Jones says he is lucky to coach Japan

TOKYO (June 15) – Eddie Jones said beating Wales ranked alongside the other big wins he has achieved in his career as a coach and he stressed the reason he coached Japan was the result of his long-held love for Japanese rugby.

“I am not coaching Japan for my own career,” he said after the historic 23-8 win. “I have always loved Japanese rugby. The pleasure I get from coaching players to play like that is enormous. i am the lucky one to be coaching a team that beats a top 10 team. So, yes, I’m feeling pretty good.”

Japan’s win was their first over a Tier One nation in their 82 years of playing test-match rugby.

“I’m really proud of the players,” he said. “We have created history today. We are the first Japan team to beat a top 10 team in the world. We understand the Welsh didn’t have 15 of their best players here (away with the British and Irish Lions in Australia). But we played a very good game of test rugby and it’s another step forward for the team.”

When asked what he thought the key to victory was, Jones said: “In the second half we won the game through our scrum. I bet you never thought you would hear that about a Japan scrum against Wales. The second reason we won was the players’ attitude to keep on fighting. They kept getting on their feet, kept making their tackles and kept making line breaks. Rugby is a simple sport but it’s physical and you need to keep doing it for 80 minutes. That’s how you win test matches.”

Captain Toshiaki Hirose said the win made up for the disappointment of narrowly losing the first test.

“I’m really happy to play in front of so many people. We were unhappy last week in Osaka, so I really wanted to live up to the fans’ expectations,” he said. “But this is only one win. I’m happy today, but we have to continue working hard if we are to break into the top 10.