Springbok assistant coach Jerry Flannery said the Boks are expecting to face a psyched-up Japanese team when the sides meet in the opening match of their five-week November tour at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday.
The Bok assistant coach added that the main focus area for the team after the Castle Lager Rugby Championship will be to control their play better.
The Springboks will face Japan at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, 1 November at 18:10 (SA Time).
With Japan suffering only a four-point defeat against the Wallabies this past weekend in Tokyo, where Australia registered a narrow 19-15 victory, Flannery was wary of the threat the Japanese posed going into this weekend’s encounter.
“Japan showed resilience in the first half despite the yellow cards, and they showed how well they can defend against one of the best sides,” said Flannery.
“Australia scored six tries against us in the first game in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, so we are aware that Japan are not just a really good attacking side; they can defend really well too, and in the last quarter, they came back into the game, and they would be disappointed that they didn’t win.”
Flannery also expected them to enter the match with the mindset that they can create an upset against the Boks: “I’m expecting that Eddie (Jones, Japan’s head coach) will be building up his team all week and they’ll believe that they can win and rewrite history by beating the Boks at Wembley, so we are very aware of their mindset coming into this game, meaning we need to ensure that we are as well prepared as we can be.”
Flannery looked forward to the challenge this weekend and admitted that although it was a longer November tour than usual, it would be a great test for the Boks.
“It’s a great challenge for us,” said Flannery. “You have a bit more of a runway coming into the Rugby Championship with a training week before you play, and you face the same team the next week, so there isn’t much to change.
“But for this tour, we have five different opponents from week to week, and that is how the World Cup will work as well, with a short turnaround between matches, so your ability to stay mentally fresh and keep bringing energy all the time will be good for us.”
