A Strong Impression at a Newly Established International Tournament… “Japan’s National Rugby Team”: Where They Stand Ahead of Next Year’s World Cup
A new international tournament has begun
The Japan national rugby team, which has stunned the world by defeating powerhouse nations on the big stage, took on a new international tournament this summer.
It is called the “Nations Championship.”
“This will be a match where we grow as a team… Oh, that’s a bad habit of mine. I think it’s about time I stopped saying that. While it’s important to build momentum toward the World Cup, there can be no quality growth without a focus on winning.”
This was the declaration made by Michael Leitch before the tournament began. The 37-year-old has appeared in four World Cups. Under Head Coach Eddie Jones (66)—who returned to the job for the first time in about nine years after the team was eliminated in the pool stage of the 2023 World Cup in France—the Japanese national team is aiming for a top finish at the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
Despite facing challenges such as a significant rejuvenation of the roster, the withdrawal of key players, and repeated changes in staff and coaches, the national team has grown closer as a unit. Although they suffered more losses than wins in their first two seasons, they laid a solid foundation for the team. From this point on, Reach aimed to win in their own style to build confidence heading into the World Cup.
However, the results of the three-match series in July were one win and two losses.
Although they defeated the 10th-ranked Italian national team 27–10 in their opener, they lost 20–36 to the third-ranked Irish national team after traveling from Tokyo to Australia for the match.Returning to Japan, they faced the No. 4-ranked French national team at the National Stadium in Tokyo in front of a crowd of over 50,000, but were defeated 15–42. Minor infractions led to penalty kicks, allowing the opposition to freely choose their plays as they advanced deep into Japan’s own end zone, where they were often overpowered.
Head Coach Jones said:
“There are times when we let up on the pressure we’re putting on our opponents.”
their Achilles’ heel was also laid bare. What stood out in particular was the battle to catch high-trajectory kicks.
For the Japanese national team, which has few tall players among its wingers—who are primarily responsible for catching the ball—this has long been an area of concern.Last year, they managed to address this by having players from other positions step in to catch the ball, but this season they reverted to having the wings handle it. As a result, with each passing match, there were more instances of losing aerial battles or having loose balls picked up by the opposition. This became one of the reasons for the loss to the French national team.
When asked about this issue, Head Coach Jones emphasized, “We are making progress,” while Kihei Ishida (26), a relatively short wing at 167 cm, took responsibility for his own performance.
“If I think, ‘I’m short, so it’s over,’ then that’s the end of it. I want to face aerial battles head-on while coming up with my own creative solutions.”
Challenges on Both Offense and Defense
Other challenges also came to light. These include a lack of variety in the offense and defensive vulnerabilities against mauls—clusters centered around a standing ball-carrier—which led to five of the six tries conceded against France. The team will first refine its skills during an 11-day training camp in Abashiri that began on July 25, aiming to demonstrate the results in the two-match series against Australia in August.
Although it seems the team faces constant challenges both on and off the field, it’s undeniable that they’ve come a long way. The try-scoring plays in the 17th minute of the first half against Italy and the 15th minute of the first half against France—while the situations differed—shared a common thread in that they demonstrated the kind of movement the team is striving for.
In the former, players without the ball made wide runs toward the direction of the passing play to create a numerical advantage. In the latter, the play began when a player who had quickly retreated to the backfield after a kick launched a sharp counterattack.Head Coach Jones advocates for “Ultra-Fast Rugby,” encouraging quick reactions in every aspect of the game. Not only has this concept taken root, but the team has also begun to demonstrate improvisation grounded in these core principles. Scrum-half Naoto Saito (28) says:
“Even in practice, I think we’re seeing more situations where, even within the established rules, we attack the space as soon as we spot it.”
Holding Their Own Against the World’s Top Nations
There are other positive signs as well. In the physical scrums—a critical turning point that determines competitive performance, where size is paramount—the current Japanese team holds its own against the world’s top nations.
The second and third rows—where collisions are frequent—are well-stocked. In particular, lock Warner Deans (24), who played for New Zealand’s powerhouse “Hurricanes,” and flanker Ben Gunter (28), who came to Japan 10 years ago and has since honed his skills, repeatedly repelled runners with high and low tackles.In addition, overseas-born players—some of whom only recently became eligible for the national team or have returned to the lineup after a temporary hiatus—are adding depth to these positions.
Combined with the system advocated by Assistant Coach Gary Gold, the team held Italy—a side that had been gaining strength in recent years, though not at its best—to just 10 points during the three-match series in July. Leach, who has been fighting hard primarily as a substitute, has a different mindset than he did in the past when he was a fixture in the starting lineup.
“When I’m on the bench, I need to build momentum. To do that, I’m thinking about gaining some weight.”
In other positions, the core players for 2024 and beyond are steadily advancing in their careers. Ryunosuke Ito (21), who learned the team’s style of play in the youth system, recently served as the playmaker for three consecutive matches as a senior at Meiji University.Compared to 2024, when players with little Test match experience were consistently overwhelmed, it’s fair to say the team has built up its underlying strength. Gunter repeatedly emphasizes:
“We have a mix of young players who bring fresh energy to the senior group that’s been together for many years. We’re building a good team. (Going forward) we’ll show what we’re capable of.”
In addition to the 35 players who traveled with the team for the match against France, those currently sidelined by injury are intensifying the competition for the 33 spots on the World Cup roster. Jones intends to finalize about 80 percent of the squad by the end of this summer. He plans to make effective use of the little over a year remaining until the tournament.
“I’m confident we’ll play an exciting match.”
Looking back to 2015, under Head Coach Jones, the team secured three wins at the World Cup in England.This remarkable achievement came after overcoming a grueling training camp where three-session practices starting early in the morning were the norm. For the historic victory against South Africa, the team pulled out all the stops—from a full-team analysis of the opponent to summoning the match referee to a last-minute training camp on the day of the game.
At the subsequent 2019 World Cup in Japan, the team advanced to the knockout stage for the first time. Before the slogan “ONE TEAM”—symbolizing their unity—became a buzzword, the team had gone through a grueling training camp that involved sending players to overseas leagues and subjected them to a physical workload said to be even greater than that before the England tournament.
Believing they can defeat any powerhouse and steadily building toward that goal—that has been the fighting style of the Japan national rugby team for the past decade or so.
This summer, as the team works to prepare for 2027, Tienan Costley (26), who plays multiple positions, called for support in fluent Japanese.
“There are many positive aspects, and everyone’s efforts behind the scenes are incredible. I hope you’ll look forward to the future of Japan. We’re growing steadily, and I’m confident that next year we’ll play exciting matches just like we did in ’19.”
PHOTO： Kyodo News