Japan beat Wales because most of the Welsh were in the lions team. Fair play to Japan still.
The points you raised with the time schedules is why I'm more in line with growing the game in the region.
You mention tier 1 nations have a duty to help. Well Japan have a duty to those playing catch up to them.
It would probably require significant help from World Rugby to expand the game in Asia untill their unions become a product that make money.
If those countries can harness their best athletes by domestically growing their game then the whole region just improves and those local rivalries will be competitive enough against nations outside of their yearly tournament.
And Japan could lead the way in that region.
I guess here is where the conundrum lies with a team like Japan. They are now caught inbetween. They have to play against top teams to remain competitive and be a more constant performer on international level, while also trying to assist the region of Asia in improving the sport in their countries, so it might become a delicate balancing act, and both sides of the argument has merit.
Japan is already leading the way in the region, I guess the question will be if they will have followers or will they remain an isolated beacon in the region?
I don't think that either Italy or Argentina provide much evidence that throwing emerging teams into established competitions does them all that much good, are either really any better than they were when they entered? The sole success for Argentina in the last decade or so is beating Ireland in one game in 2015 (and power to them, it's more than we can say) and pretty much every year they lose every game in the RC and then have a series of uninspiring and forgettable losses on tour in the NH. As for Italy, nothing needs to be said, they're slowly improving (if not noticeably at senior international level) but it has f*** all to do with their Six Nations membership. A few years in the Pro14 have done far more for them than the 20 years they've spent getting thrashed by all comers in the 6N (except for a while where Scotland were equally s***).
Seems to me (notnthat I know anything) that what's happening at club level is far more important here than the success of the international team which is always going to fluctuate, and it seems like Japan are going about that aspect of the game right. Seems like the new competition will have a good balance between Japanese players and foreigners (especially internationals from the big three SH who'll drive standards up).
I'd love to have Japan in the Six Nations but don't think it's feasible. What makes the 6N work is that everything is close together, the furthest you have to go is Rome. Japan is on the other side of the world and a totally different prospect, in terms of formatting it'd be incredibly difficult (you'd probably need to guarantee teams a rest week after an away game there). And that's just looking at it from a European perspective, it'd be incredibly hard on the Japanese team themselves. This is before you get into how you format a seven team compeition. Just can't see how it could work, as great as it would be.
I think Argentina have improved significantly, They have managed to beat the Springboks a couple of times, and have become a real force for teams visiting Argentina. This was their first 4-year cycle in playing in the Super Rugby as well as the Rugby Championship. I think their issue has more to do with the naivety they have about themselves and of other teams who have gone through these cycles before. I've said a lot about Argentina in their own thread and received a lot of flak for saying it (mostly because I'm not an Argentinian and in their views my opinion is misguided, which it might be, but I still think it has merit).
They performed very well this season in the Super Rugby, and even reached the final for the first time ever. They were confident because of that, and thought that it could be a building block for their campaign, and rightfully so. Then it was time for the RC, and in their first game, they played against the All Blacks, in Argentina, and nearly beaten the AB's, losing 20-16. Again, it all seemed like their planning is heading in the right direction.
But then they played the Springboks, and they lost, mostly due to some great individual play by Sbu Nkosi. But if you look at the players who started in this game, for South Africa, only 3 players who started this game, played in the final of the World Cup. Siya Kolisi, Lood De Jager and Sbu Nkosi. And 2 players that was on the bench, RG Snyman and Vincent Koch. Add to that if you look at the bench, only Faf De Klerk and Frans Steyn was part of the final. And if you look even broader than that, 8 players for South Africa didn't even go to the World Cup.
It might be unfair of me to compare Argentina to South Africa now, but to me, this comparison must be made:
- We were in the same conference in Super Rugby and our teams played each other twice.
- South Africa's resting and rotation policies both in Super Rugby as well as Rugby Championship proved to work. And this policy has been used for the second 4-year RWC cycle in a row now. We were 3rd in 2015 in the RWC and 1st this time around. That is something factual that our players can go the whole way in a World Cup tournament, be competitive in Super Rugby and RC, while limiting injuries and fatigue of players.
- 1 loss in a World Cup is not the end of the tournament. I know a lot of Argentine fans are blaming the loss against France as the main reason for their demise, but that to me is a very narrow-minded approach to this campaign.
- Player selection. South Africa went through a process where foreign based players was only allowed to be selected if they played more than 30 tests for SA, and we found that this policy is not working, and abolished that policy. We selected Cheslin Kolbe, Faf De Klerk, Frans Steyn, Francois Louw, Vincent Koch, Franco Mostert, Cobus Reinach & Willie Le Roux. With only Le Roux, Steyn and Louw having more than 30 test caps. You have to choose your best players, no matter where they play in the world, but in doing so, you have to involve them in the planning process, and have them play some games and have them in the training camps, and not out of necessity because someone got injured.
