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Fresh start ahead (22)

• Ryan Jones
• 20 Sep 07, 11:42 AM

Swansea - With the crunch having come and gone, has the feeling of a fresh start about it.

Everything Wales have done since the Six Nations has been done with that Australia game in mind and of course we would have hoped to emerge victorious from it. However that wasn’t to be and now that the Plan A has been derailed, it’s time for us to crack on with Plan B.

The primary goal still remains a quarter-final berth and to get there as group runners-up we must first negotiate the challenges of the final two group games, starting with the .

As I have said previously in this blog, I do not foresee the game causing any problems for Wales if we play anywhere near to our full potential - and that remains the case. In fact, with the prospective quarter-final tie against in mind, it seems the schedule of Pool B could not have worked out better for Wales.

gave us the opportunity to settle in to the competition before the Australia match and, even though we fell short there, we now have the opportunity to recuperate from that loss and restore confidence by producing two emphatic performances to beat Japan and .

In saying that I do not want to sound presumptuous or show either nation less than the utmost respect.

Japan is one of the fastest growing rugby nations in the world and will come to Cardiff with nothing other than victory in mind. Should we underestimate them then we will get stung. But I know how the boys will prepare for this game and there'll be absolutely no complacency.

Wales will have a handful of players stepping onto the field for the first time in this, or any other, World Cup. They’ll be determined and eager, not just for this match but also the opportunity to stake a claim for a starting spot against Fiji following the failure against the Aussies and .

The Japanese will not be able to match the defensive organisation we showed in the last match and hopefully we can break the with more regularity earlier in the game this time round. In doing so, we can spark the up-tempo off-loading game that was so effective for the relative periods in the first two matches.

I’m sure we can achieve this and, after an inevitable period of stubborn resistance from the Japanese, open the game up to play the way we can. I’m confident of this and although I don’t think we’ll be scaling the heights of we handed out to them in our last fixture I see Wales winning by a stretch.

Finally, following the responses to my last blog, there are a couple of matters I’d like to attend to.

Firstly, to Legga: I was aware of the young fella you refer to in your post and I can assure you the vomit-stained individual was not with me. I must say however that I thought his long-hair, to which you also refer, was nothing short of magnificent and, prior to his , he was great company.

Secondly, to Otto: you should never believe what ‘Dirty Dan from Aberfan’ says. He’s renowned in these parts as something of a Jackanory and his words are about as trustworthy as his failing eye-sight and his dodgy hearing.

To set the record straight, the song I was singing was and the alleged stuffed Wallaby under my arm was in fact my stuffed Osprey called Shane which I am never without! Ha-ha!

Thanks for you comments though and keep them coming.

C’mon Wales!

Ryan Jones plays number eight for Wales but misses the World Cup through injury.

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