Hong Kong Sevens: Japan coach looking to give the sport a shot in the arm ahead of Rugby World Cup
- Japan will host the Rugby World Cup for the first time later this year
- They normally have a lot of support at the Hong Kong event
Kensuke Iwabuchi has good reason to keep a lid on the excitement that has started to build back in Japan as the clock ticks down towards the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Japan have come to Hong Kong four points behind both Kenya and Wales with four rounds to go, and having drawn pool A this weekend, which features the in-form South Africans, refuelled after their stunning victory in Vancouver. But pool A also brings some hope in the form of match-ups against Samoa and Scotland, teams whose form has completely deserted them at some stages this season and – if the stars are aligned – can be beaten by the Japanese.
More likely though is that Japan graft and grind over the next rounds and claw themselves to survival with points gained away from Cup qualification.
“I believe that we still have a chance to stay in core teams for next season across the closing stages of this season,” Iwabuchi said. “We will focus on: keeping our discipline; having faster reaction speed than any other teams; and attacks from the set-play.”
Lifting Japan up from the bottom and ensuring survival into next season would certainly help with the buzz that is slowly building back home about rugby in all its shapes and sizes with the Rugby World Cup set to kick off on September 20 at the Tokyo Stadium.
