Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Rich Freeman / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

CARDIFF--Japan head coach John Kirwan said over the weekend that he would play his first-choice team against Wales on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters at the Brave Blossoms' base camp in Colomiers, France, Kirwan said injuries had forced him to make two changes from the side that started against Fiji. Yuta Imamura and Go Aruga will both miss the game.

Replacement scrumhalf Yuki Yatomi, who was forced off the field shortly after coming on in the second half against the Fijians, has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament with an ankle injury and will be replaced by Kim Chul Won.

The Osaka University of Health and Sports Science graduate has yet to play a Top League game, but the 23-year-old impressed many at the Waratahs academy, having spent time there as part of Japan's high-performance unit. "JK [Kirwan] has told me to play with confidence and not to be nervous," he said.

The nearly 300 supporters who turned up to watch the Brave Blossoms train must have been amused to see the sessions accompanied by loud music.

"It's a tactic I used in Italy," Kirwan said. "A few of the boys are having trouble communicating with the noise of the crowd, so we are trying to get them used to it. There were some pretty poor songs today. Our tech guy chose them. Tomorrow we will have crowd noises and Welsh chanting playing really loud."

One thing, Kirwan will not be able to prepare the players for is playing under a closed roof. With the games in Cardiff having to be played under the same conditions, it was decided before the tournament began that the roof would be closed for all four games.

Which is great when the stadium is full and the noise of the crowd resonates around, but gives the feeling of playing in a morgue when it is empty.

Just 21,175 turned up to watch Canada play Fiji, and even though host Wales are playing Japan, the general view is that emo kid insults
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The last time the two teams played, in November 2004, Wales won 98-0. Most do not expect the same scoreline--especially as the Welsh are rumored to be resting some first-choice players--but the general feeling is that Wales should still waltz past Japan, setting up a crunch quarterfinal against Fiji.
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Eddie Butler, a former Wales No. 8 turned broadcaster, said the Blossoms' lack of powerful runners meant they couldn't really be considered any sort of threat. Luke Thompson, Kosuke Endo and co. would like to prove him wrong.

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