Japan's stunning 2015 World Cup victory over South Africa is to be turned into a film with the working name of 'The Brighton Miracle'.

New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison is to play Eddie Jones, England's current head coach who masterminded the 34-32 triumph.

The result is considered the greatest upset in rugby history and enabled Jones to succeed Stuart Lancaster at Twickenham after the tournament.

Filming is expected to begin in January on the Gold Coast with award-winning Australian writer and director Max Mannix overseeing the project.

Photo: Photosport

Mannix believes Jones' background helps explain Japan's transformation from a team with only one World Cup win in 24 previous attempts, into the first side not to reach the quarter-finals despite amassing three pool victories.

"Eddie understood humiliation because he had lived it," Mannix told Kyodo News, in reference to the 58-year-old's experience of racism when growing up in Sydney.

"He is a complex character and I wanted people to see why that is.

"What Eddie Jones and his team did in 2015 was truly magnificent and worthy of being remembered.

"What I want to do is try and show why it happened and where did the self-belief come from."

Jones, who is the son of an Australian father and Japanese mother, revealed on Wednesday that the inspiration for his successful reign as Japan coach came from Spaniard Pep Guardiola.

It was during a chat with the current Manchester City manager and former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach that his tactics for the Brave Blossoms were crystallized.

"When I was coaching in Japan, the biggest influence on me was Pep Guardiola," Jones told the O2 Inside Line.

"He had that Tiki-taka football and in Japan we had to find a way to beat bigger teams as we were small and it was only through moving the ball quickly that we could do that.

"I went and spent 90 minutes with him. He stayed until 7pm, he had a full day working and gave me his time at the end of the day talking about his approach to that and it was a really insightful discussion we had and helped me coach Japan."

-AAP