Well that’s the pool stages done and we bid farewell to a Japan side that not only got everyone to fall in love with them, but also set themselves up nicely to host the tournament in 10 years time. We’ll miss the likes of them, Georgia, Romania, Fiji, Uruguay, Canada and Namibia, all of whom helped light this tournament up.
There is now no more World Cup rugby until next weekend. Be sure to join me for that, but in the meantime there’s going to absolutely loads of stuff to keep you occupied on this right here website. There’s a podcast tomorrow, too, if you fancy hearing what I, Andy Zaltzman and other exciting mystery guests sound like.
Cheers for reading and for all the emails and tweets and that, not just tonight but over the past three weeks. G’night!
Full-time: USA 18-28 Japan
It’s taken quickly but turned over and now Japan look to batter their way forward. They go through the phases, up over halfway, but then, perhaps shattered, Tatekawa gets it at first receiver and thumps it into the crowd.
79 min Penalty USA for not rolling away and Wyles goes quickly. Manoa carries it on and MacGinty steps round the breakdown, but the ball goes loose and Japan launch the counterattack. Up to the 10 metre line, but Durutalo gets the better of Mafi and earns yet another American penalty. He’s been excellent at the breakdown throughout this tournament.
78 min Quill comes on for Peterson in the USA second row, while Kizu replaces Horie at hooker for Japan. From the restart it’s back in American hands and they look to create something from halfway. Japan’s defence is up for this though, showing that fitness that Eddie Jones boasted of before the tournament.
Penalty (Goromaru 77) USA 18-28 Japan
41 metres out and a couple to the right of the posts. It’s not the easiest of kicks, but well within Goromaru’s capabilities and he thunders it through to surely give his side the win.
75 min A maul takes it beyond said 10 metre line, at long last, then Kelly enters it from the side. Goromaru will take the pragmatic approach and kick for goal.
74 min Japan lineout on halfway and they go left, with Horie trying to shuffle his way down the flank. He’s stopped after not very far, leaving his side camped on the 10 metre line.
73 min A couple more Japanese changes as Tui replaces Broadhurst and Hesketh comes on for Ono.
Conversion (MacGinty 72) USA 18-25 Japan
A good kick and the US are back in this. Fry returns from the sin-bin.
Try! (Wyles 71) USA 16-25 Japan
Lamositale and then Manoa drive and inside just a couple of minutes we’ve gone from one end to the other. Wyles is completely unmarked wide on the right and MacGinty spots him, then finds him with a perfect miss pass to send the captain jogging over on the right.
70 min Now theball goes left and Palamo tries to step his way through. He can’t, but Test can gain ground, as can Barrett when it comes back inside. Into the 22 and it’s a penalty for offside, which Petri takes quickly.
69 min Now Japan get the driving maul going from the lineout, but the USA do well to hold it up and send it crabbing infield. Japan use it and go through the phases again, but there’s not much momentum this time and eventually Durutalo strips the ball and gets it out to Kelly.
68 min Makabe is on for Ives. Ono is back up and OK; that tackle from Manoa was perhaps a fraction late, but there was nothing especially serious about it.
67 min 16 phases and play crabs in towards the posts. The USA are stretched and Wing goes round Palamo, only to be taken down by a desperate last-ditch tackle. He’s turned over though and Wyles clears.
66 min On they go, driving forward, but then Ono meets the Samu Manoa who endeared himself to Northampton fans so much over the last few years. He’s hurt, but on Japan go, with Matsushima jinking inside and getting to within five.
65 min Another loose pass and the USA nab the ball in midfield, but MacGinty rushes his kick and it’s charged down! Carried into the 22 and Japan will fancy their chances of a bonus point from here.
64 min Taken in and Japan get a big driving maul up to halfway, before Mafi comes away from it and smashes his way over the gain line again. Left it goes and the ball goes loose, but Japan keep possession. For the US, Thiel and Barrett on for Fenoglio and McFarland.
63 min A tough kick from wide on the left and Goromaru pushes it just wide of the far post.
Japan take Tanaka off, replacing him with Hiwasa.
Try! (Mafi 62) USA 11-25 Japan
Thrown to the back and it’s a massive drive from Japan. Mafi comes off the back of the maul, round the corner and goes low, smashing through the double tackle and over the line on the left.
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61 min Fry goes to the bin for his second cynical offence inside a couple of minutes, again booting the ball out of the scrum-half’s hands. Goromaru should just knock this- oh no shows what I know, he’s booted it into the corner when the easy three points were on offer.
60 min Leitch comes round the corner, befoire Fujita carries it on into the 22. Mikami is on for Inagaki in the Japan front row and he joins his pack in carrying and driving up towards the line.
59 min It’s all gone very scrappy here. There looks to be a chance as Dolan hacks a loose ball ahead from the breakdown on the 10 metre line, but the ball was slapped illegally out of Tanaka’s hands by Fry. The penalty finds touch five outside the 22.
57 min Dolan steals the lineout and that’s the first Japan have lost all World Cup. MacGinty clears and Tanaka is turned over on halfway. Petri picks it up and sees an overlap down the blindside – out it goes, nicely via Lamositale to Ngwenya, but he’s dragged into touch well on the 22.
56 min Another scrappy restart and Japan get it in the 22. Wing and Tatekawa carry it forward, but then Ives knocks it on trying to carry it further. Matsushima, who it turns out was having an HIA, returns for Hesketh as MacGinty finds touch on the right.
Penalty (MacGinty 55) USA 11-20 Japan
It’s about 22 metres out, five to the left of the posts and thumped ‘twix the sticks.
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54 min Japan pick and go from the scrum, but after a couple of phases Durutalo impresses once again, putting the pressure on Thompson and forcing the Japan lock to hold on. MacGinty will have a fairly easy shot at goal.
52 min More nice clean ball for the Americans as Ngwenya comes in off his wing. He, Kelly and Test all have a go, but they’re cut off comfortably, then a pass behind Fry sends them backwards. It’s recovered and they go left again to Fenoglio, but the hooker loses it in contact.
50 min John Champion continues to refer to Adge MacGinty, despite that not being (a) his name or (b) a name. In fact why he needs to keep using a first name at all is beyond me. Is he deliberately trolling rugby fans? Anyhow, a moment of excitement as Ngwenya bursts down the right and offloads inside to Manoa. The big No8 is tackled and the ball goes to ground off a Japanese hand. Scrum in a promising position on the 22.
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49 min That’s a mighty scrum from the US and Mafi does well to pick it up in time as Jackson was about to signal for a penalty. Goromaru clears with a big kick to touch on the right, 41 metres upfield. Hesketh on for Matsushima.
47 min Mafi plunders the maul, but the USA manage to get it back just in the nick of time. You feel that the Americans need to score next, but they won’t here as Palamu knocks on a poor pass into his midriff from close range by MacGinty.
46 min Back come Japan, but Wing is penalised for hold on on halfway as Durutalo gets over him nicely. We’re taking some time off though as Matsushima gets a little bit of treatment for an OUCH. He’s up and OK in no time at all though, just in time to see MacGinty send a brilliant touchfinder to within 10 of the Japan line.
45 min Thompson claims the restart on his 22 and Mafi immediately looks to get involved, muscling his way forward. Kicks are exchanged and Goromaru finds touch 13 metres inside the US half on the right. Dolan takes and it’s taken into contact in midfield, before MacGinty sends it high.
Penalty (Goromaru 44) USA 8-20 Japan
The American fans whooping and yelling while the kicks are taken can, quite frankly, do one from this tournament. You won’t be missed, guys.
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42 min Offside against Fenoglio at the breakdown nine metres or so inside the American half and Goromaru will kick for goal.
41 min Just 40 more minutes of the pool stage remain and Tatekawa gets it under way with a dodgy kick that Wyles thumps back into touch inside the Japan half. They’ve made two changes at the break, with Hatekeyama and Mafi on for Yamashita and Holani respectively.
I’m not going to pretend that was the most enthralling half of rugby. BUT my colleague Niall McVeigh has kindly pointed out that the next score will take the points tally for this tournament above a whopping 2,000. Actually that’s not that whopping, largely because of the lack of cricket scorelines. And this can only be a good thing.
Half-time: USA 8-17 Japan
Penalty Japan from the scrum as Lamositale buckles. It’s booted into touch and Japan go in with a deserved half-time lead.
39 min I should probably give Zach Test his due credit for chasing that kick down and earning the scrum. From said scrum, Test and Manoa drive towards the line, but can’t get there. When it comes back right, Luke Thompson wedges himself on to the ball in a maul and earns the put in. Good defence, but that was quite uninspired from the Americans.
37 min Now MacGinty sends the grubber through and Leitch fields down on his own goal line. He gives it to Goromaru, who can’t get away either, so he passes to Fujita and the wing is tackled in the in-goal area. Scrum five, USA.
36 min Ono stabs a grubber through to the left and Wyles collects, getting caught on his 22. The US do really well to retain possession, but we then get a bit of pretty ordinary kicking back and forth from both sides, killing all excitement.
35 min MacGinty sends it up high from the lineout and McFarland rips it back from the receiver. Petri takes it but he’s scragged and knocks on on halfway.
34 min Goromaru goes to the 10 channel and sends a huge kick from under his own posts, into touch on the US 10 metre line on the right.
Penalty (Goromaru 33) USA 8-17 Japan
It’s a lovely strike. Japan’s lead goes beyond a score now.
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32 min Japan go infield from the lineout and Peterson goes offside at the breakdown. Goromaru will have a pop from around 45 metres.
31 min MacGinty hands possession over with a misjudged chip, but the return kick is straight down the throat of Test, who calls the mark and finds touch on halfway. Change for the USA early on as Smith is replaced by Cam Dolan.
30 min Ono’s clearance goes straight to Test, who runs it back. He’s caught, so the USA go across to the right of the field and Ngwenya, then back left via Manoa and Fenoglio. Net gain: bugger all.
Try! (Fujita 28 + Goromaru con) USA 8-14 Japan
It goes to ground, but Fujita comes into the pack and shoots straight through the mass of bodies to go over by the posts.
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27 min The ball goes loose at the restart and Japan seize upon it in the 22. Wing and Ives carry it forward, but the USA scramble their defence. They go through the phases, then Matsushima comes off his wing and bursts through a woeful tackle round the fringe. Broadhurst takes them to within five and the maul forms...
26 min MacGinty’s conversion is wide to the right from the touchline.
Try! (Ngwenya 25) USA 8-7 Japan
Another strong drive from Manoa gets the US up to within five. 17 phases now, but Japan remain very well disciplined – how often do we see teams go offside here? Ah here we go. It’s spun right to Wyles and he sends a looping pass out to Ngwenya; Goromaru comes out of the line to intercept, misses and it’s an open goal for the USA wing.
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23 min The Japanese defence is good, slowing the US down and denying them any gain line advantage. It’s spun wide to Wyles, but he too is stopped. Left and Manoa steps inside, but is brought down by a very good low tackle below the knees.
22 min Holani picks and goes, looking to create a better angle for his fly half, but the USA are sharp around the fringes. It goes back to Ono and he clears to touch, 23 metres from his own line. The lineout ball is scrappy for the US, but Fry comes away with it and Manoa drives through the middle.
20 min Five metre lineout to the USA, Fenoglio throws it to the front, but it’s knocked on by Manoa as he came into the maul.
19 min MacGinty sends the penalty to touch down the left, finding it just outside the 22. The maul goes to ground just outside the 22, but it was pulled down illegally by Thompson. Another penalty and MacGinty... goes for the corner. Well, wasn’t expecting that.
18 min Penalty against Ives as he fails to release McFarland in the tackle.
17 min Tanaka and Leitch look to make ground from the scrum, but they can’t push the Americans back. The scrum-half puts his box kick over the top, but overcooks it by a fair old bit and the ball goes trundling over the dead ball line. Scrum USA midway between their 22 and 10 metre line.
If the ITV commentator pronounces AJ MacGinty’s first name “Adge” once more I’m going to get very annoyed.
15 min Now the US go left off the lineout, but Japan drift well and shut them down. Another forward pass – the third so far by my count – hands possession back over.
14 min Patient build-up has been a feature of Japan’s game so far and that’s what they’re going with here, plugging away and retaining their discipline. This time though it doesn’t come off as they turn it over, Durutalo getting on to a loose ball quickly, and Ngwenya looks to put Manoa away down the right. His offload back inside goes to ground and Japan bundle it into touch.
13 min Sloppy stuff from the USA as Palamo looks to make a burst through the middle, but MacGinty’s pop pass is adjudged to be forward by referee Glenn Jackson. A good scrum and Ono drives into the defence for Japan.
12 min Scrappy lineout ball and it’s knocked on by Leitch. Scrum USA on the 22, wide on the right.
11 min Hands in the ruck from Palamo, the USA inside centre, and it’s a penalty from Japan just inside their own half. A good kick sends it to touch just outside the 22.
10 min Their tails up, Japan run the kick-off back and look for space around the fringes to step through. There is none and a good tackle from Ives drives them back from halfway to the 10 metre line. Chants of U-S-A! ring out.
Conversion (Goromaru 9) USA 3-7 Japan
From wide out on the left, Goromaru squeezes his kick just inside the far post.
Try! (Matsushima 7) USA 3-5 Japan
Brilliant from Ono, who darts through a gap and grubbers ahead perfectly for Fujita. The wing chases and gathers, but is dragged down short. Japan have numbers wide on the left and work it out to Matsushima and he has an easy finish in the corner!
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6 min Ono switches direction with his restart and Smith takes just outside the 22. The maul rolls forward, but not very far, so they get it wide to MacGinty but his kick is straight to Goromaru. Back he goes to Wyles and the Saracens man finds touch on the right, 12 metres inside Japan’s half.
Penalty (MacGinty 5) USA 3-0 Japan
That’s a very sweet strike and through the sticks it goes.
4 min The first penalty of the match goes to the USA as Japan fail to roll away from hthe breakdown. MacGinty will have a crack at goal from around eight metres inside the Japan half, a fair-ish way out on the right.
3 min Another solid scrum and this time it’s back to Ono, who thumps to touch down the right. Durutalo wins the lineout for the Americans and they look to drive from the Japan 10 metre line.
Can’t say I spotted this:
@DanLucas86: Referees in #RWC2015 are not policing in front of kicker at kick-offs, among other things such as feeding. This is Not Good.
— Martin Pengelly (@MartinPengelly) October 11, 2015
2 min A good solid scrum and it’s passed inside to Kelly, who gives it on to Manoa. He crashes it up, but the pass was forward and Japan get a scrum under their own posts.
Peep! Here we go, MacGinty opening proceedings with a kick into the 22 that bounces off Holani’s chest and into the hands of Durutalo. He too spills it, so we go back for the original knock-on and a scrum to the US, just inside the 22.
The players are out, anthems being sung, kick-off imminent.
Minor confusion dept.: Craig Wing, who today becomes Japan’s oldest ever World Cup debutant at the age of 35, is playing at inside-centre.
My colleague Martin Pengelly sends over this lovely little video. A World Cup match at Otley! Obviously you’d never get that today, but it’s still something of a shame that this is the final match of the tournament away from Twickenham and Cardiff.
Anyone fancy making a prediction for this? I’m going with Japan by 10. The USA have been really disappointing and I don’t see a lot in that team that’s going to lift them tonight.
Oooohhh
The most incredible sunset before the game at Kingsholm #RWC2015 #Japan #USA pic.twitter.com/bMqojfomUe
— Hayley Mortimer (@HayleyMortimer) October 11, 2015
Pre-match musical interlude will make you want to watch The Wire again.
Preamble
Evening folks. This, then, is it. The pool stages of Rugby World Cup 2015 coming to a close, with every rugby hipster bidding fare-thee-well to their favourite teams and deciding whether to cheer on France or Argentina for the remainder. It’s perhaps apt, then, that we close with everyone’s new second-favourite team, Japan.
This must be a heartbreaking fixture for the Japanese, who are, in a way, in a no-win situation. Beat the USA tonight, as they are favourites to do, and they suffer the crushing fate of becoming the first team in history to win three of their four pool games and still go crashing out. Lose and a World Cup campaign that has captured everyone’s imagination will end on a note flatter than one sung by Ian Brown.
But really, that’s nonsense, when you think about it. Japan have exceeded all expectations at the tournament and, given the spirit in which they’ve played the game so far, there’s no reason not to expect them to end these pool stages – which have been pretty magnificent throughout – with a flourish. The performances of the tier two and tier three sides, not getting blown away and shaking up the big teams, have been the highlight of the World Cup. They’ve been heartily supported by big, enthusiastic crowds throughout and this is likely to continue tonight at Kingsholm, where Gloucester’s ever-excellent fans have adopted their fellow cherry-and-whites.
It’s not just going to be a parade for Japan, mind you. The USA have been pretty disappointing throughout and haven’t come close to winning a match, so they have a point to prove. Obviously the US would be an incredible market for rugby to grow in, but the Eagles haven’t done a whole lot to get people back home invested so far. They won’t want to go out on a whimper either.
Kick-off is at 8pm BST. That’s 3pm in New York or 4am Tokyo time. Here are your teams:
USA
15 Chris Wyles (c), 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Seamus Kelly, 12 Thretton Palamo, 11 Zach Test, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Mike Petri; 1 Eric Fry, 2 Zach Fenoglio, 3 Titi Lamositele, 4 Hayden Smith, 5 Greg Peterson, 6 Al McFarland, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 8 Samu Manoa.
Replacements: 16 Phil Thiel, 17 Oli Kilifi, 18 Chris Baumann, 19 Cam Dolan, 20 John Quill, 21 Danny Barrett, 22 Niku Kruger, 23 Folau Niua.
Japan
15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Yoshikazu Fujita, 13 Harumichi Tatekawa, 12 Craig Wing, 11 Kotaro Matsushima, 10 Kosei Ono, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka; 1 Keita Inagaki, 2 Shota Horie, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 4 Luke Thompson, 5 Justin Ives, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 7 Michael Broadhurst, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani.
Replacements: 16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Amanaki Lelei Mafi, 21 Hendrik Tui, 22 Atsushi Hiwasa, 23 Karne Hesketh.
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