RWC 2015: Scotland prepared for Japan challenge, insists prop WP Nel – ‘we

South Africa, meanwhile, have fallen three places into sixth spot as a result of the 34-32 defeat against Japan in Brighton.

But this was undoubtedly their most satisfying World Cup success, with flanker Giorgi Tkhilaishvili sealing the deal when he touched down after 57 minutes, while full-back Merab Kvirikashvili kicked a penalty and two conversions.

Japan coach Eddie Jones’s rise in stock has not been bad news for all South African fans, with the Australian-born mastermind named as the new coach of Super Rugby side DHL Stormers.

Dozens of Japanese journalists have flown in to Gloucester while media personnel from other countries have also hurriedly arranged to attend in case lightning strikes twice. We’re really looking forward to the game. “So we will go into it with an open mind and adjust on the back of what we feel has happened and how the flow of the game is going”.

“They’ve got dangers all over the park so we’re very aware of that, we understand them”. We’re pretty excited.

He said: “Watching Japan perform certainly gave me a little bit less sleep that night. Whether that makes us favourites or not, I’m not sure”.

Jones has made six changes to the side which stunned the Springboks, with Amanaki Lelei Mafi replacing injured number eight Hendrick Tui.

Scotland “get outscored consistently in the second half”.

“That’s something that he believes in”.

“I completely lost the plot at the end of the game”. “It simply reinforced what we already knew”.

More importantly though, Japan’s win has turned Pool B on its head, and could affect the composition of the quarter-finals significantly.

“They will have taken a lot of confidence from their opening win over South Africa”.

“What is quite hard for us is not to go back into our shells, but rather take this competition by the scruff of its neck and go out and win this match”.

“But we are confident we can do that job”. We are prepared.

He said: “The biggest challenge was finding a way to play rugby effectively with smaller players and secondly, we had to change their mindset”. Have we asked them information? That means with only four days between matches, it will be hard for Japan to recharge their batteries both mentally and physically to face Scotland.

However, Scotland are not taking Japan lightly and their coach Vern Cotter has dismissed talks of complacency in the team.

“If you closely watch the game, Japan were under pressure in the scrum as well”, he claimed.