BORDEAUX, France _ Canada faces Japan at the Rugby World Cup on
Tuesday with only pride at stake _ and the chance to preserve its
record of having won at least once at every World Cup it has
contested.
``I read that this morning,'' Japan's coach John Kirwan said of
Canada's record. ``Like I said yesterday, they are a proud nation
and a good rugby country.''
Canada and Japan have both been eliminated from Pool B, but don't
want to go home empty-handed. Canada is last in the pool at 0-2.
Japan is 0-3, but has one bonus point for a close loss to Fiji.
``The pressure of getting that vital win is there for both of
us,'' said Canada scrum half and captain Morgan Williams. ``They
know the stakes they are playing for and we know our stakes as well
and we are going to come out just a fiery as they are and it will be
a great game. A couple of mistakes is what will cost the game.''
The 14th-ranked Canadians, who lost 42-17 to Wales and 29-16 to
Fiji, will be keen to win Tuesday (Rogers Sportsnet, 11:30 a.m. ET)
ahead of their last match _ a tough outing Saturday with No. 2
Australia. Canada's best ever result was reaching the quarter-final
in 1991.
Canadian coach Ric Suggitt has brought in an all-new back row of
Colin Yukes, Adam Kleeberger, and Aaron Carpenter for Tuesday's game
in an attempt to counter Japan's fast-paced running game.
``We can't let Japan get running around and we have seen what
they can do in the late stages of a game,'' he said. ``Against Fiji
(35-31 loss) that was probably the best four or five minutes of
rugby, and against Wales (72-18 loss) they still put in a kamikaze
(effort) in the 80th minute. They are fun to watch and hopefully we
will knock the stuffing out of them.''
Yukes comes in at blind-side flanker for hard-nosed forward Jamie
Cudmore, whose World Cup is over after he broke his wrist in
training. Kleeberger replaces David Biddle at open-side flanker,
while Carpenter will start at number eight. Cudmore's replacement on
the squad is Bordeaux-based utility forward Josh Jackson.
``We're very fortunate that Josh has been able to make himself
available after Jamie Cudmore's unfortunate injury,'' Suggitt said.
``Josh is a very good line-out jumper, and good on kick-off receiver
and we're glad to have him with us.''
Canada and Japan have played each other 17 times, with Japan
holding the edge with nine wins and eight losses.
Japan's players may earned respect for their fast-paced game, but
they're still also looking for their first win. Their last chance
comes against Canada at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux.
``I think if you ask around the Japanese side has gained respect
for the way we played,'' Kirwan said Monday. ``But we need to
translate that into a victory and that would be a good platform to
build on, for sure.
``We came here to win two games and at least try hard in every
game, but the rugby ball doesn't always bounce the way you want
it.''
Japan's chances of victory got a boost with news that kicker
Shotaro Onishi passed a fitness test Monday and will start against
Canada. Onishi has 22 points to lead No. 18 Japan at the tournament.
Japan was trampled 91-3 by the Wallabies in its opening World Cup
match, but rebounded to earn a bonus point and a lot of fans in a
thrilling loss to Fiji, one of the most exciting games of the
tournament so far
Kirwan's team was on the wrong end of another thumping by Wales.
But that match in Cardiff will likely be remembered more for a
length-of-the-field counter-attack try by Japan than the Welsh point
tally.
Midway through the first half, Hitoshi Ono pinched the ball from
a ruck inside Japan's 22 and launched a swift passing move that
ended with winger Kosuke Endo scoring at the other end.
Kirwan said that, despite the defeats, he has seen plenty to like
in his players' performances.
``I think that the totality of the game against Fiji was the
first time I have seen us play 80 minutes. I think implementing the
way we want to play against the opposition has been outstanding,''
he said. ``I know the score against Wales was not what we wanted
but, if you studied the game, the first half was pretty good. We
were 10 minutes away from putting them under pressure.''
Japan is using its last match of the tournament to try to snap a
record 13 game World Cup losing streak that dates back to the team's
only ever World Cup win, a 52-8 defeat of Zimbabwe in 1991.
Kirwan hopes a victory over Canada will spark a turn around in
Japan's attitude to rugby and allow it to start building for the
2011 tournament.
``We need to change the culture a little bit. We need to change
from a culture that was used to losing to a culture that wins and
you need results to change,'' he said. ``You need to win and we need
to win.''
Kirwan was coach of Italy at the 2003 tournament when the
Italians beat Canada.
With Australia already certain of a quarter-final berth, Wales
and Fiji will fight it out for the Group B runner-up spot when they
meet in Nantes on Saturday.
___
Canada
Mike Pyke, DTH van der Merwe, Craig Culpan, Dave Spicer, James
Pritchard, Ryan Smith, Morgan Williams (capt.); Rod Snow, Pat
Riordan, Jon Thiel, Mike Burak, Mike James, Colin Yukes, Adam
Kleeberger, Aaron Carpenter.
Replacements: Mike Pletch, Dan Pletch, Scott Franklin, Josh
Jackson, Mike Webb, Ed Fairhurst, Justin Mensah-Coker.
Japan: Go Aruga, Kosuke Endo, Yuta Imamura, Shotaro Onishi,
Christian Loamanu, Bryce Robins, Tomoki Yoshida; Tatsukichi
Nishiura, Yuji Matsubara, Tomokazu Soma, Hitoshi Ono, Luke Thompson,
Hare Makiri, Philip O'Reilly, Takuro Miuchi (capt.).
Replacements: Taku Inokuchi, Ryo Yamamura, Luatangi Samurai
Vatuvei, Hajime Kiso, Chulwon Kim, Koji Taira, Hirotoki Onozawa.
