Players ordered to learn Japanese as coach leaves nothing to chance for World Cup
England coach says lessons will ease World Cup stress Global season will include two Tests in Japan in 2020
England’s players have been instructed to take Japanese lessons to minimise the “cultural stress” of playing in next year’s World Cup in Japan.
The news comes with confirmation that England will also undertake a twoTest tour of Japan in 2020 as part of the new global season arrangements.
England’s coaching staff, who have just returned from a 10-day coaching and familiarisation trip to Japan, have already begun their preparations.
Head coach Eddie Jones, who is fluent in Japanese, also wants his players to take lessons while they are in national training camps as part of their World Cup preparations.
“Everything we do now is about preparing for the World Cup,” said Jones. “All of the staff had Japanese lessons last Tuesday. We’ve got another one in a couple of weeks.
“The World Cup’s about enjoying the tournament. It’s the staff ’s responsibility to create a positive atmosphere, because the players are going to be stressed. They’re going to find heat stress and cultural stress; it’s our job as staff to minimise that stress as much as possible. All the preparation we’re doing now is about trying to find ways to minimise the stress on the players.”
“We spent 10 days in Japan coaching day in, day out, learning about how to manage the players in those conditions,” Jones added. “We need the coaches to be on the front foot as soon as we get there. Learning a few words will help.”
Confirmation of England’s tour to Japan in 2020 came from Mark McCafferty, the Premiership Rugby chief executive, who said Premiership clubs had negotiated a shortened developmental tour to protect player welfare.
Details of the new domestic season from 2019 are expected to be confirmed by the end of the month, with McCafferty arguing that England’s international fixture list should be limited to eight Tests a season outside of World Cup and Lions years.
The Premiership clubs will meet on Tuesday to discuss several investment options, including a £275 million bid from capital investment firm CVC to take a 50 per cent stake in the league.
McCafferty says the capital raised from a new deal would be likely to be ring-fenced for improving facilities and clearing debt rather than lead to soaring player salaries.
“We’ve got to relieve some pressure at club level on annual situations, we have to invest in the club set-up, create a better experience for the fans that want it to be more attractive, we have to do certain things centrally and pull all that into the mix and find what the right kind of balance is,” said McCafferty. The prospect of new investors in the club game has raised concerns about future access of England players.
Jones said last week that the longterm answer to the complexities of the club and country issues in the English game will one day lead to a radical overhaul in the manner of IPL in international cricket. “Something will happen, but not in my time.”