Uncapped wing can be better than Cheslin Kolbe – Jones

Japan head coach Eddie Jones believes that uncapped wing Kippei Ishida has the potential to be a better player than South Africa’s two-time World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe.

Yokohama Canon Eagles’ former sevens star Ishida, 25, is in contention to start for Neal Hatley’s Japan XV team against the Maori All Blacks at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Saturday.

With Toshiba’s star wing Jone Naikabula unavailable through injury, Jones has talked up the prospects of livewire Ishida who he believes has the potential to surpass Suntory Sungoliath superstar Kolbe.

“There’s no reason why he can’t be better than Cheslin Kolbe,” Jones boldly stated.   

Ishida, whose favourite player happens to be the Springboks ace, captained the Japan sevens side at the 2024 Paris Olympics and scored 11 tries in League One last term, three more than 2019 and 2023 World Cup winner Kolbe.  

Ishida in the gym with Kolbe's Springboks teammate Jesse Kriel

“He's got power, he’s got a great step, he’s built similar to Cheslin,” added Jones.

Japan has lacked depth on both flanks since the Australian returned to the role that he previously held from 2012 to 2015.

During his first reign, Japan was blessed with the world-class duo of Kenki Fukuoka and Akihito Yamada and now the ambitious Brave Blossoms are looking to unearth homegrown wingers who can go on to reach the same heights as their former stars.

Former England and Wallabies head coach Jones is aiming to develop a deep talent pool with a minimum of four high-quality options in each position in time for the 2027 World Cup.   

Naikabula and Shizuoka Blue Revs’ free-scoring wing Malo Tuitama are Japan’s first-choice wingers with Jones recently casting his eye over Ishida and fellow uncapped talents, Kobe Steelers’ Kazuma Ueda and Kubota Spears’ Halatoa Vailea, along with Black Rams Tokyo’s once-capped Taira Main. 

Picture courtesy of Yokohama

Jones sees Ishida as a leading prospect among his new call-ups and believes that he can emulate Kolbe whose yet to play against the Japanese wing in League One.

“Cheslin’s the best winger in the world but there’s no reason why Ishida can’t be,” Jones added.

“He’s got a fantastic opportunity, I really like the way he (Ishida) plays. It’s about how hard he works now and how quickly he adapts to Test rugby.”

Jones will be looking for a response to his strong words from Ishida and his teammates who will follow the Maori game by playing Wales next week in Kitakyushu and then a week later in Kobe.

Stay tuned to RugbyJP.com for full on-site coverage of Japan XV against the Maori All Blacks and the two Test matches against Wales.