I’d call that a surprise, if not for the fact that for the last 80 minutes Japan didn’t look like letting Samoa anywhere near them. It wasn’t the easiest match on the eye, and I lost count of the errors and penalties on both sides. In the end though, Samoa conceded far more of both and were punished by Japanese discipline and patience, as well as the boot of Goromaru.
Samoa are surely done. They need to get a bonus-point win against Scotland, while hoping Japan get nothing against the USA and that South Africa don’t pick up more than two points from their matches with Scotland and the Americans. Oh and that the USA don’t get two bonus point wins, but at least they’re safe on that one.
As for Japan, they sit second on eight points. They could really really really use a Scottish victory in the next match of the afternoon, as then, if South Africa don’t get both bonus points, they would be able to qualify with a bonus-point win over the US.
They are by no means there yet, but this win could be the platform for a historic moment for Japanese rugby.
That’s all from me, thanks for reading. South Africa v Scotland with Ian McCourt is both up next and right here. Bye!
Full-time: Samoa 5-26 Japan
It’s knocked on at the scrum and Samoa will look to run from their own 22. A brilliant show and go from, Afatia sees the big prop surge through and make 20 metres, but it’s turned over. Ono turns and thumps it into the stands, and that’s it! What a win for Japan!
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79 min Clean lineout ball and Japan work it inside, but there’s more good counterrucking on the floor and Afemai can box kick clear. Goromaru and Matsushima run it back, but there’s a knock-on when it goes left. It’s all got a bit too scrappy now.
78 min Another cynical off-the-ball tackle on Hiwasa by, I think, Paulo at the ruck and he’s going to surely go to the bin here. Yep, another yellow card. Into the right-hand corner it goes.
77 min Penalty Samoa for offside at the ruck and they go quickly down the middle. They’re at the 22 in no time before a loose ball comes back on the Japan side and now they go on the run, with Hesketh spinning beautifully out of a tackle.
76 min Leitch goes high and claims it at the front. Kane Thompson comes through the middle of the maul and rips it brilliantly back for Samoa though and they look to run it back. Up to halfway they go with quick hands.
75 min A final change for Samoa as Fotuali’i, who has been pretty poor today, makes way for Afemai at No9. From the scrum, Japan carry up to halfway and get a penalty – their 16th of the match – as Paulo clears the man out of the ruck illegally. Goromaru kicks to touch near the 22.
74 min Samoa get a free-kick at the scrum and Leota takes it on an arcing run, over the Japanes 10 metre line. Back inside it comes and there’s a double knock-on; Matu’u is the initial culprit and Japan get the scrum.
72 min No, Hiwasa is on for Tanaka, while Kizu, the replacement hooker takes the place of Sau, the outside centre. I think Tui, who can play wing, must have moved into the backs. Also it was Treviranus who was replaced by Vavae Tuilagi, not Levave. Look, this is hard.
71 min Samoa run it from a mark, out their 22 and shifting it right as they reach the 10 metre line. Fotuali’i with a poor high box kick and it’s fielded well by Tatekawa. It looks like Sau hobbled off too, so I think Hiwasa must be the replacement.
70 min It’s a very poor decision, as Goromaru’s simple-ish kick is hooked left. Vavae Tuilagi is on for Levave.
68 min Tui makes half a break, rolling off a tackle and gets another penalty when Treviranus goes off his feet at the ensuing ruck. Leitch opts for the posts – Japan still need two more tries if they want a bonus point, so I’m not sure about this call.
67 min Another change for Japan at prop, Mikami taking the place of Hatakeyama. They’re going through the phases, looking to punch through Samoa from midway inside the half now.
66 min Japan bring Tui off the bench for Broadhurst as Samoa allow it to go loose at the restart. It’s hacked ahead, but Tusi Pisi goes back and gathers before countering from his 22. His chip over the top is straight into Japanese arms though.
65 min Pisi’s conversion attempt isn’t too shabby, but thumps into the far post from the touchline.
Try! (Perez 65) Samoa 5-26 Japan
The centre gets up to halfway before being tackled and Samoa switch direction, with the overlap again. Out it goes to Ken Pisi, but Japan drift well. Not well enough though as they get stretched too far and bowled back into the 22. Back left it comes and Perez goes over in the corner to complete a good, belated end-to-end move.
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63 min Samoa look to drive and get turned over in their own 22! Japan spread it left and Leitch goes through a gap, but then he too is turned and Samoa run it, going left to Perez.
62 min The maul is formed on the 22 and makes headway. Down it goes though as Kane Thompson comes through the middle, Courtney Lawes-style, and that’s a scrum to Samoa. Well defended. Afatia is on for Taualofo again, permanently this time.
61 min Penalty against Kane Thompson now for hands in the ruck. He protests that the ruck hasn’t formed; “when you’re counterrucking it’s obviously a ruck, mate” says Joubert. Goromaru finds touch on the right, just inside the 22.
60 min Nanai-Williams goes on another jinking run up to halfway but he’s hit hard again. There’s just nothing on for Samoa. Holani especially has been immense in defence, but his day is done; Amanaki Mafi, who has made a remarkable recovery from injury, comes on. A great impact player to have and he’s involved immediately, picking up at the base of the scrum on halfway.
Penalty (Goromaru 59) Samoa 0-26 Japan
From wide-ish on the left, 25 metres out, Goromaru takes his tally to 16 for the day 45 for the tournament. He now has more Test points than Matt Giteau and Morne Steyn.
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57 min We restart with a Japanese scrum on the Samoan 22, from whence they go left. They’ve made around 10 metres and keep it tight, then get another penalty for a high tackle by, I think, Lam on Inagaki. It wasn’t malicious, more that the arm slipped up from round the chest.
Sadly Yamada, the try-scorer, isn’t going to be able to continue. Karne Hesketh, the hero of the South Africa match, comes on in his stead.
56 min It’s being played at a frantic pace now. Tanaka kicks over the top into space and Perez is in a tight spot. He gives it inside to Lee-Lo, who runs it back up to the 22, but then he knocks on in the tackle. Yamada is the tackler, but he’s down injured and the stretcher is coming on. This doesn’t look good.
Matu’u replaces Avei.
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55 min Samoa go right through Nanai-Williams again, but he’s Leitch does brilliantly to snatch a loose ball on the floor and Japan hack clear deep into the Samoan half. Back come the islanders from deep, working their way up to halfway, before Taualofo knocks on.
54 min Samoa set it in midfield after getting it off the top. Here’s an email from John Butler:
“Greetings from a long term resident of Japan and a rugby loving Irishman.I used to try to tell people back home that Japan had a vibrant rugby sub culture.They looked at me strangely, then changed the topic. Now I no longer feel I am on a hopeless crusade.
Seriously though, a lot of the top league rugby here is pleasant to watch and of a high standard.- quick hands, speedy mauls, inventive passing - its all there week in week out.
Japan will only get better from here on - a League brimming with money, entry into the Super league,the consolidation of the pacific Rim tournament, and the World Cup to come. Its never going to become a mainstream sport here (which is a good thing) but it still has a lot of growth potential.
Nuff said back to the game!”
53 min From the lineout Japan go across to the left and drive into the 22, but it’s turned over on the floor by Palu. Samoa have numbers left and get it out to Tusi Pisi, who kicks ahead for Perez to chase. Goromaru gets across and just about shepherd it into touch 10 metres inside his own half.
52 min Ono kicks towards the corner, but it’s fielded by Nanai-Williams, who returns to touch midway inside his own half. Perenise is on for Johnston.
51 min Goromaru finds touch on his own 10 metre line on the right. From it they get quick ball left to Matsushima, who is stopped just over halfway by a heavy hit from Lam.
50 min A really good scrum from Japan, five metres out under their own posts, earns a penalty as Lam pulls out of the contest.
49 min Samoa have a chance right from the kick-off as Perez scorches through a gap down the left flank only to be cut down short by an outstanding covering tackle by Leitch. Jack Lam, who is on for Ioane, carries it up to within five, but the ball is knocked forward in the tight. Alesana Tuilagi is also off, with Lee-Lo on in his place.
Penalty (Goromaru 48) Samoa 0-23 Japan
That’s the eighth penalty Samoa have conceded in their own half alone. From 10 metres to the right of the sticks, five outside the 22, Goromaru steps up and puts it through the posts. Game over?
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46 min Again it’s Thompson who rises, takes it and sets the maul. Slowly it goes forwards, so they go left and get yet another penalty for offside, Tusi Pisi the culprit and not for the first time. Joubert does not make good on his promise of a yellow card.
45 min Penalty to Japan at the scrum as Johnson is pinged for wheeling it illegally. Goramaru just finds touch with a good ambitious kick into the 22 on the right.
44 min It’s clean ball from the scrum and Sale’s Johnny Leota crashes it up at first receiver. Three phases and not much ground later though, it’s knocked on in the tackle by Levave though.
42 min Japan win the lineout and drive up to their own 10 metre line before Tanaka knocks on. Robin Hazlehurst writes:
“The neutral surely has to hope Japan get two more tries here. No offence to Samoa, but if Japan can win three out of four games, beating the Boks and Samoa along the way, and then not go through because they didn’t get the bonus points, it would be a tragedy. But it is quite possible in this group. Japan now looking to Scotland to do them a favour in the next match by beating SA well. That’s unexpected.”
41 min One change at the break, Ives for Hitoshi Ono, as Kosei Ono gets things going once again. An exchange of kicks to begin, with Tusi Pisi finding touch near the Japan 22 on the left.
As it stands, Japan will go second at least until South Africa v Scotland finishes. They’ll have eight points and a game against the USA to finish. South Africa have seven, Scotland 10 at the moment. Also, thanks to Ian McCourt for pointing this out to me:
14 - No side has ever lost a @rugbyworldcup game when holding a HT lead of 14+ points. Reminder.
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) October 3, 2015
That wasn’t a brilliant half, aesthetically speaking. Japan will care not one jot, as they have utterly dominated this match in every single way imaginable. Samoa aren’t in it and they could well get stuffed if they don’t get their discipline sorted.
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Half-time: Samoa 0-20 Japan
And Goromaru nails a brilliant kick from the right-hand touchline to end the half!
Try! (Yamada 40+1) Samoa 0-18 Japan
Right they go and Yamada steps past Tuilagi as the winger charged forward. He leaps and just manages to ground it before landing in touch! That’s a hell of a smart finish.
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40 min Hitoshi Ono is down and calling for treatment for what looks like a muscle strain. Back to the match and Japan run the restart back, with a sidestep and dart from Sau then a powerful drive from Leitch taking them up into the 22. Still they drive towards the line, carrying it over the gainline and up to within five...
39 min Paulo gets up well to win the lineout and Samoa fling it right. There’s another turnover though and Matsushima kicks over the top and into space. Tusi Pisi has to go haring back and actually judges it very well, allowing the ball to bounce over the line before grounding it and dropout.
38 min Through the phases they go now and it’s remarkable how great the contrast between their discipline and Sam... penalty to Samoa for obstruction as Luke Thompson runs into his own man. Pisi clears to halfway.
37 min It’s another scrum success from Japan – they’re yet to lose one against the head this tournament – and they shift it about with some short pop passes, looking for holes in the defence. Up to the 22 now.
35 min Pisi’s short restart is tapped back into Samoan hands and Ioane looks to go forward. He’s turned over though and Tanaka kicks forward, only to see it end up in the hands of Tuilagi. He passes right to his fellow wing Pisi, but Holani is up quickly and smashes the Northampton man. Samoa retain the ball, but send a wide pass forwards.
Penalty (Goromaru 34) Samoa 0-13 Japan
It’s a fair way out, around 41 metres, but could barely be straighter. Goromaru takes a look, takes a breath and then sends is sailing straight through.
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33 min Back inside it goes and Matsushima comes in off his wing to try and make something happen. He can’t, but Japan have moved stealthily up to the 22. They can get no further, so we go back for an offside advantage. Treviranus, the captain, gets warned about his players’ defensive line: “The next one goes to the bin,” Joubert warns him. The penalty count is 9-2 against Samoa.
32 min Tanka steps off the scrum and takes the pass from Holani. They get the ball right, but it’s very slow stuff from Japan.
31 min Levave flicks the ball up through his legs at the back of the scrum. It smacks the unaware Fotauli’i square in the face and the referee gives a knock-on. Scrum Japan, again, just a metre inside the Samoa half.
30 min Back comes Taualofo from the bin and back comes Alesana Tuilagi for Afatia. At the scrum, Holani knocks on at the base and so the feed is handed over to Samoa.
29 min A terrible cross-kick from Tusi Pisi – Sam Burgess-esque – goes straight to Yamada and he looks to skate round the shoulder of Perez. He can’t get away though and Samoa win the ball back but, when it’s slung back inside, Census Johnston finds himself at outside centre and knocks on.
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28 min Back from the bin comes Levave as Thompson wins the lineout at the front, seven metres inside his own half.
27 min Back inside it comes and Kane Thompson uses his enormous bulk to pile towards the 22. Back to the tight stuff we go from Samoa, which is understandable given they’re down two men. Perez makes a tiny bit of ground. It goes right, but then Matsushima stops Ken Pisi and wins the turnover! Kosei Ono clears to touch down the left.
26 min This is really tight, congested stuff from Samoa and they’re not making any ground. Eventually they spread it and Ken Pisi uses his pace to go flying round the outside down the right.
25 min Samoa haven’t turned up yet – they’ve been pretty woeful. Pisi’s restart is taken in by Holani and Goromaru clears to Ken Pisi. He shifts it infield and Nanai-Williams runs up over halfway.
Conversion (Goromaru 24) Samoa 0-10 Japan
Through it goes, obviously.
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Penalty try! Samoa 0-8 Japan
The Samoa pack crumbles and falls backwards, so Joubert goes under the posts.
22 min Samoa need to make a temporary replacement here, with Taualofo in the bin. The giant Afatia comes on for Tuilagi.
21 min A pair of miss passes take Japan right under the posts. Still Samoa hold out but Japan have an advantage for offside against Tusi Pisi and Nanai-Williams. Left it goes now, with the overlap, but Tatekawa goes to ground short and knocks on as he stretches. Back we go for the penalty and Japan take the scrum against a six-man pack.
20 min This time Japan go off the top and Ono makes ground, ducking through a tackle and moving to within 15 metres. Left they go and Goromaru pumps the legs, driving for the corner. In come the forwards and get to within a metre. Samoa are on the rack here...
19 min From the lineout it’s sent up high by Fotuali’i. Yamada jumps and claims, and gets taken out in the air by Taualofo. It’s a second penalty against him in a few minutes and he too is shown a yellow card. Samoa down to 13 men as Goromaru kicks to touch on the 22.
18 min Again it’s taken by Luke Thompson, who sets the maul, but then when they peel round the front Holani is penalised for obstruction and Pisi clears to touch with the penalty.
17 min Or not: they’re going to the corner and will have a drive against the seven-man Samoan pack. It’s won in the middle – the MIDDLE, Geoff Parling – and they get the drive on. Taualofo gives away another penalty for collapsing the maul. We’ll go to the corner again.
16 min Ah wait, we’re checking for foul play with the TMO. It’s a late, no-arm tackle from Levave, the Samoan No8 and he goes to the bin. The penalty will be reversed and it’s a 22-metre, dead straight shot at goal for Goromaru.
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15 min Japan win the lineout and probe at the backline, but again they miss a brief overlap out wide. No ground gained and they give away a penalty for holding on on the floor.
14 min Right it goes from the scrum and, after Matsushima ignores an overlap, Tanaka box kicks into space. Fotuali’i, who was out of position, does well to get back and recover it. Nanai-Williams looks to run it out of his 22, but he’s tackled into touch.
13 min The drop-out is returned with a poor kick from Tanaka and Nanai-Williams runs it back up to halfway. They recycle a couple of times, but then when they go along the line Perez’s pass goes to the bootstraps of his full-back, who can only knock on.
12 min Actually it’s more like 15 in from touch, but the full-back’s effort drifts off to the left anyway. His 69% accuracy record dips a wee bit further.
11 min From a good 38 metres out and only five in from touch, Goromaru will have a crack at doubling the lead.
10 min Goromaru kicks the penalty miles into the crowd, earning his side a lineout midway inside the Samoa half on the right. The throw is taken in the middle by Luke Thompson and Japan get another penalty as his namesake Kane comes into the maul at the side.
9 min Pisi restart is shorter this time but Japan secure it and Goromaru clears long to his opposite number, Nanai-Williams. The Samoan’s high return is taken five metres outside the Japan 22 by Leitch and his side pick and drive towards the midfield. Samoa’s entire backline comes up too quickly and is called for offside.
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Penalty (Goromaru 8) Samoa 0-3 Japan
Chipped through.
7 min Japan had an advantage for offside though, so three easy points under the posts coming up.
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6 min Poor work this time from Horie as his throw is stolen, but Tuilagi’s kick is straight down Yamada’s throat. He runs back from halfway and Japan have momentum. It’s driven up to within five metres and they get it wide left for Goromaru to go over. Wild celebrations in the crowd, who take a minute to realise the final pass from Sau was forward.
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5 min Good work from the hooker, Horie, of all people as he sends a delicate grubber into the 22 down the right, which Nanai-Williams touches into, er, touch.
4 min A minor worry for Japan as Tatekawa, who has shifted from 10 to 12 today, receives some treatment on the sideline but he’s up and OK soon enough. He gets smashed again taking it into contact as they get clean ball into midfield from the scrum. Patient stuff from Japan so far with little ground being gained over seven phases.
3 min Samoa look to go through the hands, shuffling it hither and tither across the park, but they can’t make much ground. Eventually they cough up possession via a forward pass out to the wing. Scrum Japan, out on the right and 10 metres or so inside the Samoa half.
2 min Samoa with the lineout a couple of metres over the Japanese 10 metre line and it’s not great, as cap’n Treviranus knocks on. Japan play the advantage and Ono makes a wee bit of ground, stepping hesitantly up to halfway. On they go before Ono switches direction with a kick to the corner, but it’s poorly executed and goes straight to Tuilagi.
Peep! Craig Joubert, well, peeps his whistle and Tusi Pisi gets things going with a long kick into the 22, which Holani takes in. Back it goes to Kosei Ono and he clears to touch down the left from his own goal line.
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Alesana Tuilagi leads the Siva Tau and we’re ready to go.
“Many people in Milton Keynes are older than the town in which they live,” says John Champion. It’s an easy target, isn’t it?
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Just before we get under way, a reminder of the starting XVs. In pictoral form, too!
Here are the starting XVs for #SAMvJAP pic.twitter.com/m4nK3sCgQO
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 3, 2015
It’s a Stadiummk record crowd, apparently. That beats the record set, er, two days ago at France v Canada. Well done, Milton Keynes, given the inaccessibility of your stadium. As a reward, I won’t lightly poke fun at you for being a bit of a dive. That has nothing to do with the mean names some locals called me on Twitter last time around.
10 minutes until kick-off. For any Scotland fan’s reading, a Japanese victory would be the ideal outcome for you today. The first tie-breaker between teams level on points is the head-to-head result.
With the presence of Ken Pisi and Kahn Fotuali’i in the Samoa XV and its proximity to Northampton, there is a strong Northampton presence among the Milton Keynes crowd. My sister sends an early pre-match photo demonstrating as much. She’s second from the left, in case you were wondering, but you’ll be more interested to know that the gentleman on the left is named Alan Partridge.
Fancy some pre-match reading? James Riach is your man for that.
Incidentally if you want a prediction, I’m going with Samoa by six points.
Re. the Guatemalan insanity pepper chilli, there are few better Simpsons sequences than that. In any case, do send me your favourites. Or, y’know, stuff about the match. I’m open.
Preamble
Afternoon, folks. I’m not going to lie to you: this match isn’t the one that’s cranking up the tension today, at least among the home nations. An appetiser for a sumptuous Scotland v South Africa-flavoured lunch and a main course more foreboding than a Guatemalan insanity pepper chilli it may be, but as appetisers go this one is perfectly tasty.
This is almost a preliminary knock-out stage for two of the more popular teams in world rugby. I say “almost” because the loser here isn’t necessarily knocked out, but qualification will be both out of their hands and unlikely; for the winner the quarter-finals are tantalisingly close. It would take far too long for me to write out all the permutations here, but I’ll keep you abreast of them as we go. Fair?
The intrigue is enhanced by the fact that both of these sides remain, to an extent, unknown quantities. Are Japan, who famously beat South Africa but then got blown away by Scotland, a glorious one-hit wonder; the Len of rugby, if you like? Or were they always chasing a lost cause what with a four-day turnaround, in-form opponents, the loss of Amanaki Mafi to injury and dodgy refereeing? What about Samoa, who looked reasonably comfortable against the USA but then put out an arguably weakened team against the fired-up South Africans and got duly thrashed by a team out for revenge?
To the casual fan, this match doesn’t have much going for it, but look closer and it’s fascinating. Both teams have made five changes for this one, with Mafi only fit to take a place among the replacements for Japan and a change at 10 where Kosei Ono comes in. Samoa recall Tusi Pisi to fly-half in place of Paul Stanley and drop his brother George from the 23 entirely – that one seems odd to me. They also welcome Newcastle’s Kane Thompson back to the XV – the most capped and second-oldest in their World Cup history with 346 of them shared between a line-up whose average age is north of 30 – after suspension.
Kick-off for this one is at 2.30pm BST. That’s 3.30am tomorrow in Apia or 10.30pm in Tokyo. Your teams are:
Samoa
15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Paul Perez, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali’I; 1 Sakaria Taualofo, 2 Ole Avei, 3 Census Johnston, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 5 Kane Thompson, 6 Ofisa Treviranus (c), 7 TJ Ioane, 8 Fafili Levave.
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Jack Lam, 20 Vavae Tuilagi, 21 Vavao Afemai, 22 Mike Stanley, 23 Rey Lee-Lo.
Japan
15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Male Sau, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Kotaro Matsushima, 10 Kosei Ono, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 1 Keita Inagaki, 2 Shota Horie, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 4 Luke Thompson, 5 Hitoshi Ono, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 7 Michael Broadhurst, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani,
Replacements: 16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Hiroshi Yamashita, 19 Justin Ives, 20 Amanaki Mafi, 21 Hendrik Tui, 22 Atsushi Hiwasa, 23 Karne Hesketh.
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