22 June,2014
Jones thanks crowd for support following win over Italy
TOKYO (June 21) – Japan coach Eddie Jones paid tribute to the crowd Saturday following his side’s historic 26-23 win over Italy.
“That was a tough old game,” he said pitchside at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground. “The crowd really helped in the last 10 minutes, so thanks for the tremendous support.”
Jones went on to say his side “won in the end through the scrum. To beat Italy in the scrum is a fantastic effort. We’ve beaten Italy for the first time so we have created new rugby history for Japan.”
The win was also Japan’s 10th straight victory dating back to their November 2013 tour of Europe.
“It’s a really great feeling to have won,” said captain Michael Leitch. “Hopefully we can use this to create a platform to play and beat Tier 1 nations and to do well at the World Cup.”
Both Jones and Leitch admitted though it wasn’t the greatest performance from the team with the line-out being an area of concern.
“We didn’t play well but it is a testament to the team that we can win when things are not going well,” said Jones.
“We struggled at the line-out and that meant we didn’t have much momentum in our attack. But the scrum held up and that gave us a tremendous advantage.”
Jones praised the mental attitude of his players, saying, “At the start we panicked a little and didn’t handle the pressure. But we regained our composure and showed plenty of courage.”
Jones said that while the team was in a satisfactory position there was still plenty to do ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.
“I want to go to the World Cup and make the quarterfinals and in the process I want us to become the most popular sporting team in Japan,” he said. “There is no reason we can’t but we need to keep working hard and progressing.”
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