Former Japan scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka is predicting the Brave Blossoms will peak at the right time for the Rugby World Cup in France, where they look to better their quarterfinal finish from the home tournament in 2019.
A member of Eddie Jones' 2015 squad in England, where they famously stunned South Africa in Brighton, Tanaka appeared in his third World Cup, under current head coach Jamie Joseph four years ago, when they reached the knockout phase for the first time.
Even though Japan lost twice to the All Blacks XV and World Cup Pool D rivals Samoa before beating Tonga in July, Japan's first Super Rugby player talked up the Brave Blossoms' potential ahead of this year's tournament, which kicks off Sept. 8.
"Each Japan player's ability is higher than in 2019. There's a good chance of them making the last four," said the 38-year-old, still going strong at Green Rockets Tokatsu in the domestic League One.
The 24-22 defeat to Samoa on July 23 in Sapporo was a damper for Japan fans, particularly with Michael Leitch being sent off in the first half. However, Tanaka expects Japan to prevail when the two teams meet again in their Pool-stage match on Sept. 28 in Toulouse.
"The World Cup is a tournament that carries a different atmosphere. If we don't fight as one, we could lose to Samoa in the pool phase," he said.
"(But) it was amazing Japan fought them that well with 14 men. I think they'll be alright at the match (in September) and they should win."
While Japan started nervously against Russia in their 2019 opener, Tanaka expects Japan to deal better with Chile in their first match this time around, given the increased number of players with previous World Cup experience.
Tanaka indicated that the departure of Jones as England head coach has left him with the impression that Japan's second Pool-phase opponents are "starting to play more as individuals than a team," and warned the Brave Blossoms about their final group opponents Argentina, who have recently beaten New Zealand, Australia and England.
"They're good with kicks and are improving their defense too. They've gotten stronger at the point of contact and smarter since joining the Rugby Championship," he said. "The record and points difference up till that final (pool) match will also become important."
Japan have set an audacious target of winning the World Cup and their key players claim they had to set the bar high given what they went through in 2019.
After taking the scalps of Tier 1 Ireland and Scotland en route to winning all four Pool-stage matches, Japan went down 26-3 in Tokyo to eventual champions South Africa in their first-ever knockout-phase match.
"When you aim for the last eight, the last eight becomes the goal once you reach there," said back-row forward Leitch, who is in line to make his fourth straight World Cup appearance at age 34. "We have the ability to go up to the next stage. We'll aim to be the best of the best."
The ultimate goal was set in February when Japan's World Cup hopefuls gathered for a mini-training camp. They agreed on the need to have a uniform mindset, even from the preparation period, to aim beyond the last eight, and train more vigorously than for the last tournament.
It meant higher, heavier targeted figures set for each player in weight training compared to 2019. A daily hour-long, relentless tackling practice during the June training camp was billed "the toughest ever" by players, with any sign or gesture of fatigue by one player resulting in a collective penalty.
The "One Team" team slogan for Jamie Joseph's side in 2019 has evolved to "Our Team" ahead of this year's World Cup, with each player urged to take their own initiative and contribute to the group.
"Our mind was set," 33-year-old prop Keita Inagaki said of the February discussion. "We can improve so much more."
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