Japan players channel spirit of the samurai in 'do or die' Rugby World Cup match against Argentina

TOULOUSE, France (AP) — It’s “Samurai Time” for Japan at the Rugby World Cup.

The equation facing the Japanese is quite simple heading into their final pool game against Argentina in Nantes on Sunday.

Essentially, it’s win or go home.

For that reason, Japan’s players are channeling the spirit of the samurai — warriors recruited for military service by chieftains from around the 10th century — for their biggest game of the tournament.

“We have a day for attack and defense but instead of the coaches running them, the players present their game plans for the week,” Japan team director Yuichiro Fuji said on Thursday.

“It was (prop Keita) Inagaki this week and he talked about how it’s going to be ‘Samurai Time’ — where once we pull the sword out, it’s going to be do or die.”

Going deeper into this part of the country’s culture, Fuji said Japan had to “drop our katana” — the word for sword in Japanese — on Argentina to defeat them.

“Those words about mentality are more important than game plans at this point,” Fuji said.

Argentina and Japan both have nine points, five adrift of already-qualified England in Pool D. Only two teams qualify and England has already won the pool.

The Pumas have a far superior points difference to Japan so have a slight upper hand in case of a draw, although bonus points could come into play.

Fuji was quite blunt about the threat posed by Argentina, which is three places ahead of Japan in the rankings (9 vs. 12).

“Kicking will be key,” he said. “They have a pretty good set-piece, too, but (scrum coach Shin) Hasegawa is really confident about his scrum, so that’s where it will come down to.

“Their attack in general phase plays is not that much of a threat, but we need to be aware of their players’ speed, kicking quality and distance, and obviously goal kicking.”

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AP Rugby World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby