Japan head coach Jamie Joseph believes that their unique style will cause their Pool D rivals problems at the Rugby World Cup.
If the Brave Blossoms want to repeat their success from their home tournament in 2019, they will have to get past England and Argentina, as well as Samoa and Chile.
The Red Rose will be favourites to top the group with Japan and Los Pumas thought to be battling it out for second – albeit the Samoans could also come into the equation.
Although Joseph’s men have regressed since their incredible run in 2019 where they reached the quarter-finals of their home tournament, the Japanese still remain dangerous.
Their game plan can cause problems for any team and the 53-year-old is hoping that they can execute well at the global tournament.
Speed and skill
“We have a really attacking-based game using our fitness, the skill, the speed and a little bit unorthodox compared to the teams that we’re playing against,” Joseph told AFP.
“We know what England are going to bring, we know what Argentina are going to bring.
“They’re going to put us under a lot of pressure, but we create pressure in different ways.”
England, who reached the final in 2019, have also struggled since the World Cup, eventually sacking their head coach Eddie Jones following a poor run of form.
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Steve Borthwick has since replaced the Australian and Joseph expects them to improve from their disappointing Six Nations campaign.
“The team has suffered a little bit but they will be better because of that,” he said.
“I think the fact that they struggled a little bit in the Six Nations was only going to happen because it takes time for teams to build under a new coaching regime.
“A year on, they would have learned a lot.”
This tournament will be very different for the Brave Blossoms, who were given fervent backing from the crowd in 2019.
They made a huge difference as Japan were inspired to victories against Ireland and Scotland as the team reached the knockout stages for the first time.
“That swell of people, the momentum that the public gave the team at the World Cup was really helpful, but that’s all gone,” Joseph said.
“It’s clearly, from my perspective, a different preparation for this World Cup.”
Joseph’s future
By the end of the World Cup, Joseph would have been in the job for almost eight years, but his contract expires following the conclusion of that tournament.
His future is therefore up in the air and the former Highlanders head honcho is unsure where his next destination will be.
“My focus is the same,” he said.
“If I’m good enough to take the team through then no doubt opportunities will arise, but my focus now is getting the team ready for this World Cup.”
Joseph has certainly come under increasing pressure after a difficult World Cup cycle, but the Japan boss is confident that they will be at their best come the tournament in France.
“When we can get to a level where everyone understands what their roles are and get physically right, we can achieve anything,” he said.
“Our strengths are our work ethic and the way we can prepare, the way that we can extract the utmost.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in our coaching group to maximise the potential of our players.
“The Japanese approach to the preparation phase is second to none.”