The Rugby World Cup: Beware the land of the rising fern

THE "MASSACRE at Bloemfontein" casts a long shadow over Japanese rugby. The horrific experience of the 145-17 defeat at the hands of the merciless All Black team during the course of the last World Cup served virtually to obliterate the memories of their excellent performance against Ireland only one week earlier.

That game saw the Japanese almost adding to their only World Cup success to date, over Zimbabwe in 1991. It also saw some of the most sublime passing skills witnessed on a rugby field in the last decade.

This time around, one thing is certain - nobody will annihilate the boys from Kyushu, Kobe and ... Canterbury. To the delight of many, and the dismay of some, the last four years have seen a huge influx of foreign players into Japanese rugby circles. They play for company teams and have now met the three-year residency rule to qualify to play in the cherry- and-white hoops. Alongside the home-grown stars such as Masuta, Masuho and Watanabe are a quintet of hard-bitten, experienced Kiwis who have left the land of the silver fern and settled amongst the sushi and salarymen.

And not just any common-or- garden New Zealanders either three of them - Graeme Bachop, Jamie Joseph and Rob Gordon - are fully- fledged All Blacks, while Greg Smith and Andrew McCormick have a wealth of provincial experience. Such an injection of experience and sheer physicality has had a significant, if not altogether surprising, effect. As with the influx of Kiwi coaches in other parts of the world, the arrival of such antipodean influence has been remarkably beneficial.

The "Cherry Blacks" have beaten two of their Group D opponents - Argentina and Samoa - within the past 12 months and have also shown their mettle by emerging victorious from the recent Pacific Rim tournament. During the course of that event they also defeated Canada and Tonga, losing only to Fiji in the heat and humidity of Suva.

Although much of the attention will be focused on the recently naturalised players, there is ample evidence that some of the home-grown talent has also progressed since 1995. Foremost among these are winger Daisuke Ohata, voted MVP at this year's Hong Kong Sevens, fly-half Keiji Hirose, who set the world record for successful penalty kicks (nine out of nine) in the recent Test against Tonga, and Wataru Murata, who became the first Japanese player to sign professionally in Europe when he joined Bayonne this July.

Allied to their new-found anti-podean nous the Japanese will have their customary assets: pace, both of thought and deed. Technically, Japanese sides have always been very impressive, with handling skills the equal of any other rugby nation, while Ian Williams, the former Wallaby winger who was the first well-known foreigner to appear for Japan, has spoken of the total mental commitment which all Japanese rugby teams bring to the cause.

Their coach, Seiji Hirao, a playing veteran of the previous three World Cups, has no doubt that this team are far better prepared than those in which he played, saying: "The programme for training is much more organised and the motivation, organisation and support for the squad far higher now." The juxtaposition of styles may be just what is required to spring a surprise.

When you look at their group, the playing schedule has done them a few favours. Their matches are spaced out over three consecutive weekends, with no need to recover quickly from a midweek game.

If they are able to catch Samoa cold at Wrexham on the first Sunday of the tournament, then qualification for the second stage may not be beyond them. It is the tightest group in the whole competition, and the clash between the scrummagers of Argentina and the speedsters of Japan will be one for the connoisseur. So if you're looking for this year's surprise package, look no further than the men from the East - straight from Tokyo with just a hint of Taranaki.