Fiji vs Japan in Tokyo is Jake White's first Test as Fiji coach

Jake White's time in charge of Fiji begins against the side that beat them for a title only a month ago: Eddie Jones' Japan, in Tokyo.

Fiji named White as their coach the week before this Test, and his first match will be at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium on Saturday 24 October, kicking off at 14:50 local time. The sides last met in September's Pacific Nations Cup final, where Japan won 20-15 to take the trophy.

Very little separates them on paper. Japan sit ninth in the World Rugby rankings and Fiji tenth, with 0.47 points between them.

A difficult year for Fiji

White arrives after a rough few months for the Flying Fijians. Fiji parted ways with coach Mick Byrne in April, and then lost all three of their Nations Championship Tests in July under interim coach Senirusi Seruvakula. One of those defeats was a 73-8 loss to England in Liverpool.

His brief, TimesLIVE reported, is to make Fiji serious contenders at next year's World Cup in Australia, where they are in Pool C with Argentina, Canada and Spain. That tournament falls 20 years after White coached South Africa to their second World Cup title, in France.

Aiming for a first semi-final

The Fiji Rugby Union chair, John Sanday, hopes White can take the team to a World Cup semi-final for the first time. Three years ago, Fiji beat Australia on their way to the quarterfinals.

Sanday was clear about the style he wants to see. "There’s nothing more fearful than a Fijian player running with the ball. Why are we kicking the ball away?" he said, adding: "We always want to maintain what we’re good at and just fix what we’re not good at,"

After this Test, White's next step is a move to Fiji in January. He will stay for at least six months, working with Fijian Drua and searching local competitions for talent.