Eddie Jones’ immediate reaction after nail-biting defeat to Wallabies

Eddie Jones believes the Brave Blossoms let themselves down during a key period against the Wallabies, missing an opportunity to put the visitors away during a nail-biting 35-32 defeat at Osaka’s Hanazono Rugby Stadium.

Japan fly-half Ryunosuke Ito raced away for the first points of the Test in the 11^th minute, beating Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson with fast footwork and sheer pace. Fullback Takuro Matsunaga added the extras, as the Brave Blossoms got off to an idyllic start.

But the Wallabies fought their way back with quick tries to Harry Potter and Tom Wright, before a 20-minute red card to lock Miles Amatosero. Japan made the most of their one-man advantage, levelling the score at 14-apiece going into the break.

The second -half was a spectacle of point-scoring magic, with the Brave Blossoms and Wallabies combining for 39 points. Japan captain Warner Dearns made it a one-score game with a try in the dying stages, but the Aussies did enough to secure a win on the road.

“We let ourselves down with a few fundamental errors in the last 20 minutes, where we had an opportunity to probably put Australia away,” Jones said post-game on Stan Sport.

“Pretty disappointed, mate. But I’m really proud of how hard the players and playing. There’s a lot of development in this team.”

Lua Makisi and Kazuma Ueda were the other two try-scorers for Japan, who chased a first-ever win over the Aussies. The Brave Blossoms fell just shy in a 19-15 thriller last October and again gave themselves a chance of a history-making result.

Japan finished with a light advantage in both the territory and possession battles, and accurate execution at the set-piece. Both teams conceded nine penalties, but the Wallabies scored two converted tries while down one player.

“We’re just trying to play flatter to the line and not be encumbered by shape,” Jones explained, before facing the Wallabies against next weekend in Townsville.

“We’re trying to play a lot more freer off the ruck ball. It really suits our style.

“Townsville, I was just watching the NRL last week, they had 100 points up there. We can anticipate a high-scoring game so we’ve got a little bit of work to do on our defence.”

The Wallabies are off to a winning start under new boss Les Kiss, who has succeeded Joe Schmidt in the top job. It’s also the first time the Aussies have gone back-to-back with wins since defeating the British & Irish Lions and Springboks 12 months ago.

Australia return home this week, hosting the Japan side at Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium next Saturday. They will then jet off to Argentina for two Tests away to Los Pumas, before returning home.

“They want to play with greater passes. Under Joe, they went to very much half field, half attack,” he said.

“Today they tried to move the ball quicker, which I think Les likes to do, and that’s what he did at London Irish.”