Eddie Jones: 'A great story... he's going through a golden period'

Japan head coach Eddie Jones praised his side’s “intensity in our defence” and set-piece dominance as the Brave Blossoms claimed the Pacific Nations Cup with a 20-15 win over Fiji in Tokyo on Saturday.

In a match played in greasy conditions at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Jones conceded his side “couldn’t get our attack going,” and thus relied on their set-piece superiority, with the maul being an area of success.

Not only did their opening try of the contest come courtesy of a maul through hooker Mamoru Harada, but another strong maul in the final 10 minutes set the platform for Samisoni Tua to score the match-winning try.

Jones singled out substitute lock Michael Stolberg in particular for making a “real difference to the team” with his mauling ability. He went on to praise his fellow Australian-born lock in what has been a “great story”.

The 34-year-old Stolberg only made his Japan debut in July against Italy in the Nations Championship following a storied career, with his first start coming in a try-scoring performance against the USA in the PNC. But Jones now believes the Toshiba Brave Lupus forward is going through a “golden period”.

“Every country has got their strength and weakness and Fiji aren’t a traditional set-piece team,” Jones said.

“So, if we play against Fiji, we’ve got a set-piece advantage. Forwards generally in the PNC have developed their maul ability really well. We focused on it in the PNC in particular. That won’t be the case when we go to Europe. Then we’re playing against different teams with different strengths.

“But for this tournament, it was very important. Michael Stolberg, in particular, has had a massive in that area. He came on in the second half for [Harry] Hockings and made a real difference to the team.

“Stolberg is a great story. He’s 34, has played in a number of teams, never been a representative player. Coming into this team this year at the age of 34, and he’s going through a golden period. He’s really added to the team. He’s obviously an Australian boy, but his commitment to Japanese rugby is massive.”