Jones praises team’s mental toughness

NAGOYA (June 19) – Japan coach Eddie Jones said the improved mental toughness of his side was behind Wednesday night’s 16-13 win over Canada in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

“Four weeks ago if we had gone down 10-6 down we would have lost,” he said. “But today we recovered mentally quickly and got back in our rhythm. In the last 20 minutes there was no doubt we were going to win. It was just a matter of time before we got the points.”

Jones admitted that the first half had been tough but said his team had improved greatly in the second stanza, despite the awful conditions.

“In the first half we were beaten at the breakdown,” he explained. “But in the second we played some wonderful rugby in those conditions. We moved the ball around, scrummed well and our line-out was solid.”

That solid set-piece was the reason, he said, for the two wins Japan have picked up in the past four days over sides ranked higher than them in the world rankings.

“It’s our consistency of performance,” he said. “In the last two games the scrum has been outstanding. Today the line-outs were equally as good. When you have that stability in those conditions it allows us to play the type of rugby we want to play. Test match rugby is all about the set piece. We are definitely a skillful and fit team. If we can keep improving our strength, set piece and breakdown skills, then we will keep getting better.”

Japan take on the United States on Sunday in Tokyo and Jones is hoping for a good result to finish the busy spring and summer.

“We’ve beaten sides ranked above us two times in a row. So Sunday is even more important. I’m looking forward to us playing some good rugby at Chichibunomiya.”