Claims have been affirmed by japan head coach Jamie Joseph from prop Yusuke Kizu which Ireland scrummage in advance of their World Cup Pool A game in Shizuoka on Saturday.
Kizu has promised that Ireland prop Cian Healy”steps outside” and scrummages in at illegal angle.
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt insisted as he replied to the claim of Kizu that his side have one of the least penalised scrums in the Test arena.
But after Japan had appointed their team, which saw group captain Michael Leitch’s demotion to the bench, Brave Blossoms boss Joseph agreed that”at times they are illegal” in the scrum.
“I believe first thing, Kizu is a young man, probably his initial media experience, so that are the first thing around Kizusan,” explained Joseph.
“We’re coming up against a really powerful scrum. Yes, occasionally they’re prohibited, however they are a strong scrum.
“We know that’s a challenging area of the game, but we have actually enhanced our scrum and lineout lately and it’s a place we’ve been focusing on all week.”
The players admitted they were overawed by the event in a largely uninspiring performance although hosts Japan conquer Russia 30-10 at Tokyo on Friday into kick-off the World Cup.
Joseph admitted Japan will want”the match of their own lives” to beat Ireland and insisted skipper Leitch still has a major part to playwith, despite starting against the No 1 rated side on the planet.
Pieter Labuschagne will captain Japan, with Joseph backing Leitch to truly really have an impact.
“That which I think around the sport, when it comes to our bench, we have got to have an impact,” added Joseph.
“If we are going to be in a position to win the match, it is going to come back down to the last five or 10 minutes and we are going to need clear leadership.
“Michael has experienced an injury all year, he’s only played four or five games, and he is a really key player. But we’ve got a good deal of in-form players and quality forwards.
“It’s a massive match for us and all these players will need to play the best match of their lives; that is what they’ll have to be effective on Saturday.”
Joseph is targeting a place in the quarter-finals of this World Cup for the first time as part of this legacy of Japan hosting the championship.
“In relation to legacy for the championship, on our objectives, as a team we want to do something we have never achieved before and that’s create the top eight,” he explained.
“That will leave a legacy for rugby in Japan, however, the caliber of our play and the way we do ourselves as a team is also important.”
Japan: 15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 William Tupou, 10 Yu Tamura, Yutaka Nagare; 1 Keita Inagaki, 2 Shota Horie, 3 Koo Ji-won, 4 Luke Thompson, 5 James Moore, 6 Kazuki Himeno, seven Pieter Labuschagne (capt), 8 Amanaki Mafi.
Replacements: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Isileli Nakajima, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Wimpie Van Der Walt, 20 Michael Leitch, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Lomano Lemeki.
Read more here: http://www.wee-doo.hu/the-ones-that-got-away-mma-superfights-we-never-saw/
