Joe Schmidt's candid admission after Wallabies close call in Tokyo

Joe Schmidt is hailing the makeshift Wallabies’ resilience after the coach’s self-confessed “calculated risk” paid off with a nerve-shredding 19-15 victory in Tokyo.

Schmidt’s so-called “B team”, featuring 13 personnel changes and a new three-Test captain, survived a huge fright to kick off the Wallabies’ spring tour with the critical win over Eddie Jones’ lowly-ranked Japan.

In driving rain, the depleted Wallabies held on grimly in the second half at Japan’s National Stadium to avoid a first-ever defeat to the truly brave Brave Blossoms on Saturday.

The tense escape spared Schmidt the blowtorch after he rolled the dice and rested a raft of stars including Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, regular skipper Harry Wilson and fellow workaholic back-rower Fraser McReight.

“Yeah, it was a risk, but one calculated around the quality of young men that are putting their hand up and trying to work into the mix for the big games coming up,” Schmidt told Stan Sport.

“So it was great to get those changes out there and to get guys a bit of game time and to build a bit of confidence at the same time.

“I really admired the grit. We actually had to really roll our sleeves up and keep fighting for that one.”

Schmidt singled out Western Force captain Jeremy Williams, after he was the last lock standing for the Wallabies, and NSW Waratahs skipper Jake Gordon, who played 80 minutes at halfback in only his second game back from a hamstring injury, for their leadership.

“In those conditions, it’s just about what we managed to do,” he said after the Wallabies lost powerhouse Lukhan Salakaia-Loto just six minutes into the contest, then his replacement second-rower Josh Canham a quarter of an hour later.

When Australian-born flanker Ben Gunter cut Japan’s deficit to four points with 20 minutes remaining, the home team enjoyed all the momentum as Jones stalked an improbable revenge victory two years after being sacked as Wallabies coach for a second time.

Ranked seventh in the world ahead of four massive Tests in Europe against England, Italy, Ireland and France, the Wallabies need to break into the top six by the end of their tour to earn an all-important top-six seeding at the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home Australian turf.

A loss to the 13th-ranked Japanese would have been disastrous.

And a repeat of Australia’s historic spring tour defeat in Italy in 2022, which precipitated the axing of New Zealand coach Dave Rennie, looked on the cards for much of the second half.

Fortunately for Rennie’s compatriot, Schmidt’s gamble to make mass changes and rest star players for Europe came off.

The departures of Salakaia-Loto and Canham forced a scrum reshuffle and the pressure showed as Japan’s forwards applied heat at the set piece, causing chaos at the lineout in particular.

In between the injury carnage, flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny marked his surprise Wallabies captaincy debut, in just his third Test, in style with the first try of the match after 12 minutes.

Down a man with prop Shuhei Takeuchi in the sin bin, Japan opted to take three points in the 26th minute through flyhalf Seungsin Lee to reduce the deficit to 7-3.

Josh Flook extended Australia’s lead to 14-3 at halftime after the centre cashed in on a midfield break from fullback Andrew Kellaway.

An early second-half atonement try to Takeuchi pulled Japan back to within six points, before Carlo Tizzano seemed to have made life more comfortable for the Wallabies when he finished off a driving maul try in the 56th minute to make it 19-8.

Things got really hairy for the Wallabies when Gunter – the pride of Gunnedah – crossed to set up the desperate finish.

But the visitors held on to save Australian blushes – and maybe prevent scrutiny turning to Schmidt’s future ahead of his handover to Les Kiss next year.