(Written by Azul: October 2, 2024)
The PNC has finally reached its final round. This time, the venue was Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka, the sacred ground of rugby in the west of Japan.
Kick-off time was 4:00 p.m., so I left at 10:00 a.m. on the Shinkansen bullet train from Shinagawa Station in Tokyo.
I arrived at Higashi Hanazono Station on the Kintetsu Line in Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture, at 15:00, one hour before kickoff.
I had not been to Hanazono Rugby Stadium since the RWC 2019 match between Argentina and Tonga. It was my first rugby match at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in about 5 years.
It took me about 10 minutes to walk from Higashi Hanazono station to Hanazono Rugby Stadium.
This day’s game was also a double-header as last week. Now, let’s enter the stadium.
As I sat in my seat, I once again thought that Hanazono Rugby Stadium is a stadium with a nice atmosphere. Capacity = 27,346. As a rugby-specific stadium, there is no track for athletic competitions on the ground, so the distance between the spectators and the players seems closer.
The only roof covering the stadium is on the main stand, which is a little annoying. If the spectator stands were covered with a roof, the spectators would be able to watch the game safely even in bad weather, which would have a positive effect on attracting more spectators.
The weather forecast for the day was cloudy with a chance of rain, but it somehow managed to stay dry.
The day of the game, September 21, 2024, was a hot and humid day with lingering summer heat, but since the weather was cloudy, it was relatively comfortable to watch the game without the harsh direct sunlight of lingering summer heat.
When I entered the stadium, both teams were already warming up.
Let me introduce the opposing teams of the day.
First, let me introduce the Samoan team, ranked No. 2 in Group A. The team is ranked No. 14 in the world.
Their record so far in the PNC is as follows.
August 23 vs Fiji 16-42 ●
August 30 vs Tonga 43-17〇
September 15 vs Japan 49-27●
Samoa has participated in 9 consecutive RWC tournaments from the 2nd RWC in 1991 to the 10th RWC. In the RWC 1991 and 1995, Samoa surprised all the leading rugby nations by making it to the finals of the tournament in consecutive years. However, due to financial problems, the Samoan Rugby Union has been unable to provide enough support to strengthen the national team, and the team’s ranking in international competitions has gradually declined. However, since the Moana Pacifica team began competing in Super Rugby in 2022, the team has visibly improved and is aiming to reach the finals for the third time in the next tournament. In order to do so, the entire team would be looking for a win in this day’s match.
This day’s starting lineup was as follows.
| SAMOA | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | SAMOA Caps |
| 1 | Aki SEIULI | 184cm | 118kg | 27 | 3 |
| 2 | Sama MALOLO | 183cm | 109kg | 26 | 3 |
| 3 | Marco FEPULEAI | 183cm | 127kg | 29 | 1 |
| 4 | Benjamin Petaia Nee-NEE | 198cm | 116kg | 31 | |
| 5 | Michael CURRY | 196cm | 115kg | 30 | 4 |
| 6 | Theodore McFarland | 198cm | 115kg | 28 | 8 |
| 7 | Izaiha MOORE-AIONO | 183cm | 99kg | 28 | |
| 8 | Iakopo PETERO | 184m | 110kg | 26 | |
| 9 | Melani MATAVAO | 171m | 73kg | 28 | 14 |
| 10 | Rodney IONA | 177cm | 89kg | 33 | 8 |
| 11 | Elisapeta ALOFIPO | 173cm | 82kg | 26 | |
| 12 | Alapati LEIUA | 185cm | 100kg | 35 | 34 |
| 13 | Lalomilo LALOMILO | 189cm | 106kg | 25 | |
| 14 | Tuna TUITAMA | 187cm | 95kg | 24 | 2 |
| 15 | Tomasi ALOSIO | 185cm | 92kg | 32 | 2 |
Next, I would like to introduce the United States National Team.
The United States National Rugby Team, known as the American Eagles, is ranked 19th in the world and has participated in 8 of the 10 RWC tournaments. Their record at the RWC is 3 wins and 26 losses.
Their record so far in the PNC is as follows.
September 1 vs Canada 28-15 〇
September 7 vs Japan 41-24 ●
September 14 vs Fiji 22-3 ●
Most of the rugby players in the U.S. have experience in American football, the most popular sport in the U.S., so it is not surprising that the more talented players have a background in the sport. Therefore, players with more potential aim to become professionals in American Football, and those who could not become professionals in American Football have switched to Rugby.
Although rugby has not become a major sport in the United States, the number of players is gradually increasing, and women’s rugby and 7-a-side rugby, in particular, have become world powerhouses. The potential athletic ability of individual players is unquestionably high, and there is a possibility that the country will be ranked high in the world in the near future. Hopefully, they will want to fulfill that ambition before RWC 2031 is held in their home country, so they could not afford to lose this day’s match.
The starting lineup for this day’s match was as follows.
| American Eagles | |||||
| No. | Name | height | weight | age | USA Caps |
| 1 | Jake TURNBULL | 189cm | 117kg | 31 | |
| 2 | Kapeli PIFELETI | 183cm | 110kg | 25 | 12 |
| 3 | Alex MAUGHAN | 178cm | 122kg | 29 | 4 |
| 4 | Jason DAMM | 195cm | 113kg | 29 | |
| 5 | Greg PETERSON | 206cm | 125kg | 33 | 32 |
| 6 | Paddy RYAN | 188cm | 111kg | 25 | 8 |
| 7 | Cory DANIEL | 188cm | 104kg | 28 | 4 |
| 8 | Jamason Fa’anana SCHULTZ | 188m | 122kg | 28 | 12 |
| 9 | JP SMITH | 187m | 93kg | 30 | |
| 10 | Luke CARTY | 183cm | 91kg | 26 | 19 |
| 11 | Mitch WILSON | 174cm | 77kg | 28 | 3 |
| 12 | Tommaso BONI | 185cm | 103kg | 31 | 7 |
| 13 | Dominic BESAG | 180cm | 91kg | 20 | 2 |
| 14 | Conner MOONEYHAM | 183cm | 93kg | 26 | 2 |
| 15 | Toby FRICKER | 186cm | 98kg | 29 | 0 |
Before the start of the match, Her Imperial Highness Princess Akiko, Honorary President of the Japan Rugby Football Union, visited the venue to encourage the players of both teams.
Her Imperial Highness Princess Akiko’s encouragement heightened the atmosphere that each player was representing his/her country in an international match.
Next, both teams sang their national anthems. Finally, the atmosphere of the test match reached its climax with the performance of Siva Tau, the War Cry of the Samoan national team.
The match began.
First, it was the Eagles who took the lead. 3 minutes into the first half, the Eagles broke into the enemy territory, and after a sharp start, they lured their opponents into a passing error and had a chance for a PG. Eagles’ SO CARTY scored to make the score 3-0.
After the Samoan team’s restart, the two teams exchanged high punts, and Eagles’ FB WILSON, with a little momentum, caught a high punt, ran behind the enemy defense, and ran 40 meters at a stretch to score a try in the middle left of the enemy in-goal. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 10-0.
The Eagles made a successful dash for the stat.
The Samoan national team began their counterattack in the 15 minutes of the first half. Once in the enemy territory, the Eagles used the strength of their individual contact play to push forward and cross the 22-meter line. The Eagles were unable to hold back and committed an infringement, giving the Samoan national team a PG opportunity. The Samoan team had a chance to score a PG, which SO IONA scored to make the score 10-3.
The Samoa national team continued to fight back. 41 minutes of the first half, the Samoan national team broke down their opponents in a scrum and drew a collapsing foul from the Eagles.
Here, the Samoan national team opted for a PG, and SO IONA succeeded with a PG from about 40 meters to make the score 10-6.
The first half ended with the score at this point, and halftime arrived.
The Eagles, like the Fiji national team the week before, were solid defensively and had no major breakdowns. This time, the Eagles were successful in scoring from a counter attack, and kept the lead going into the second half.
Second half:
In the second half, it was the Samoan national team that first got the ball rolling. In 2 minutes of the second half, after breaking into enemy territory, Lock CURRY succeeded in jackaling the ball for the opposing team. From there, No.8 PETERO, while getting tangled up in the enemy’s day defense, rushed forward and scored a try right under the enemy’s goal post.
The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was 10-13, and the Samoan national team succeeded in reversing the score.
However, the Eagles did not back down. In the 13th minute of the second half, SO CARTY scored the equalizing PG after a foul by the opponent gave the Eagles the right to a PG.
After this, both teams were deadlocked on the score. However, as far as the game was concerned, the Samoan team had several scoring chances, but the Eagles managed to survive the attacks.
The Samoan team repeatedly attacked deep into enemy territory, but their best chance came in the 37th minute of the second half. After a series of attacks inside the enemy 22 meters, Samoan substitute WTB NANAI scored a try in the left corner of the enemy in-goal.
The conversion goal after the try failed, but the score was 13-18, giving Samoa a five-point lead.
With time remaining, the Eagles also made a desperate attempt to catch up the score, but the score remained unchanged and the Samoan national team finished the third place in the PNC.
Despite the loss, however, credit must be given to the Eagles for their tenacious defense. When the attacking decisiveness is in place, we can expect a potential whirlwind in the RWC 2027.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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