Raising Japan's status tough task

FOR the first time in their history, the Japan rugby union team enter a series of test matches having to live up to their reputation.

In 104 years of rugby being played in the Land of the Rising Sun, and in the 73 years since the national side fulfilled their first match - a 3-3 draw with British Columbia in Vancouver - the Japanese had been looked upon as an entertaining side who were simply too small to hack it at international level. That view changed somewhat with the 2003 World Cup.

"Japan will always have limitations in terms of size, but they make up for it with enthusiasm and hard work," said former All Black Alama Ieremia, who is in his fourth year with the Suntory club. "And if they keep that up, they are capable of knocking over a few teams."

Whether they will be able consistently to put in performances above their size is the multi-million-yen question.

The Japanese may have pleased the crowds with their heroics, albeit in a losing cause, at the most recent World Cup, but the Brave Blossoms need to show the world that events Down Under were not merely a one-off. Because much more is at stake than three test matches.

The Japan Rugby Football Union announced this year that they would be putting in a bid for the 2011 World Cup and to make that move more acceptable to those who feel that Japan will never enter the higher echelons of world rugby, it is essential that the national team start performing reliably on the field.

"We set up the Top League in order to improve the level of the national team," said JRFU secretary Koji Tokumasu. "But we then needed another goal. Rugby has been declining in terms of numbers and we think hosting the World Cup will revitalise the game."

Numbers may be dropping, but Japan still has 129,626 registered players, including 65,248 senior adults, putting it fourth in the world in terms of the number of participants, but in a country of 127 million, the sport could be even bigger.

Rugby is big business, with more than 400 foreigners plying their trade and a growing number of youngsters from the southern hemisphere studying in Japan on rugby scholarships, and though crowds are relatively small when compared to baseball and football - at 5,000 for an average game, rising to 25,000 for "company" finals - belief is growing that fortunes are changing for the better.

The Top League, which was set up in 2003, has seen a number of big signings, with such as Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Toutai Kefu, Tony Brown and Matt Cockbain joining established stars like Ieremia, Glen Osborne and Glen Marsh, and this season’s fixtures have reflected a standard that has not been seen previously.

But will it transfer to success in the national team?

Adam Parker was one of the mercenaries who made an impression in Australia, but having been forced to switch to a second division side at the end of last season, his new team have prevented him from making the European tour as they are involved in the promotion battle for a Top League spot.

The former New Zealand Maori observed: "The Top League games I have seen look really intense, but I am not sure if that means that they can front up for 80 minutes at international level."

Indeed, many felt that if Japan had played for the full 80 minutes during the World Cup, they could have really caused some shocks.

Forwards coach Mark Bell reflected after defeat by Scotland: "The boys are absolutely devastated. We could have won the game, but lost it in those 10 minutes after we got to 15-11."

Bell and the Wallaby legend, Mark Ella, were instrumental in masterminding Japan’s turnaround, but both are out of the picture as the coaching structure was reorganised after the World Cup. New coach Mitsutake Hagimoto enjoyed plenty of success with Kobe Steel, but some observers question whether he can cut it as an international coach.

First indications were not positive as Japan drew 19-19 with South Korea in an awful game in Tokyo, but victories over Russia and Canada to win the Super Powers Cup and a reasonable performance in losing 32-19 to Italy have deflected critics for the time being: many had been hoping that Eddie Jones would return to Japan, this time to coach the national side.

But confronting such as Russia and a second-string Canadian team in the heat of Tokyo and playing established test nations Scotland, Wales and Romania on the road are different propositions, and Hagimoto’s cause has not been helped by retirements - especially the return to New Zealand of Andy Miller - injury and some strange selection decisions.

In addition to Parker’s unavailability, new fly-half Kyohei Morita has been prevented from touring by his team as they look to reach the universities’ final - which is usually watched by around 50,000 - while veterans such as Takeomi Ito and Yasunori Watanabe have been deemed surplus to requirements.

Speedsters Daisuke Ohata and Hirotoki Onozawa are missing because of injury, while Parker’s replacement, Australian-born Jamie Washington, has also been ruled out, leaving the squad with just one foreigner in Tongan-born, Japan-educated Feletiliki Mau.

Perhaps the most puzzling decision was the apparent snub to the Toshiba pack. The team lead the Top League and have scored 42 tries in six games, mainly as a result of a highly- impressive pack with 19st Luatangi Vatuvei scoring 14 of those tries - yet only Hitoshi Ono, who has played lock, flanker and wing in the same game, is deemed good enough for the national team.

A sign of the squad’s inexperience comes in statistics for international appearances. Veteran Yukio Motoki, who was on the bench when Scotland faced Japan at the 1991 World Cup, will look to increase his Japanese record of 68 caps, but the other 12 backs named boast a mere 24 caps between them.

Ieremia noted: "They have lost a few key players and will struggle if they do not have a steady midfield."

With just a one-week training camp to sort things out, things could not be more different from a year ago.

Parker, who played for the Japan A team which won the recent Asian championship, beating South Korea 29-0 in the final, said: "We spent so much time together before the World Cup, and gelled really well. I don’t know how well they will gel this time, but if they can get the right atmosphere, then they should do OK. The forwards are pretty handy with the likes of [Takuro] Miuchi, [Naoyo] Okubo and [Hajime] Kiso. It’s a question of whether they can compete at the breakdowns."

Okubo and Kiso perhaps sum up the changing face of the Japanese rugby exponent. Okubo is playing in New Zealand for Southland, having resigned from his position with the Suntory company/club, while Kiso was deemed good enough to make the North Harbour NPC squad until he was forced to return to Japan in order to be eligible for this year’s Top League competition.

Together with Miuchi, who won a blue at Oxford University, they will bring a mongrel element to the team, but they may find their efforts in vain as the young, untested squad try to bridge the gap between club and test rugby.

But then again that is exactly what Japanese journalists were saying on the eve of the game against Scotland a year ago...