We know Japan are a very good team,” he said.
“They play very high-tempo rugby, very organised, so we are looking forward to the next challenge.
“We are still working on everything. We are still in the preparation phase (for the World Cup). We have been working hard on our fitness, our clarity. So yeah, we still have the same priorities, and we are working on those.”
Japan have been drawn in Pool D with England, Argentina, Samoa and Chile at the World Cup in France.
Fiji are in Pool C with Wales, Australia, Georgia and Portugal. AFP
