Two former Australian internationals have been secured by Japan to coach the national squad for the Rugby World Cup in October.

Mark Ella, 43, who captained Australia for ten Test matches in 1982 and 1983, was appointed a technical advisor, and Mark Bell, 34, was named a scrum coach.

Bell left for home on Friday due to a sudden illness in his family.

They will join the team for a training camp in Australia and all the preparation matches for the World Cup, including Tests against Russia in May, Australia in June and England in July.

"My role is technical advisory to support the national coach (Shogo Mukai). We are working on the weakness that the coach has already indicated," said Ella, whose twin brother Glen also helped Japan in 1996.

Ella said the weaknesses of the Japanese team were the scrum and one-on-one defence, while its strong points were "how they work together as a unit" and "speed".

"Generally, the standard of Japanese rugby, I think, we've got a strong foundation," said Ella.

"I'm sure that Mark and I can help development with the national coach to make sure that the players are very skilled and better equipped throughout this year and certainly through the World Cup.

"My job is to help the players with the skills and look at how they play the game now and hopefully we can improve the way they play the game," added Ella.

Japan has only one win against 11 defeats, including a history-making 17-145 loss to New Zealand, in four appearances in the World Cup. It is drawn against France, Fiji and Scotland in Group B.

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