Join the Miguel Delaney team: Inside Football Get exclusive insights and behind-the scenes access to the Miguel Delaney: inside newsletter Football NewsletterJoin the Miguel Delaney inside Football The Wallabies have won seven of their last eight matches against the Brave Blossoms.“It was great to get the win and definitely some areas to improve on, but we got the win and that’s the important thing,” said flanker Champion de Crespigny.Australia’s lack of fluency was understandable given coach Joe Schmidt made 13 changes to his starting side and they lost locks Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and his replacement Josh Canham to injury in the first half.open image in galleryShuhei Takeuchi’s try couldn’t stop the Brave Blossoms falling to defeat (Getty Images)They also produced the one moment of genuine quality in the match when full back Andrew Kellaway ran a beautiful line to carve through the Japan defence and found Flook in support to score a try that gave the visitors a 14-3 half-time lead.Outspoken coach Jones – now in his second stint as Japan coach following a disastrous spell in charge of the Wallabies – had talked up his side’s chances before the game but, despite drawing so close, they were undone by handling errors and marginally more disciplined opponents.The charged contest – Australia’s first chance to prove themselves against the coach who walked out on them after the 2023 World Cup – was evident from the outset as the sides traded bruising hits.Drizzly conditions foiled the quick hands and fleet footwork Japanese rugby has become known for, while the Australians applied pressure with the boot and thundering forwards to limp to victory.“We had our opportunities but we didn’t start the game well enough,” Say Jones “In Test match rugby, I think if you score the first try, it gives you a 70 per cent chance of winning, and we were just too slow out of the blocks.“What I’m super pleased about is that now we are a team that stays in the fight. We kept going, we could have won the game in the end but we weren’t quite good enough.”Eddie Jones lost on his return against Australia (Getty Images). Aidan Ross made his Australia Test debut as a substitute prop in the second-half, becoming the fifth player to have played for both the Wallabies AND the All Blacks.“With England’s strong pack it means we may be light in the second row,” Schmidt said “We might need to get some reserves from Australia.”Reuters
2025-10-25 12:16:03
Australia get one over on Eddie Jones with rain-soaked Japan win
