Scotland head coach Vern Cotter has insisted that he has not been surprised by Japan's start to the Rugby World Cup.
The Brave Blossoms shocked the sporting world by beating two-time champions South Africa in their opening game of the tournament, and they matched Scotland for long spells just four days later at Kingsholm Stadium.
Cotter's side eventually ran out 45-10 victors courtesy of five second-half tries, but the New Zealand-born coach stressed that the match was not as comfortable as the final scoreline suggests.
"We've been watching Japan for the last two-and-half months and we weren't surprised by their tenacity, commitment and motivation to do well," Cotter told Sports Mole.
"You could see against South Africa that they've had this World Cup firmly in mind for a long period of time and it showed again today. They had 100% commitment and had a very difficult style of playing for our defence. It was a great test for us.
"Did we change? No, it just reinforced a lot of what we thought. They brought a couple of players on today that we hadn't seen, and I thought our guys adapted well to counter them, even though they were under pressure. We're happy to come out on the positive side of the scoreboard."
Scotland's bonus-point victory puts them top of Pool B ahead of their match against USA in Leeds on Sunday.
Barney Corkhill
