Stopping Japan’s ‘Ferraris’ imperative for Springboks Davies, Biggar winning fitness fight for Wales
TOKYO, Oct 15, (RTRS): South Africa have to shut down two high speed Japanese ‘Ferraris’ if they are to prevail in the World Cup quarter-final on Sunday, according to Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick.
Japan have electrified the World Cup with their high-tempo game plan devised by coaches Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown with wingers Kenki Fukuoka and Kotaro Matsushima the chief beneficiaries of the speed at which the team are playing.
Matsushima is the tournament’s joint-top try scorer alongside Wales’ Josh Adams with five, while Fukuoka has crossed four times, twice against Scotland on Sunday, which helped the Brave Blossoms into their first quarterfinal.
“Jamie Joseph compared their two wings (Fukuoka and Matsushima) to Ferrari cars, so we have to not allow those Ferraris to go to fifth gear or sixth gear,” Stick told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
“We must make sure we are at our best with our defensive systems, because they are very skilful and have quick players.”
Stick said it was obvious the influence that New Zealander Brown in particular was having on Japan’s style of play, with the philosophy “to put the ball through the hands” and comparing it to the speed at which the All Blacks counter attack.
Their backs also play at depth, which allows them to change the focus of attack quickly, and hit the ball at pace close to the line.
“They are playing a good style of rugby – good, running rugby,” added Stick. “They are playing a very hightempo game.
“We know their plan is to keep the ball in play for close to 50 minutes, so that means it is going to be a tough challenge for us.”
The fact South Africa could end the host nation’s run through the tournament had not been lost on the Springboks, especially with their news conferences heavily attended by local media.
Coach Rassie Erasmus was almost apologetic on Monday that his side could be the one to end Japan’s hopes – even though he added they were “the enemy” this week.
Stick repeated the message on Tuesday, stating how much the team had enjoyed being in Japan having arrived more than two weeks before it started to play the hosts in their final warmup game on Sept 6, but they would need to ensure they took the passionate home crowd out of the equation at Tokyo Stadium.
“Playing against the host nation, we know they are going to be playing with a lot of passion, and the supporters are going to be behind them,” he said.
“We could hear the vibe at the stadium at Yokohama (for Japan against Scotland) when watching on TV. It’s going to be a tough challenge.”
Flyhalf Dan Biggar and centre Jonathan Davies, two of Wales’ most important players, are back in training and should be available for Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final against France, assistant coach Stephen Jones said on Tuesday.
Both missed Sunday’s final pool game against Uruguay, though they would likely have been rested anyway.
Davies looks to be getting the better of a knee injury sustained against Fiji, while Biggar is satisfying the medical team he is not suffering from the collision with team mate Liam Williams in the same game that brought about his second head injury of the tournament.
“Dan’s good to go, he’s training with us today, which is fantastic,” Jones told a news conference at the team’s training base just outside Oita.
He added that he was “not too sure on the medical condition” of Davies, but said he had been taking part in training.
“From a coaching position, I’m just glad he’s back fit and healthy,” he said.
“You look at those players – huge experience, great skill-set. Jon has a physical threat and you saw what he did with that last line-break just before he got injured.
“It’s vital we have everyone fit and healthy and the medical team have done a fantastic job on our players.”
Jones took over as attack coach after Rob Howley was sent home on the eve of the tournament to face an investigation over betting.
Wales go into the match having won seven of the teams’ eight meetings since the 2011 semifinal that was edged by the French.
“That is great but we know it’ll be a different challenge on Sunday,” Jones said when asked about the hot streak. “It’s a healthy rivalry and they are an opposition we respect.
“They are players who are very unpredictable, who enjoy the broken field. If we are loose and turn ball over easily, then they are in their element and are very, very dangerous.
“They also had a tough game against Argentina and they stayed in the arm wrestle and came out on top. They were good against the USA and they had a tough game against Tonga, but they stayed in the fight.
“But really we’re concentrating on getting our own house in order,” Jones said. “Our focus is on ourselves, it’s as simple as that.”
South Africa’s Jaco Peyper will be the referee for the game, tournament officials announced on Tuesday.