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Japan to play Kiwi legends
March 27, 2007
NEW Zealand All Blacks veterans will play two matches in May against minnow Japan, who is hoping to show its determination ahead of the World Cup, organisers said.
The 21-man Classic All Black squad - featuring Jonah Lomu, Carlos Spencer and Justin Marshall - will face off with Japan on May 9 and 12 in the western city of Kobe and Tokyo, the Japan Rugby Football Union said.
Japan's coach John Kirwan, himself an All Blacks legend who helped New Zealand win the inaugural World Cup in 1987, said the games would provide practice for the World Cup in France.
"We need games like this to give us confidence," he said in a statement, dismissing the idea that the matches would be a cakewalk for his former teammates.
"They are going to go out and play like All Blacks. They won't want to lose but neither do we," he said.
Japan has set themselves a daunting task of two wins in the World Cup in France, although it has won just one of its 16 matches in the past five World Cups.
In a campaign spearheaded by rugby-loving former premier Yoshiro Mori, Japan is also bidding to host the World Cup in 2015. Japan lost to New Zealand for the rights to the 2011 tournament in a bitter vote.
"We have to demonstrate to the world that we are serious about being a world player," Kirwan said.
AAP
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