TOKYO: Japan need to obey the rules of physics and become the “fastest team in the world” in order to compensate for their relatively small size, new rugby coach Eddie Jones said Monday. “The game is about momentum. And one of key laws of life is Newton’s second law, which is momentum equals mass times velocity,” Jones said in Tokyo.

Japan “are always going to be on the small size of teams. But the thing we can change is the velocity,” the 63-year-old told a news conference. “Running fast hurts, it hurts, particularly when you get out from the scrum. We have got to change the players’ minds to enjoy pain, push themselves past where they think they can go,” he said.

Jones was re-appointed in December in Japan—a job he held before from 2012-15 -- six weeks following his departure from coaching Australia after a dire showing at the Rugby World Cup. Jones’s first game in charge of Japan will be a home Test in June against England, the team he led to the World Cup final in 2019 before being sacked in 2022 after a dismal run of form.

Returning to Japan is a “big project,” Jones said on Monday. “But I firmly believe that if we go about our business, we are 100-percent focused on being the fastest rugby team in the world, there is no reason why we can’t go to the top of the world,” he said. Jones also said that he wants to use artificial intelligence to train his players to communicate with their eyes. “Gorillas don’t have white in their eyes.

So gorillas never know what each other are thinking. That’s the difference with humans; we have white in our eyes,” he said. “The really good players in the world are those who make quick decisions and are able to read movement through eyes. We have got to be able to train that skill. I have some ideas of how we are going to do it which might involve some artificial intelligence training,” Jones added.

“But we need a way to fast-track that. Because we see too many players with their heads down.” Jones is still revered in Japan for his first stint in charge, when he led the Brave Blossoms to a historic win over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup. Fans want to see “a Japanese team that excites the world. And that’s the team we want to create,” he said on Monday. — AFP