Les Kiss reflects on debut Wallabies win over Japan: ‘When we had to find a way, we did find a way’
Les Kiss reflects on debut Wallabies win over Japan: 'When we had to find a way, we did find a way'
Les Kiss has praised his side for managing to “find a way” to beat Japan in a thrilling match at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka on Saturday.
In the press conference following the match, the Wallabies boss claimed that he “expected nothing less” than what the Japanese team put out, adding, “I’ve got to give them credit for sure for the way they played the game.”
The Wallabies were pushed all the way, being forced to thump the ball high into the gods on the 80-minute buzzer after a last-minute try from Warner Dearns pulled Japan to within just three points of their visitors.
This was the case throughout the game; whenever Australia appeared to take the game by the scruff of the neck, Japan got themselves right back into it. Despite the hosts’ persistence, Kiss’ side managed to do what needed to be done.
“When we had to find a way, we did find a way,” Kiss said. “I thought the conditions alone were tough, but we’ve seen what a Japanese team can do on their home turf here in their backyard, and we had to put out all the stops. So it’s a good week, a good solid week with some quality in there and a few things to work on.”
The boys in gold were certainly put through the wringer, both in preparing for the game and the match itself, but Kiss believes that they have now come out stronger.
“Our conditions were very tough, and we obviously had a few weeks to prepare for, and I think that really put us in some good stead to feel a bit more acclimatised than we could have.”
The 20-minute red
The Wallabies found themselves on the back foot in the middle third of the game, going down to 14 men after Miles Amatosero received a 20-minute red card for a high shot in which he failed to attempt to wrap his arms.
The 24-year-old only made his debut against Italy, and has received plenty of praise from former players already, including Matt Giteau, who claimed: “This kid loves a smack; he loves the physicality.”
Unfortunately for the Wallaby rookie, his physicality left his team in the lurch this weekend, and they conceded a try just minutes after being given his marching orders.
Captain, Harry Wilson, said: “Once we had the red, we knew we were under the pump there, but we got a little bit lucky knowing it was half time in the middle, and all the coaches gave us a really good plan how to play with the red card for the next 11 minutes of the second half, and that put us in a pretty good position there. And then once we got the second-rower back in the field, we had a lot more confidence.”
The Wallabies still managed to score a couple of tries with a man short, but there was a noticeable improvement in their defence during the final third of the match, forcing Japan into penalty kicks rather than allowing them over for a seven-point score.
“We’re happy with the performance to get a win here in these conditions,” continued Wilson. “We knew it was going to be tough to get the result, but we’re really happy.
“But saying that, there are definitely a few areas in our game which we need to improve on next week.
“That’s the beauty of a two-game series. We get to see each other, and we get to go to battle again. And we’ll have a few areas I’m sure we’ll review very accurately and make sure we can fix.”