(Written by Azul: July 15, 2024)
The second of the series of test matches and training matches for the Japan national rugby team in 2024 took place on June 29, 2024 at the Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground in Minato-ku, Tokyo.
Here is a recap of the Japan national team’s match schedule and results so far this season.
| Date | Opponent | match venue | Result | |
| 1 | 6/22 | England | Tokyo | １７－５２ ● |
| 2 | 6/29 | Maori All Blacks | Tokyo | |
| 3 | 7/6 | Maori All Blacks | Toyoda | |
| 4 | 7/13 | Georgia | Sendai | |
| 5 | 7/21 | Italy | Sapporo | |
| 6 | 8/25 | Canada | Bancouver | |
| 7 | 9/7 | USA | Saitama | |
| 8 | 9/14 or 15 | (Pacific Nations Cup Semi Final) | Tokyo | |
| 9 | 9/21 | (Pacific Nations Cup Final or 3rd Place Game) | Osaka | |
| 10 | 10/26 | All Blacks | Tokyo | |
| 11 | 11/9 | France | Paris | |
| 12 | 11/24 | England | London |
In the first match on June 22, the team suffered a complete defeat against the England national team. The second match was against Maori All Blacks.
Maori All Blacks is not an official national team, so the players are not given a national CAP, but the Japanese team that will be playing against Maori All Blacks is, in effect, the national team of Japan. team. Like the England team, the Japanese team has never won against the Maori All Blacks. It was interesting to see how the Japan XV team fares against this powerful team.
Here is the latest information on both teams.
First, let’s look at the home team, Japan XV.
One of the goals of the new Japan XV team this season is to strengthen its roster. That is, to give young players opportunities to play and gain experience in international matches, and to develop at least three players in each position.
The starters for the day were as follows.
| Brave Blossoms | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | Japan Caps |
| 1 | Shogo MIURA | 180cm | 108kg | 29 | 10 |
| 2 | Mamoru HARADA | 175cm | 101kg | 25 | 1 |
| 3 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | 180cm | 108kg | 22 | 1 |
| 4 | Eishin KUWANO | 193cm | 112kg | 29 | |
| 5 | Naohiro KOTAKI | 194m | 110kg | 32 | 11 |
| 6 | Kanji SHIMOKAWA | 187cm | 106kg | 25 | 5 |
| 7 | Kai YAMAMOTO | 177cm | 98kg | 24 | 1 |
| 8 | Amanaki SAUMAKI | 189cm | 108kg | 27 | 4 |
| 9 | Naoto SAITO | 165cm | 75kg | 26 | 20 |
| 10 | Takuya YAMASAWA | 176cm | 84kg | 29 | 7 |
| 11 | Koga NEZUKA | 173cm | 82kg | 25 | 2 |
| 12 | Tomoki OSADA | 179cm | 90kg | 24 | 8 |
| 13 | Samisoni TUA | 182cm | 108kg | 28 | 1 |
| 14 | Viliame TUIDRAKI | 184cm | 99kg | 27 | 0 |
| 15 | Yoshitaka YAZAKI | 180cm | 85kg | 20 | 1 |
In this Japan XV team, there were seven players under the age of 25, numbered 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, and 15. As they grow into the mainstay class of RWC 2027, they will raise the level of the Japan national team. (Although OSADA, number 12, has already grown into one of the mainstays of the Japanese national team.)
＊＊ Player to watch ＊＊
Viliame TUIDORAKI. 184 cm, 99 kg, 27 years old. Position = WTB, FB. team = TOYOTA Verblitz. hometown = Fiji. His father, Patiliai, was a famous player who got 7 caps for Fiji and 19 caps for Japan. His position was WTB.
As a native of Fiji, his weapon of choice is his outstanding speed, and he has been a member of TOYOTA since 2022, where he has been a regular WTB player. He is also a big man, which is in line with the recent world rugby trend, and has scored many tries for his team, TOYOTA. He was selected for the Japan XV for the first time, but will he be able to establish himself as a regular player in the Japanese national team?
Next, I would like to introduce Maori All Blacks, the Visitor Team of the day.
Maori All Blacks was first formed in 1888. It is not a subordinate team of the All Blacks, and in New Zealand, being selected as a Maori All Blacks is considered an honor in itself. The following are some of their major past victories.
1946: Complete victory over the Australian national team: 20-0
1961: Defeat the French national team: 5-3
1981 Draw against South Africa: 12-12
2005 Defeat British & Irish Lions: 19-13
2010: Defeat England: 35-28
2022: Defeat Ireland: 32-17
(The team has won all three of its previous matches against Japan)
The Maori All Blacks are not a national team, so they are not qualified for the RWC, and their matches are not recognized as test matches, but they are considered to be more than a top 8 RWC team in terms of their abilities.
The starting lineup for the day was as follows.
| Maori All Blacks | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | NZ Caps |
| 1 | Ollie NORRIS | 195cm | 126kg | 25 | |
| 2 | Kurt EKLUND | 180cm | 103kg | 32 | |
| 3 | Marcel RENATA | 187cm | 121kg | 30 | |
| 4 | Isaia WALKER-LEAWERE | 197cm | 122kg | 27 | |
| 5 | Laghlan McWhannell | 198cm | 120kg | 25 | |
| 6 | Cameron SUAFOA | 196cm | 116kg | 26 | |
| 7 | Billy HARMON | 187cm | 104kg | 29 | |
| 8 | Cullen GRACE | 193m | 105kg | 24 | 1 |
| 9 | Sam NOCK | 178m | 85kg | 28 | |
| 10 | Rivez REIHANA | 189cm | 94kg | 24 | |
| 11 | Bailyn SULLIVAN | 187cm | 89kg | 22 | |
| 12 | Quinn TUPAEA | 186cm | 102kg | 25 | 14 |
| 13 | Daniel RONA | 187cm | 97kg | 23 | |
| 14 | Joshua MOORBY | 188cm | 96kg | 25 | |
| 15 | Cole FORBES | 180cm | 91kg | 24 | |
＊＊ Player to watch **
Rivez REIHANA. 189 cm, 94 kg, 24 years old. He was selected for the U20 New Zealand national team at the age of 19, and has been rapidly improving his career since then. He will lead his team to victory with his advanced skills as a SO, accurate and long-distance kicking, and strong mentality.
Now, the game is about to begin. Kick-off time was 19:00. The weather was sunny. The temperature was 30 degrees Celsius. The attendance was 13,565.
6 minutes into the first half:
Japan XV kicked off the match. Japan XV kept the ball deep in the enemy territory and attacked in succession, getting as close as the enemy 22-meter line through SO Yamasawa’s cut-in play and FB YAZAKI’s line break.
Also in this match, JAPAN XV continued their dominance in set pieces, as they did against England last week. They pushed forward in the scrum, drew an infringement from their opponents, and took advantage of a penalty kick opportunity to advance their position in front of the enemy in-goal on the left side of the field.
After a lineout in front of the enemy in-goal, JAPAN XV secured the ball and formed a maul to score a try.
Japan XV’s advance was blocked by Maori All Blacks, but from there, Japan XV attacked on the side, CTB TUA moved forward, and the ball was passed to hooker Harada, who scored a try in the middle of the enemy in-goal on the left side.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but JAPAN XV scored first. The score was 5-0.
9 minutes into the first half:
From the kickoff after the try, Maori All Blacks attacked in succession and moved to the right, where the ball was passed to WTB MOORBY, who quickly moved forward to close in on the enemy’s in-goal. From there, Maori All Blacks came out of a tight battle and FL SUAFOA took the ball out and scored a try right in the middle of the enemy’s in-goal.
After the try, the conversion goal failed and the score was even at 5-5.
After that, both teams remained close on the score.
28 minutes into the first half:
Maori All Blacks showed great determination to score as they crossed the enemy 22m line. Then hooker EKLUND broke out of a tight pack just in front of the in-goal and burst past two opposing defenders to score a try in the middle of the field on the right.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 5-12.
36 minutes into the first half:
Maori All Blacks had a penalty kick opportunity in front of the goal at the 10m line. Maori All Blacks had a lineout on their own ball, secured the ball, and then a maul was set up and FL HARMON rushed through for an easy breakaway and a try right in the middle of the field.
After the try, the conversion goal failed, and the score was 5-17.
The first half ended with the score at 5-17. As in the previous week’s match against England, Japan XV was unable to score more points, as they had problems with coordination deep in the enemy territory. Will they be able to get back on track by the second half of the match?
Let’s start the second half.
3 minutes into the second half:
Maori All Blacks kicked off the second half. JAPAN XV caught the ball, and SH KOYAMA tried to recover their position by raising the box kick from a tight position, but it was a missed kick that went almost straight up. Japan XV was fouled and the MAORI All Blacks were awarded a penalty kick, leading to a lineout near the enemy 22m line, from where WTB BAILING penetrated the crowded side and easily went in-goal for a try in the left center.
The conversion goal after the try failed, and the score was 5-22.
Looking at JAPAN XV’s game up to this point, the following problems can be seen.
In the attacking phase, JAPAN XV was too conscious of the early development of the game in the vicinity of the enemy’s 22m, resulting in many minor mistakes such as knock-ons, which made it impossible for them to score points.
The team runs out of energy around the midway point of the match, and the opponent easily breaks through the dense side of the field, resulting in many points being scored.
21 minutes into the second half:
JAPAN XV received the ball on the halfway line, and FB YAZAKI tried to counter-attack first. NEZUKA cut in deep into enemy territory, where he was caught by the defense, and MAORI All Blacks counter attacked. The CTB POIHIPI, who came on as a substitute, ran into the left corner of the enemy’s in-goal and scored a try.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 5-29.
29 minutes into the second half:
MAORI All Blacks got into the enemy territory, the ball was spread out from a tight group, the SO got behind the enemy defense, and the ball was spread to the right, CTB POIHIPI got the ball and scored a try right in the middle of the enemy in-goal. It was POIHIPI’s second try of the day.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 5-36.
40 minutes into the second half:
The JAPAN XV had not been able to score at all after opening the scoring early in the first half. Looking ahead to the next round and beyond, JAPAN XV wanted to score a try at the end.
A penalty kick by the opposing team led to a lineout on their own ball deep in enemy territory, from which they surged forward in a maul and went in for a try, but the maul was crushed and a tight battle ensued. From this position, Japan XV substitute SH Saito passed the ball to WTB Nezuka, who was waiting in the left corner, and Nezuka scored a try in the left corner of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, and the final score of the match was 10-36.
This was the second straight loss for Japan in the national team’s training matches that began on June 22, and they have yet to even come close to winning a game. Will the Japanese national team be able to win the next week’s matches? The road ahead is a difficult one, but we will keep our eyes on them.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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