TOKYO (AP) — For the first time since he of Australia following the team’s disastrous 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign, Eddie Jones is back to face his old team.
And in his mind, now as coach of Japan, he hopes to again torment the Wallabies, who never made it out of the group stage in that tournament two years ago in France.
Japan has never beaten the Wallabies in six previous attempts, but Jones is still optimistic.
“I enjoy beating Australia — I coached against them 10 times for England (from 2015-2022) and beat them nine times,” said ahead of Saturday’s match at Tokyo’s National Stadium. “Playing against you own country, there’s always a certain amount of different feeling involved in it, but it just brings out the extreme competitive spirit within yourself.”
The 65-year-old Jones will face an led by Nick Champion de Crespigny that will give Jones’ replacement, head coach Joe Schmidt, a chance to assess the Wallabies’ depth in the one-off test.
Champion de Crespigny, who will be playing his third test, will start as captain in a backrow featuring his Western Force teammate Carlo Tizzano and No. 8 Rob Valetini. Regular skipper Harry Wilson is on the bench as backrow cover.
Ex-All Blacks frontrower Aidan Ross was also included on the bench, giving him the chance to be just the fifth man to represent both Australia and New Zealand in test rugby.
Schmidt resisted pressure to bring straight back into the match-day squad within weeks of returning from the National Rugby League, instead selecting Hamish Stewart as the backup flyhalf on the bench.
“It was great to get the group back together late last week in Sydney, and to welcome in a couple of new faces,” Schmidt said. “The players have acclimatized well here in Tokyo and the whole squad is conscious of the threat the Brave Blossoms pose. They play hard and fast and are very tough to beat, especially at home.”
The Wallabies lost their last match of the Rugby Championship to New Zealand 28-24 on Oct. 4, the
in the final of the Pacific Nations Cup on Sept. 20 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
After the Japan match, the Wallabies will play tests against England in London on Nov. 1, Italy in Udine on Nov. 8, Ireland in Dublin on Nov. 15 and France in Paris on Nov. 22.
Jones has made six changes to his starting side from the Fiji match, including bringing Michael Leitch and Ben Gunter into the back row for the clash with his former team. Former skipper Leitch will line up at No. 8 to secure his 90th cap, while Gunter starts at blindside flanker, with Kanji Shimokawa on the open side.
Gunter is one of four Australia-raised players in the match-day squad, along with center Dylan Riley, lock Jack Cornelsen and replacement outside back Sam Greene.
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Lineups:
Japan: Yoshitaka Yazaki, Kippei Ishida, Dylan Riley, Shogo Nakano, Tomoki Osada, Lee Seung-sin, Shinobu Fujiwara, Michael Leitch, Kanji Shimokawa, Ben Gunter, Warner Dearns (captain), Jack Cornelsen, Shuhei Takeuchi, Hayate Era, Kenta Kobayashi. Reserves: Kenji Sato, Ryosuke Iwaihara, Keijiro Tamefusa, Tyler Paul, Tiennan Costley, Kenta Fukuda, Charlie Lawrence, Sam Greene.
Australia: Andrew Kellaway, Corey Toole, Josh Flook, Hunter Piasami, Dylan Pietsch, Tane Edmed, Jake Gordon; Rob Valetini, Carlo Tizzano, Nick Champion de Crespigny (captain), Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Jeremy Williams, Zane Nonggorr, Josh Nasser, Angus Bell. Reserves: Billy Pollard, Aidan Ross, Tom Robertson, Josh Canham, Harry Wilson, Ryan Lonergan, Hamish Stewart, Filipo Daugunu.
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AP rugby:
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