Sunwolves must 'face the demon' after Super Rugby mauling
By AFP
Last Updated: 22/04/16 12:13pm
The Sunwolves will look to avoid another mauling after a torrid start to the Tokyo franchise's first season in Super Rugby when they face Los Jaguares on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 2.
Last week's humiliating 92-17 defeat by the Cheetahs left the Sunwolves winless after seven games but the Jaguares, also embarking on their first campaign in Super Rugby, have won just once themselves.
"It's all about overcoming adversity together," said Sunwolves head coach Mark Hammett.
"The great thing about being a sportsman is that your ego gets smacked a few times but you need to get back out and face the demon."
After being torn to shreds last weekend in Bloemfontein, former Springboks coach Nick Mallett called Hammett's side "embarrassing" in a scathing attack on television.
Hammett described the performance as "a one-off", as he attempted to bolster the Sunwolves' damaged morale.
"We've returned back physically pretty well from South Africa though there's always an element of jetlag. We're focused on parts of the game where we can be energy-efficient," said the former All Black.
Hammett has made just two changes as he challenges his players to restore pride with a maiden victory against a Jaguares side featuring 13 of the Argentina side who reached the semi-finals of last year's World Cup.
However, the visitors expect a backlash from a Sunwolves side keen to banish the memory of one of Super Rugby's worst ever defeats.
"We need to be good in the forwards in the scrum and line-out and we need to be good in defence. We are expecting a tough game," said Jaguares captain Agustin Creevy.
The Sunwolves joined Super Rugby on the back of Japan's astonishing performance at the World Cup where the Brave Blossoms won three pool games, including a 34-32 shock upset over two-time champions South Africa.
But delays to naming playing and coaching staff ate into valuable preparation time during pre-season, and the squad's lack of depth has been found badly wanting.
Sunwolves: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Viliami Lolohea, 13 Derek Carpenter, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Mifiposeti Paea, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Atsushi Hiwasa; 1 Masataka Mikami, 2 Shota Horie (c), 3 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 5 Liaki Moli, 6 Yoshiya Hosoda, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 8 Ed Quirk.
Replacements: 16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Jiwon Gu, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Fa'atiga Lemalu, 20 Taiyo Ando, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Yasutaka Sasakura.
Jaguares: 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 12 Santiago González Iglesias, 11 Lucas González Amorosino, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou; 1 Felipe Arregui, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Matías Alemanno, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 8 Facundo Isa.
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Matías Orlando, 20 Rodrigo Báez, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Joaquín Paz, 23 Emiliano Boffelli.
Watch Sunwolves v Jaguares live on Sky Sports 2 HD on Saturday from 6.10am. Catch all of Saturday's Super Rugby action for £6.99 with a NOW TV day pass.