Schmidt’s bet pays off as Wallabies reserve brigade secure win over Eddie’s Japan

Joe Schmidt lauded the grit of a makeshift Australian side, and earned the praise of rival coach Eddie Jones, after the Wallabies survived a late fightback by the Brave Blossoms to win 19-15 in Tokyo.

In slippery conditions that turned the Test match into a dour battle, the Wallabies appeared to be untroubled by the absence of many big stars - who’d been rested - and heading towards a comfortable win in their spring tour opener.

They held a 14-3 lead at halftime at the National Stadium, and with several tries having been disallowed, looked on track to push away in the second half.

But the Japan side refused to lie down. Defying the loss of two men to yellow cards, the Jones-led side surged back into the game in the second half with two tries and the sniff of a major upset was in the air for the world no.13 side.

Led by veteran backrower Michael Leitch and granite-shouldered hooker Hayate Era, Japan turned up the defensive pressure and the Wallabies began to falter.

But after three earlier attempts were denied by the referee, impressive Wallabies flanker Carlo Tizzano scored a crucial try from a rolling maul, and it proved to be the difference.

With Japan coming home the stronger, the Wallabies managed to hang tough in defence and steered by a composed Jake Gordon at halfback, held on until the siren sounded.

It wasn’t pretty, with the Wallabies lineout faltering for much of the night, but it was a win.

And one that probably wouldn’t have been secured in many years of the last decade, given injury problems throughout and the momentum built by Japan in a panicky last half-hour,.

The Wallabies’ four-point win denied Japan their first-ever win over the Wallabies, and Jones a satisfying win over his old side. It also ensured the Wallabies avoided an unhelpful slide back to eighth in the world rankings.

The win represented a winning bet for Schmidt, too, who avoided another humbling defeat to Japan (he lost to the Brave Blossoms with Ireland in 2019) and now has fresh stars available for next weekend’s clash with England in London.

A majority of the Wallabies usual starting side not on the field. Needing to preserve the energy of many big stars like Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Nick Frost, Fraser McReight and Max Jorgensen ahead a tough spring tour, Schmidt admitted he’d taken a calculated risk by deploying players from the deeper parts of his squad, many of whom have barely played this year.

Rustiness duly unfolded, and that was compounded by game-ending injuries to two locks - Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and his replacement Josh Canham inside the first 20 minutes. That saw normal skipper Harry Wilson come on, helpfully, and stand-in skipper Nick Champion de Crespigny move to the second row, in what proved a highly commendable debut performance as leader. He also grabbed his first try for the Wallabies.

“I don’t think it needed to be that tense. I thought we probably scored a couple that we didn’t get reward for,” Schmidt said post-game.

“But sometimes that’s the way it goes and you’ve got to just work your way back and go again. And they kept working their way back. It was wet tonight, very difficult conditions. You would have seen a pretty high error rate from both teams just because the ball was slippery.

“And losing both our locks in the first 20 minutes also made it difficult.

“(Making 13 changes) was a risk, but one calculated around the quality of a young men putting their hand up and trying to work their way into the mix for the big games coming up,” he said. “So it was great to get those changes out there and to get guys a bit of game time and to build a bit of confidence at the same time. I really admired the grit.

“We actually had to really roll our sleeves up and keep fighting for that one.”

Jones was gracious in defeat, and said his young side had given up too much ground in the first half for their second-half surge to turn into a famous upset.

“We had our opportunities and we didn’t start the game well enough. Test match rugby, I think if you score the first try, gives you a 70% chance of winning and we were just slow out of the blocks,” he said.

“It was was of those games when you’ve got a young team playing against a big team, they watch them a little bit. We were beaten up around the breakdown and our line-out didn’t function well. But they showed plenty of character and a difficult game in difficult conditions.”

Speaking to Stan Sport after the game, Jones was asked by Tim Horan about the Wallabies’ progression since his tumultous stint with the side in 2023.

“I think it’s really good, Tim, that Australia’s rising to become a world power again. I was just chatting to Joe Schmidt, he’s done a good job there,” Jones said.

“The big thing they’ve really developed, the young players, is their ability to stay in the game and keep fighting, not get disappointed with the game. And as a result, they’re in every game. They’re a chance of winning. It’s been good progress.”

The Wallabies have injury worries ahead of their trip to London, however, with Salakaia-Loto and Canham in doubt for the rest of the tour. Tom Robertson also left the field with a concussion.

Eddie Jones has also jumped on the line for Stan Sport from Tokyo and while he said his Japanese team were too slow out of the blocks in the first half to turn a second-half surge into a win, he did praise the Wallabies’ revival under his successor Joe Schmidt.

“We had our opportunities and we didn’t start the game well enough. Test match rugby, I think if you score the first try, gives you a 70% chance of winning and we were just slow out of the blocks.

“It was was of those games when you’ve got a young team playing against a big team, they watch them a little bit. We were beaten up around the breakdown and our line-out didn’t function well. But they showed plenty of character and a difficult game in difficult conditions.”

Asked by Tim Horan about the Wallabies’ progression since his time in 2023, Jones said: “I think it’s really good, Tim, that Australia’s rising to become a world power again. I was just chatting to Joe Schmidt, he’s done a good job there.

“The big thing they’ve really developed, the young players, is their ability to stay in the game and keep fighting, not get disappointed with the game. And as a result, they’re in every game. They’re a chance of winning. It’s been good progress.“

The Wallabies have hung on for a tense 19-15 win over Japan - and old coach Eddie Jones - after tough afternoon in the Tokyo wet.

The Australian side, missing many rested star players, led 14-3 at halftime and after having several tries disallowed as well, it appeared the Wallabies would prove too strong for Japan in the second half.

But even with a few men in the sin bin, the world no.13 side refused to die, and on the back of outstanding defence from the likes of Michael Leitch and hooker Hayate Era, Japan score two tries in the second half and were attacking with confidence in the final quarter.

But a third try to Carlo Tizzano, some gritty Wallabies defence and the wily game management and kicking of halfback Jake Gordon allowed the visitors to fend off the late Japanese challenge.

It wasn’t pretty in wet weather conditions but it was a win, and done while fielding a second-string team that also saw several injuries throughout that caused further shuffling of an already makeshift side. In past years, it was a panicky last half-hour that would have seen the Wallabies crash to a humbling defeat.

Needing to rest several big names ahead of a five-week tour, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt rolled the dice and gambled on the depth of his squad to get the job done - and not fall back in the world rankings.

And while it almost ended up in disaster, the win will keep the Wallabies rolling and allow some big stars to now return rested for the remainder of the tour.

The Japanese are finishing stronger, and a try will give them their first ever win over Australia. Not to mention Eddie Jones getting bragging rights over his old team.

Strap in.

Japan have their backs up and the Wallabies are just holding on here.

Sniffing an upset, the defence of the home side has been outstanding.

Some simple errors from the Wallabies also putting the visitors under continued pressure.

And on comes Aidan Ross in his Test debut. But this is more than just a first Test for the Gosford-born Queensland Red.

Ross later grew up in New Zealand, played for the Chiefs – and was capped for the All Blacks in 2021.

He joins a very rare club of people capped by both Australia and New Zealand.

In the 122 years of Test rugby rivalry, there have been only four men who’ve become ‘Wallablacks’ – Ted Jessep in the 1930s, Des Connor in the 1950s and ’60s, Owen Stephens in the 1970s and Alex Hodgman last year. (Two other Wallabies - Bill Hardcastle and Eddie Stapleton - also have All Black numbers from playing in tour matches, but were not capped).

To put it in context, only three people have played for both India and Pakistan in cricket, and there’s been five cricketers who’ve played on both sides of an Ashes contest.

He’s finally got his try! Carlo Tizzano has struck back for the Wallabies, with an immediate response after Japan’s try.

The Aussies kicked deep from the kickoff and after turning over the ball, kept up the pressure. A lineout maul saw that effective maul deployed and it was an easy steam to the line.

58 mins: Wallabies 19 Japan 8