The former All Black great and his squad traveled to Waipoua
Forest near the northern tip of New Zealand to visit the sacred tree Tane
Mahuta — "Lord of the Forest" in Maori — on Sunday. Revered as a
Maori icon and thought to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old, it is the
largest kauri tree in existence at 51.2 meters high (168 feet). It is also
linked with Japan, being named a sister tree of Jomon Sugi in Yakushima in 2009.
"This is a very strong place for us to be," Kirwan
said. "We will take your strength with us on Wednesday night, when we have
a huge game ahead of us." Japan will need all the strength it can muster,
coming up against a powerful Tonga team also reeling from two losses. Both face
a battle from Canada to finish third in Pool A to qualify automatically for the
2015 World Cup in England.
The Japanese, known as the Brave Blossoms, trailed France by
four points with less than 15 minutes remaining before going down 47-21 in
their opening match. Keeping one eye on Tonga, Kirwan then rested his best
players and his second-choice team lost 83-7 to the All Blacks.
Kirwan's pre-tournament target was to record two victories,
seemingly a modest aim until one realizes Japan entered with just one win in 20
matches across all six previous World Cups — and that was against Zimbabwe 20
years ago.
But the team's form and playing depth have steadily
improved, culminating in victories over Tonga and Fiji en route to winning the
2011 Pacific Nations Cup, a tournament that also includes Samoa.
"We watched them on film but they play a real simple
game. We've figured out their strengths as well as their weaknesses,"
Japan flanker Itaru Taniguchi said of Tonga. "We're not just going to try
to stop them — we're going to hit back. My guess is that they think Japanese
players will sit there and take it, so imagine how surprised they might be if
we took it right to them." The Tongans were beaten 41-10 by New Zealand in
the tournament opener, and then made 12 changes in a 25-20 loss to Canada that
realistically ended their bid to make the quarterfinals.
Both teams have largely reverted to their first-choice
players, and stand-in Tonga captain Aleki Lutui feels the burden of expectation.
"It's a big game for us. It's a game that we need to
win, so it's a big responsibility when you get called up to be captain,"
said Lutui, who fulfills the role in place of the injured Finau Maka. "We
are disappointed with Canada and before that, the All Blacks. Now we have to
get it right. There is a lot of people to play for. Not just us, but our
supporters. We have to do something for them.
"In most of the games of the World Cup, teams have won
in the last 20 minutes. Japan's fitness level is high. We have to meet that
standard." Kirwan also feels physical conditioning will be crucial and
praises Tonga coach Isitolo Maka's role in the Pacific islanders' improvement.
"I think they've been working really hard," Kirwan
said. "I think Isitolo's done a great job, we've certainly seen
progression through the last few PNC's when Isi's been involved. We are really
happy with our fitness, too. We've worked a lot harder since the PNC, so we're
a lot fitter. I think that it could come down to fitness." The halves
pairing of Kurt Morath and Taniela Moa will direct Tonga's aggressive forward
before looking to feed hard-running backs such as winger Fetu'u Vainikolo,
fullback Vungakoto Lilo and center Siale Piutau.
Morath's duel with James Arlidge will be pivotal. The Japan
flyhalf is the sixth leading scorer at the 2011 tournament with 21 points
despite only having played one match, scoring two tries against the French
behind his mobile forward pack led by captain Takashi Kikutani.
Kikutani, meanwhile, took a lot out of the squad's visit to
Tane Mahuta but isn't sure if he will be able to call upon its magic on
Wednesday.
"I'm really glad I went; it was the perfect opportunity
to take your mind off things. I feel like I've been given a spiritual lift by
the tree," he said. "But the bus ride back to our hotel was really
rough. I couldn't sleep because the driver was going so fast up a mountain on twisting,
winding roads.
"I probably used up all the healing power I got from
the tree on the ride back."
Northland
Events Centre, Whangerei
20,000
Wednesday,
Sept. 21 (kickoff 0730)
Dave
Pearson (England)
Tonga-Japan
15-Vungakoto Lilo 15-Shaun Webb
14-Fetu'u Vainikolo 14-Kosuke Endo
13-Siale Piutau 13-Alisi Tupuailai
12-Alipate Fatafehi 12-Ryan Nicholas
11-Sukanaivalu Hufanga 11-Hirotoki Onozawa
10-Kurt Morath 10-James Arlidge
9-Taniela Moa 9-Fumiaki Tanaka
8-Viliami Ma'afu 8-Takashi Kikutani (captain)
7-Sione Vaiomo'unga 7-Michael Leitch
6-Sione Kalamafoni 6-Itaru Taniguchi
5-Paino Hehea 5-Toshizumi Kitagawa
4-Tukulua Lokotui 4-Luke Thompson
3-Taufa'ao Filise 3-Kensuke Hatakeyama
2-Aleki Lutui (captain) 2-Shota Horie
1-Soane Tonga'uiha 1-Hisateru Hirashima
16-Aloisio Ma'asi 16-Yusuke Aoki
17-Alisona Taumalolo 17-Nozomu Fujita
18-Halani Aulika 18-Hitoshi Ono
19-oseph Tu'ineau 19-Sione Talikavili Vatuvei
20-Samiu Vahafolau 20-Atsushi Hiwasa
21-Samisoni Fisilau 21-Takehisa Usuzuki
22-Andrew Ma'ilei 22-Murray Williams
Coaches: Isitolo Maka John Kirwan
Tonga 15
Japan 13
Played: 12
Wins: Tonga - 5; Japan - 7
- -
Tonga 57-16 in 2006
Japan 44-17 in 1999
Year Venue Result
2007 Coffs Harbour Japan won 20-17
2008 Sendai Japan won 35-13
2009 Lautoka Japan won 21-19
2010 Apia Japan won 26-23
2011 Suva Japan won 28-27
