Dubai: It will be a time for consolidation for both as the UAE hosts top side Japan in their HSBC Asian Five Nations (A5N) group encounter at the 7evens at 8 pm today.

With Japan riding high following its two wins from as many matches, it will be time to get a feel of the real test as they run into home favourites and second-placed the UAE in tonight's crucial match.

Japan's coach, though cagey about his team's build-up during the week, was confident of making an improvement in their third match in this competition. "We want to do better than what we have achieved in the last two games," coach John Kirwan admitted.

"As a team we have been working on certain aspects of our game and for sure, we are yet to display peak form," he added.

Japan began their defence as the best team on the continent with a 45-22 win against Hong Kong, and followed this up with a 61-0 annihilation of Kazakhstan last weekend. But not one to be sitting easy on past laurels, the 46-year-old former All Black star was eyeing their best form of the competition in tonight's display.

"It is exciting for us to be here and we want to put things together with a good performance here," Kirwan reiterated.

The Japan coach will definitely be having an eye on the IRB Rugby World Cup that gets under way with the hosts taking on Tonga in their opener at Eden Park in Auckland on September 9. "We set very high standards and always look towards improvement at all times. We need to improve again this weekend," he added.

The UAE will be out to prove that they are no minnows despite never having put it across Asia's best rugby nation. And the hosts will have to further put up with the record 14 wins that Japan brings in with them since the HSBC Asian Five Nations was launched in 2008.

"The victory against Kazakhstan was a huge confidence-booster for us. But we need not delve on this for too long but focus on what we can do against the best team in Asia," UAE coach Bruce Birtwistle noted.

Last weekend was a memorable one for the continent's latest rugby nation following their 24-10 win against Kazakhstan. "While we have some huge positives to carry forward from last week, we ought to focus on proving a few things to ourselves," Birtwistle said.

"We are aware that we are up against the best, but we will put our bodies on the line and see how we can match up against the best," he added.

The evening's action will get under way with the Division IV final between Qatar and Lebanon with a 6 pm kick-off, followed by the A5N encounter at 8 pm.