LONDON – Japan head coach Eddie Jones believes his team is up for the challenge of facing back-to-back World Cup champions South Africa on Saturday when the two nations square off again in England, the stage for the epic clash at the 2015 World Cup.
Michael Leitch will start at No. 8 as the 37-year-old veteran and Jones look to upset the Springboks once more, this time at London’s Wembley Stadium, and add to their 34-32 win in Brighton a decade ago, regarded as one of the biggest shocks in the sporting world.
“We’re delighted to be in England to play what is a fairly historical game against South Africa at Wembley Stadium,” Jones told a press conference.
“Players are in good spirits and looking forward to the challenge arising of playing against the best team in the world. We understand it’s a big challenge for us. It’s not one that we shy away from.”
Jones made two changes to his starting XV from their 19-15 home test defeat to Australia last Sunday, picking Charlie Lawrence at center and Kenji Sato at hooker for the 13th-ranked Brave Blossoms after Shogo Nakano and Hayate Era were both injured in the match.
After stunning the world by winning their first-ever encounter, Japan lost to South Africa 41-7 in a 2019 World Cup warm-up in Japan, before the tournament hosts lost again to the eventual champions 26-3 in the quarterfinals.
“Obviously, 10 years ago was a pretty symbolic game for Japan,” Jones said. “But the opportunity is for this group of players to make their own headlines…to enjoy the spotlight that’s going to be on them on Saturday and play with a cohesion and a physicality that’s never been seen from a Japanese team.”
“It’s up to this team now to make sure that the legacy of what happened in 2015 is enhanced. It’s not to be as good, it’s to be much better than the 2015 team.”
After kicking off their four-test European tour against South Africa, Japan also face No. 3 Ireland, No. 12 Wales and No. 11 Georgia through Nov. 22.
AloJapan.com