Eddie Jones said Tuesday that next year¡¯s Rugby World Cup schedule gives smaller teams a ¡°fair¡± chance of upsetting the sport¡¯s big boys as he plots another shock with Japan.
Organizers unveiled the fixture list for the tournament in Australia in 2027, which features 24 teams for the first time and gives all sides roughly a week between matches.
Jones was in charge when Japan stunned South Africa at the 2015 World Cup but then had only four days to prepare for its next game against Scotland, which it went on to lose.
The Australian is now in his second spell as Japan coach and he said next year¡¯s World Cup schedule was ¡°pretty equitable¡± for all teams.
¡°We¡¯ve got six days between every game, which is a fair preparation period,¡± said the Australian, whose team has been drawn in a pool with France, Samoa and the United States.
¡°I remember in 2015 we beat South Africa and we were on the bus the next day to prepare to play Scotland ¡ª that¡¯s hard going.
¡°Now I think it¡¯s quite equitable so I think they¡¯ve done a good job.¡±
Japan reached the quarterfinals for the first time as World Cup hosts in 2019 but failed to get past the pool stage four years later in France.
The Brave Blossoms will start their 2027 campaign against Samoa before facing France and then the U.S.
Jones said his players would have to ¡°work a little bit harder to get better¡± before the tournament kicks off on Oct. 1 next year.
¡°Where do we want to finish? We want to go as high as we can,¡± he said.
¡°There¡¯s no limit to where we want to finish. The only limit that we¡¯ve got is the amount of hard work that we¡¯re prepared to do.¡±
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