TOKYO :Japan coach Eddie Jones is not the only man with Australian roots plotting an upset of the Wallabies on Saturday with Dylan Riley and his teammates Ben Gunter, Jack Cornelsen and Sam Greene all having been raised Down Under.
Centre Riley made his Brave Blossoms debut along with flanker Gunter in the 32-23 loss to Australia in Oita four years ago and is looking forward to pulling on the red and white jersey for the 34th time at Tokyo’s National Stadium.
“It’s the place where I grew up, and the country that gave me the opportunity,” said the 28-year-old, who was born in South Africa but raised on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
“To play against the Wallabies then and now, I’m always just grateful. I’m super honoured to give back so that’s what I’m looking to do from tomorrow.
“Obviously, the emotion comes into it when you’re out on the field, but I know my role and what I need to do for the game, so I just try and focus on that.”
Australia have opted to rest many of their top players for Saturday’s match as they start a sequence of five tests in five weeks up until the end of November.
The Wallabies have enjoyed a resurgence under Joe Schmidt, Jones’ successor as coach, this year and Riley said Japan would not underestimate them.
“They’re a strong team,” he added. “It’s obviously a different combination from what they’ve put out previously, but nonetheless, very strong. So we’ll look to shut down their key ball runners and put pressure on them.”
Riley said Japan had also made great strides this year and thought their fast-paced style would test Australia as they eye a first-ever win over the twice world champions.
“Throughout the year we’ve gone quite far, which is good to see. And we’re only going to go up from here,” the skilful centre said.
“We obviously like to play fast, so we have to be fast in the way we think and the way we move.”
Even though he has been in Japan since his early 20s, Riley said there would be a few of the Wallabies players on the field on Saturday who he played against in his youth.
“It’ll be good to catch up after the game,” he said. “But for now, I’m focused on what I need to do to stop them within the game.”
