Japan happy to be taking on France's best team

The former All Blacks winger, who scored seven World Cup tries in a glittering career, said his France counterpart, Marc Lievremont, has shown just how seriously he takes the Japanese threat by refusing to pick a second-string team.

"I saw it this morning and am really pleased that they're playing their top side," Kirwan said Tuesday. "They have (Francois) Trinh-Duc at stand off so I'm just really pleased they're playing their top side."

France beat Japan 51-29 at the 2003 World Cup, but Kirwan expects the Japanese to be more difficult to breach in defense this time. France winger Vincent Clerc, who has 30 international tries, is also included in the French XV.

Japan has improved considerably since its 145-17 thrashing at the hands of New Zealand in 1995 — which is still a World Cup record for most points conceded, but was surpassed as the largest margin when Australia beat Namibia 142-0 in 2003.

Japan also faces the All Blacks this time in Group A, but Kirwan insists he wants it no other way because he knows such tests are crucial if Japan hopes to continue learning from the world's top rugby nations.

"I think as a second-tier nation we need to know what to do to get better, so bring it on," said Kirwan, who scored six tries in New Zealand's run to the title at the inaugural World Cup in 1987. "You don't want to come here and have it be easy. It should be like this and I'm pleased."

Japan will be dominated in the scrum, where hooker Shota Horie will face William Servat one of world's best in that position. Servat will be flanked by props Fabien Barcella and Nicolas Mas, a daunting prospect for Japan to deal with.

"Their three in the front row are just huge," Horie said. "How we withstand them will be a big part of the game."

Japan, which also plays Canada and Tonga in Group A matches, is aiming to finish with at least two wins and at least in third place in the group in order to qualify automatically for the 2015 World Cup.