An acquaintance of Jamie Joseph once told me to pass on his best wishes because the Japan coach is “a good b*stard”.
It is an affectionate term folk from the Antipodes use to describe someone who almost self deprecatingly lives by a high moral and ethical code.
Back then Joseph was in charge of the Highlanders and his team had just copped a 35-18 defeat to the Bulls at Loftus.
As much as his team failed to make an impact that day Joseph was building something bigger than was immediately obvious.
The unfancied Highlanders had not reached the play-offs of Super Rugby since 2002 but the following year, Joseph helped get them there.
A year later the Highlanders were unlikely Super Rugby champions, in a New Zealand context a massive triumph for the underdog.
Joseph also has a loyal lieutenant in assistant coach Tony Brown, who was also influential in the Highlanders’ success in 2015. Already parallels are being drawn. Like the Highlanders, Japan rally as a collective.
They shift the point of attack as they cannot afford to be predictable. They simply don’t have the physical specimens to do that. Joseph and Brown don’t need a galaxy of stars for their teams to shine.
They have the ability to instil belief, but also the confidence to dare to dream. In 2016 Joseph was tasked with building a team that will be competitive in their home RWC.
In Michael Leitch, he had a captain who could roll with the punches. Leitch, who was born in New Zealand of a Kiwi father and a Fijian mother, but at the age of 15 enrolled into Sapporo Yamate High School as part of an exchange programme. It proved life-changing.
Japan have beaten Russia, Ireland and Samoa and currently top Pool A. They haven’t won three matches in a row since 2013.
They now appear destined to play the Springboks in the quarterfinals, unless Scotland beat them in their last pool match in Yokohama today.
They have the ability to instil belief, but also the confidence to dare to dream
The match is scheduled to be played during the last convulsions of super typhoon Hagibis and may yet be cancelled.
Two other matches have already been cancelled and the Scots are desperate for a win to keep alive their prospects in the tournament.
They have even threatened legal action against World Rugby should the match be cancelled on the basis of World Rugby not putting viable alternatives in place for matches under threat in the pool stages of the tournament.
It has left Joseph shaking his head. “We have worked very hard to get the team to where it is,” said Joseph.
“This team has been in camp for the last 240 days. While the majority of the players are professionals with company-based teams, as a rugby team Japan is amateur. Other than $100 a day (R1,495 expense allowance), no one gets paid for being in camp. You do the maths and make comparisons with other teams.
“Everyone in our camp, players and staff,want to play the match against Scotland. We all want to earn the right to be considered one of the elite teams in the world. It is important for us to wake up on Monday and understand we are a worthy top-eight team or not good enough. My team is motivated by achieving something that is great, not avoiding an embarrassment.”
His team is well prepared for this RWC. Though the Boks comfortably beat them 41-7 in a warm-up game Japan have been barely recognisable since. Some are even suggesting they deliberately didn’t show their hand that evening
Whether it is subterfuge or not, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus is wary of Japan. Joseph turns 50 on November 21, 19 days after the RWC comes to a climax.
Could he dare to dream?
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