Although disappointed by the 26-3 defeat, Joseph had only words of praise for his bruised but courageous players. There has been a lot of work from a lot people, and it has been relentless,” said Joseph, who took over as head coach in 2016. However, it was his team’s relentless effort in the final stages, despite knowing they were going out of the World Cup, that most pleased Joseph. Japan battled on, despite a couple of players carrying injuries, including props Jiwoon Koo, Keita Inagaki and flyhalf Yu Tamura. “The players and the brand of rugby we have been playing has always been inspiring but the difference is everyone is watching us now,” said Joseph.

Source: National Post October 20, 2019 14:37 UTC