RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Eddie Jones has revealed an interesting method he uses to coach his Japan side - watching videos of geese fly in formation.
Japan are facing Australia in a two-Test, home and away series this month, and Jones' side were beaten 35-32 by the Wallabies in Osaka last weekend.
The former England coach has made five changes for the second Test in Townsville, Australia on Saturday (06:15 BST), including picking university student Yoshitaka Yazaki on the wing and giving Shunsuke Uenobo his first start at centre.
Jones said Japan's support play "wasn't as sharp as we would have liked" in the opening game, so he has turned to nature to get his point across.
"The reason we watch videos of geese is that the head of the flock is like the ball-carrier," the Australian said.
"The ball carrier is king, and then everyone else has got to follow after that.
"The geese fly hundreds, thousands of miles in formation and they follow the one goose in front, and it's the responsibility of the support players to respond to what the ball-carrier does."
Australia overcame an early red card for Miles Amatosero to defeat home side Japan and seal their first win under new head coach Les Kiss, who succeeded Joe Schmidt earlier this year.
With his geese videos in hand, Jones said Japan have "set ourselves the task of really taking it to Australia this week".
He added: "We're very disappointed to lose the last game, so the most important thing now is how we take on this game."
Jones is not the only coach to have used geese to motivate his players.
During 26 trophy-laden years at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson would often stop training and tell his players to look to the sky and observe the geese overhead.
Pointing out the perfect V formation, Ferguson would tell his players that each bird would take its turn to lead from the front as they embarked on a 4,000-mile migration in the winter.
Finally, he would add: "Now if they can do that, you can give me 38 games to win the league."
Ferguson famously used the story to motivate Team Europe's players at the 2014 Ryder Cup.
The Scot was asked to speak to the players before the tournament in Gleneagles by team captain Paul McGinley, where he recounted the story of the geese.
Europe strolled to victory , with McGinley revealing afterwards that the players heeded Ferguson's words throughout the tournament.
"It was a phrase we used throughout the week: remember the geese," McGinley said.
"I'd never worked with superstars so dealing with the likes of Rory McIlroy and how he was going to feel in that situation was alien to me. Sir Alex is the one who I thought could help me with that.
"He spoke to the caddies before he spoke to the players, which was great.
"It was a lot of fun for them and made them feel included, because they were a big part of what we did. I could hear the laughter coming from the caddies' room so I knew it was going well.
"When he came in he knew every player's name and addressed everyone personally.
"When we won, this perfect V of geese flew right over our heads and over the clubhouse."
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