‘We can’t get better’: Japan qualify for World Series but coach Damian Karauna wants greater commitment to sevens
New Zealander says the team are unable to improve unless there is a centralised programme for seven-a-side rugby
Japan are playing out a familiar scenario with yet another victory in the World Sevens Series Qualifier, with coach Damian Karauna hoping they can change what has been a predictable script and actually stay in the elite division.
The Japanese broke German hearts with a try deep into time added on as the Asian giants won 19-14 in a thrilling final. Germany led 14-12 with the hooter gone but Japan kept possession, kept gaining yards and finally broke through with Siosifa Lisala scoring after an intricate attacking move.
New Zealander Karauna, though, said the set-up in Japan where 15s takes priority – especially in the lead-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup – means the sevens programme is taking a back seat for now.
Japan score winning try in dying seconds to secure qualification to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019! pic.twitter.com/FiYvrFdJAd— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) April 8, 2018
“Unless we have more time with them then we are going to stay at this level and we can’t get better,” said Karauna, a former assistant coach with the New Zealand sevens team. “We’ll go back and we’ll have a look at things. The problem we have is consistency of players. We have such a large turnaround of players, we’ve got to plan ahead.
“It’s not only about the World Series, we also have a two-year plan leading us to Tokyo [Olympics] so we have to understand what we’re trying to achieve. Is it World Series or is it Tokyo? So we’ll go back and assess the tournament.”
Japan have been like a yo-yo over the years, qualifying for the World Series only to be relegated in their first season back. But for now, they will savour their victory in Hong Kong after a stuttering start.
After struggling to a 26-10 victory over Georgia in their opening pool E match, Japan then lost 19-10 to Chile before recovering to beat Uganda 24-10 and advance to the quarter-finals.