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Jamie Joseph revealed Japan spent three years plotting their stunning 19-12 dismantling of Ireland in Shizuoka.<\/p>\nJamie Joseph revealed Japan spent three years plotting their stunning 19-12 dismantling of Ireland in Shizuoka.<\/p>\n
The Brave Blossoms boss hailed one of the World Cup\u2019s greatest ever upsets by insisting it was a triumphant game plan painstakingly distilled and refined.<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Kiwi boss claimed Ireland, in contrast, had only been working on this match for one week and paid the price.<\/p>\n
Former Highlanders boss Joseph insisted Ireland had not disrespected Japan, but was adamant that disparity in preparation had proved pivotal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of relief around what we were able to do,\u201d said Joseph.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been preparing for this game for a hell of a lot longer than the Irish have.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been focusing on today for the last year at least, and probably subconsciously the last three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Ireland have been thinking about it since Monday. So we just felt we had to execute our plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if Ireland\u2019s limited direct preparation to face Japan showed a lack of respect, Joseph replied: \u201cNot at all, they are a great rugby team, they played last week and have had a shorter turnaround.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve played a lot of Test matches recently, they are professional athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur preparation window for the World Cup has been a little different, we\u2019ve been training a hell of a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Japan set their home World Cup alight by dumping Ireland on their backsides in serious style at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa.<\/p>\n
Joseph\u2019s men blitzed Ireland in all areas, recovering from a 12-3 deficit to storm to a victory that left the raucous home crowd in raptures.<\/p>\n
This was a triumph every inch as impressive as Japan\u2019s last-gasp 34-32 victory over South Africa in Brighton at the last World Cup in 2015.<\/p>\n
Wing Kenki Fukuoka sealed the result, haring into the left corner to leave Ireland outgunned and outplayed, with early tries for Garry Ringrose and Rob Kearney mere footnotes on the scoring charts.<\/p>\n
Hooker Shota Horie led from the front in an all-court performance for the hosts, leaving Joseph purring at his continually developing game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a quality rugby player and this year he\u2019s been in great form,\u201d said Joseph.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysically, set-piece, it\u2019s something that wasn\u2019t high on his priority list.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was renowned for his skill-set but now he can do both loose work and tight.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can throw out the back passes, he can jackal like a flanker but he can also scrummage powerfully and put in little kicks and things like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s the ultimate tight forward, and he\u2019s a big reason why we performed tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ireland boss Schmidt was left to praise the winners and admit his side must now tend their sizable wounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to first of all congratulate the Japanese team for the energy, the intensity, the skill they brought to the game tonight,\u201d said Schmidt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are a big team, they played big and they were very difficult to contain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt we probably controlled the first quarter reasonably well, to go 12-3 up with two tries scored.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably exactly what we\u2019d asked for, but the longer the game went the more oxygen they got from penalties and from the skill that they showed and you\u2019ve got to commend them for that. It\u2019s not the first time we\u2019ve seen them do it, it\u2019s not a surprise to us that they were incredibly tough to beat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quality even of Michael Leitch coming off the bench \u2013 I thought he really added value.<\/p>\n
\u201cYu Tamura and (Timothy) Lafaele, I thought they got a bit of an armchair ride. We got penalized for a few offsides and then we became hesitant.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we became hesitant we couldn\u2019t really put the same pressure on them as they were putting on us \u2013 and they got a real roll on.\u201d<\/p>\n