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The unlikely heroes behind Japan's dream run to the World Cup quarter-finals
They may have been the easy-beats of Super Rugby since their induction into the competition in 2016, but the soon-to-be-omitted Sunwolves have played a key role in Japan’s unprecedented World Cup success.
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That’s the belief of Brave Blossoms head coach Jamie Joseph, who helped steer the Japanese national side to a first-ever win over Scotland in Yokohama last night.
The 28-21 victory not only eliminated the Six Nations heavyweights from the tournament at the pool stage, but it also solidified Japan’s place in the knockout stages for the first time in their history after blitzing Pool A with four wins from four outings – including an historic 19-12 win over Ireland in Shizuoka.
Prior to this tournament, Japan had only won four of their previous 28 World Cup matches, with three of those wins coming during their stunning 2015 campaign, where they were cruelly denied entry into the quarter-finals after Scotland defeated them to cancel out their shock 34-32 win over South Africa.
Four years later, and Japan will once again face the Springboks at another World Cup after turning the table on Gregor Townsend’s men, but this time it will be different.
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The 2019 edition of the World Cup fixture will take place at Tokyo Stadium in the quarter-final stage rather than the pool stage, and Joseph iterated that without the involvement of the Sunwolves in Super Rugby, the Japanese may not be preparing for this upcoming clash.
Widely considered the whipping boys of the southern hemisphere’s premier club competition, the Sunwolves have endured a torrid time results-wise in their first four seasons against the best franchises from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina.
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The Tokyo-based club have won just eight games from 62 matches and have been tasked with the tricky balancing act of blooding homegrown talent to develop Japanese rugby while also recruiting a plethora of offshore talent to help maintain competitiveness.
A mouth-watering Rugby World Cup quarter-final schedule should provide answers to one of the sport's enduring questions: Do teams get peak performance from a bye week or from regular games? #RWC2019 https://t.co/yAyoIVElM6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 13, 2019
The difficulty that the Sunwolves have encountered of upholding both ends of the spectrum has proven to be troublesome for the side, coached by Japan assistant coach Tony Brown, as they have finished no higher than 15th since their debut season.
Although their enterprising and fearless brand of rugby – which has been replicated at international level by the Brave Blossoms – captured the imaginations of fans around the league, their track record was enough for SANZAAR to deem them unworthy of playing in Super Rugby beyond 2020 as the competition diminishes from 15 teams to 14.
Beyond that, they will cease to exist, but Japan’s efforts in their home World Cup looks to be an indication that the southern hemisphere’s governing body have made the wrong decision.
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“There have been a lot of things happened the last three years, and a big one of those is the Super Rugby competition has allowed our players to get some exposure to all the athletes you see and recognise at this tournament, particularly in the southern hemisphere,” Joseph said in the wake of his side’s success against Scotland.
“We struggled in that tournament for lots of reasons but we got exposed to the level of rugby that we would face at the World Cup and it’s been a real winner for us.
“It’s quite a hard thing to explain, but when you’re losing every weekend you’re still getting experience, still getting an understanding of the travelling and playing and what being a professional is like. That’s what our players did.
“This year we were able to control that a little bit and we’ve used the Super Rugby competition to our benefit. That benefit is now paying off at the World Cup.”
Outnumbered, but are they outmatched? #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/SC6c986TGn
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 14, 2019
It’s hard to envisage SANZAAR overturning their choice to expel the Sunwolves from Super Rugby given that upholding their lucrative broadcasting deals, which effectively spelled the end of the Japanese club’s stint in the competition, is of paramount importance.
However, given the trajectory at which Japanese rugby is heading in and the integral role that the Sunwolves played in getting them to this point, a re-think may be in order.
Perhaps that re-think could see the Sunwolves re-admitted into Super Rugby, or maybe it means the Brave Blossoms will become the fifth member of the Rugby Championship.
Either way, it would be criminal for Japan to be snubbed moving forward after their dazzling spectacle at this World Cup, and any future rewards that they reap from their efforts at this tournament can be largely attributed to one the unlikeliest of heroes of the past four years in the form of the Sunwolves.
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Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
27 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
27 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
27 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments