Head coach Eddie Jones has highlighted Bok pocket rocket Cheslin Kolbe as a “fantastic example” of the kind of player needed by Japan to be successful in the Test arena.
Kolbe is a double world champion and European Challenge Cup winner, and his heroics at the 2023 Rugby World Cup earned the diminutive winger widespread plaudits.
Jones officially begins his second stint in charge of the Brave Blossoms on 1 January, and he said Kolbe – now playing in Japan for Tokyo Sungoliath – is a prototype of the player the Australian is after.
“He’s as strong as an ox, he’s as fast as a cheetah, and he’s as elusive as a ninja – that’s how Japanese players can be,” Jones said.
“He’s a fantastic example, so what we want to find is players who can be like him, and they’re out there.”
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The former England and Australia boss previously coached Japan for three years from 2012 and led them to a historic win over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
That was only Japan’s second win at a World Cup, and they also went on to beat Samoa and the USA that year before exiting at the pool stage.
The Brave Blossoms reached the quarter-finals on home soil in 2019 under Jones’ successor Jamie Joseph, but exited at the group stage at this year’s tournament.
Jones targeted a return to the World Cup knockout round in 2027 and said Japan “need to play the game faster than the opposition.”
His aim is to turn Japan into a team “that has a real identity,” and he added: “Any great team in any sport, it doesn’t matter what shirt they play in, you can clearly see the team that they are.”
“I think we need to develop that with Japan, so that’s going to be one of the major focuses going forward.”
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