Eddie Jones: I’ll be searching the universe for wingers who can score tries

Japan head coach Eddie Jones today provided an evaluation of his vastly improved side 24 hours after their Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) final win over Fiji, while outlining plans to scour the globe for try-scoring wingers to add to his squad.

Two-time former Wallabies head coach Jones, 66, led the Brave Blossoms to their first PNC title since 2019 with a gritty 20-15 triumph over undermanned Fiji in front of 17,421 fans at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium.

Jones addressed the media at the Japan Rugby’s headquarters on Sunday afternoon as he reflected on a highly encouraging year for the Brave Blossoms so far while indicating where there’s room for improvement with one year to go until the World Cup.

“If you look at the results, we have beat two teams and above us in Italy and Fiji and we have really tested our depth,” said the Australian.

“We have had a number of players out injured such as Keijiro Tamefusa, Yota Kamimori (both props), Amato Fakatava (number eight) and Tyler Paul (loose forward) and Warner Dearns was not involved.

“We are producing really good depth and competition for places. There’s still certain areas we need to build more depth and that’s our challenge for the next 12 months. There’s a long way to go to get ready for the World Cup.”

Japan, who were PNC runners-up to Fiji in 2024 and 2025, routed USA 63-14 in the semi-final in Osaka last Saturday and outfought Fiji to clinch the trophy on home soil. The bulk of the defending champions’ squad came from Super Rugby side Fijian Drua with their France-based players unavailable as the Top 14 and Pro D2 has already kicked off.

Jones has stressed the need for depth since his return and revealed that the door is still open for uncapped players to stake a claim for his World Cup squad in 12 months' time.

The 2017 World Rugby Coach of The Year highlighted a lack of depth on the wing and vowed to unearth some new Japan-qualified players to offer competition to yesterday’s starters Inoke Burua and Tomoki Osada.

“We’re still looking for talented players. One position we need more options in is on the wing.

“We need players who can score tries. Kippei Ishida is injured, Inoke Burua is developing, I thought he was outstanding last night. Tomoki Osada is only just back available. Kazuma Ueda is developing really well.

“I’ll be searching the universe for wingers who can score tries. If you’ve got any tips, I'm open to suggestions.”

Jones praised the impact of former Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson who was officially added to his coaching ticket this month. RugbyJP.com broke the story that Jackson had joined the Brave Blossoms setup in July.

“Glen Jackson has had a really good effect on the team. He’s brought new ideas in terms of tactics, and we’ve experimented with different attacking ideas. Now we have a number of options in how we attack.”

Jones, whose contract runs until the end of the World Cup next year, believes that while there’s no shortage of talent in Japan, the younger members of his squad will take time to flourish on the Test rugby stage.

“There’s enough talent in Japan but the talent needs time to develop,” he said before singling out their fast-rising fly-half Ryunosuke Ito who he has turned to this year in the absence of seasoned number 10 Lee Seung-sin who is recovering from an Achilles injury.

“Ito is as good as any 10 in the world his age. I’ll be bold enough to say that he’s the best in the world at his age but he needs to be playing at the highest level.”

The 21-year-old Meiji University talent, who we reported in July will be joining Suntory Sungoliath next season, has won eight caps this year and has shone as a fearless, fast-thinking playmaker who can carve up defences with his twinkle-toed sidestepping ability.

“There’s great talent out here. We need to bring them through. We'll work on that target for the next 12 months and then it’s not my concern but it’s certainly the concern of the JRFU.”

Japan’s captain and ex-Toulouse star Naoto Saito, who was filling in for Super Rugby winner Dearns who was rested for the PNC campaign, won Player of The Tournament and his key role was acknowledged by his head coach.

"Naoto is someone who has really impressed me,” said Jones on his first-choice scrum-half who has returned to his former team Suntory following the retirement of Japan legend Yutaka Nagare.

“He has come back from France a better player, he has a great mind for the game and he’s really added to the team as our captain. With Warner’s absence, he’s really stepped up in the captaincy role and he’s an example of the positive progress we’ve made as a team.”