, to face opponents who find themselves in a decidedly sticky spot. This is what to expect from Japan this weekend, and how they have moved on from 2019. Stars of the last World Cup such as Shota Horie, Timothy Lafaele, Yu Tamura and Kenki Fukuoka will be absent for various reasons. You always have to be careful when Eddie Jones recites facts and figures, but it was interesting to hear him explain how Joseph has struck upon bigger players. 'They've become a lot more orthodox,' suggested England's head coach. 'Just look at their Tests against France [in July] – they had a heavier pack than the French team. Work that out. When I coached them, we had two locks who were 6ft 3in. That's not tall enough to make the South African team as props. 'The demographic of the team is changing considerably. If you have a pack which is heavier than France's, you have a pretty heavy pack. It's not like the Japanese team that I had. It's a different version of it. While they do play with speed, the selection of the team is a lot more orthodox than it has been.' 'They have probably gone back more to foreigners than was previously the case,' Jones added. 'That is where the environment is. Just look at their League One teams now. They are full of passport-change players. A lot of the [Pacific] Island boys come in at university level and change their passports to Japanese, so that was always going to be the evolution of the team, that they have a lot more island players particularly in the forwards.' Joseph's line-up for Saturday bears out that theory. Tonga-born Tevita Tatafu, who has played in 10 of Japan's 11 matches since the World Cup, is at No 8. Jack Cornelsen, another to have come into the side in 2021 and to have won 10 caps, starts at lock alongside Warner Dearns, who scored a try against his native New Zealand after charging down Finlay Christie. Dylan){kind=link}
After losing against Argentina last weekend, Eddie Jones’ side play Japan on Saturday
There was an almost mystical aura about Japan at their home World Cup three years ago. Following a rather curious build-up, which saw front-line players withdrawn from the Sunwolves squad in favour of gruelling training camps and friendlies against Super Rugby B teams, they emerged to intoxicate onlookers with dazzling phase-play.
According to Opta, Japan averaged a whopping 184 passes per game at the tournament. Russia, Ireland, Samoa and then Scotland were beaten before South Africa mauled them into submission in the quarter-final. Despite that defeat, it seemed as though the Brave Blossoms had built a launchpad towards an exciting future.
In the interim, though, Japan have played in just 11 Test matches if you include the Murrayfield meeting with the British and Irish Lions – their first assignment since the World Cup. By contrast, Saturday will be England’s 29th. As Jamie Joseph, the Japan head coach, explained on Thursday, strict Covid restrictions proved particularly problematic.
England’s trip to the country in the summer of 2020, which would have been a handy exercise for Eddie Jones as well, was canned and further fixtures have been few and far between. As far as full internationals, Japan have only beaten Portugal and Uruguay, twice, in this World Cup cycle.