Japan rugby ‘at crossroads’

ENGLAND coach Eddie Jones has said Japanese rugby is at a crossroads and needs to adopt a more professional approach if it wants to avoid stagnating as the country gears up to host the 2019 World Cup.

Jones enjoyed a successful spell in charge of the Brave Blossoms from 2012 until last year. He has since led England to a Six Nations Grand Slam triumph and a 3-0 series victory against his native Australia after taking over from Stuart Lancaster in November.

“Japanese rugby is at the stage where it can really progress or it can stagnate and go down,” Jones said in Tokyo yesterday after watching Japanese Super Rugby franchise the Sunwolves train for today’s game against the Waratahs.

“The whole structure needs to be more professional,” added the man who masterminded Japan’s best World Cup campaign in England last year, where they won three matches for the first time, including a stunning 34-32 victory over South Africa.

“You need businessmen running the business side of things and professional rugby men running the rugby side. The JRFU (Japan Rugby Football Union) is an amateur organisation and that is its challenge moving forward.”

Jones cited England’s impressive forward Maro Itoje, who shone in both the Six Nations and the tour of Australia, as an example of how Japan should integrate young players into a professional environment and the national team.

“We have a young lock who is just 21. He studies full-time at university and plays professional rugby. Japan needs to be more aggressive in selecting young players and bringing them through.”

Jones was also critical of the JRFU’s failure to replace him immediately, using two interim coaches until New Zealander Jamie Joseph was confirmed to be taking over at the end of the Super Rugby season, putting Japan a year behind in preparations for the next World Cup. – Reuters