In JavaLand, there were two problems that Rails eliminated, but one is less of a problem than the other.
Problem 1 is that Java/Spring provided ultimate flexibility and no savings when following conventions, because there aren't any.
Problem 2 is that Java requires specifying class names a lot, managing the creation of objects, and calling methods on them.
Problem 1 is real & sucks. Problem 2 is less of an issue and actually not a problem when compared to PHP style bag of global functions.