Test Match No. 25: New Zealand Tour 1968, game 8

日本語 Photo
Japan's 8 Best Games
3 June 1968 in Wellington
○Japan 23-19 New Zealand Junior●
Japan's monumental victory
 
Data:
03/06/68
Japan 23 New Zealand Juniors (Under 23) 19
Athletic Park, Wellinton
Half-time: 17-11
Referee: R.C. Fenton (New Zealand)
Touch Judges: unknown
Crowd: 25,000
 
JAPAN: 15 Masaharu Mantani, 14 Tadayuki Ito, 13 Masayoshi Ozaki (capt), 12 Akira Yokoi, 11 Yoshihiro Sakata, 10 Tsutomu Katsuraguchi, 9 Yoshinori Okubo, 8 Koji Ishizuka, 7 Motonari Ishida, 6 Yoshiaki Izawa, 5 Hiroshi Ogasawara, 4 Megumi Horikoshi, 3 Takeo Saruta, 2 Mitsuo Atokawa, 1 Morio Kawasaki.
Reserves: 16 Makoto Mizutani, 17 Fumiharu Shimazaki, 18 Kishio Ishiyama, 19 Ryozo Imazaki, 21 Katsumi Kamata, 23 Tadashi Nakayama.
Tries: Sakata (4), Yokoi, Ito; Conversion: Katsuraguchi; Penalty Goal: Katsuraguchi.
 
NEW ZEALAND JUNIORS (Under 23)=All Blacks Juniors: 15 Laurence William Mains, 14 Owen George Stephens, 13 Michael William O'Callaghan, 12 D.R. Panther, 11(FE) Robert Edward Burgess, 10(FE) John Patrick Dougan, 9 Ian Neal Stevens, 8 G.J. Allen (18 Peter John Whiting middle of 1st Half), 7 I. Turley, 6 B. Holmes, 5 I. Eliason, 4 G.A. Dermody, 3 W.C. Tapeth, 2 D.A. Pesini, 1 Ashley John Gardiner (capt).
Reserves: 16 B. Going, 17 B.F. Elder, 19 J.K. McRae.
Tries: O'Callaghan (2), Stephens; Conversions: Burgess (2); Penalty Goals: Burgess (2).
 
Scoring sequence (Japan's score shown first): 2min-pen NZ Jr., Burgess-0-3, 3min-try NZ Jr., O'Callaghan; conv. Burgess-0-8, 6min-pen Japan, Katsuraguch (missed), 7min-pen Japan, Katsuraguch-3-8, 10min-try Japan, Sakata; conv. Katsuraguchi (missed)-6-8, 17min-try Japan, Sakata; conv. Katsuraguchi-11-8, 25min-try Japan, Yokoi; conv. Katsuraguchi (missed)-14-8, 27min-pen NZ Jr., Burgess-14-11, 35min-try Japan, Sakata; conv. Katsuraguchi (missed)-17-11, Half-time, 42min-pen NZ Jr., Burgess (missed), 48min-pen Japan, Katsuraguchi (missed), 53min-drop goal, NZ Jr., Dougan (missed), 56min-try NZ Jr., O'Cullaghan; conv. Burgess-17-16, 60min-pen NZ Jr., Burgess (missed), 65min-try Japan, Ito; conv. Katsuraguchi (missed)-20-16, 66min- pen NZ Jr., Burgess (missed), 70 min-try Japan, Sakata; conv. Katsuraguchi (missed)-23-16, 74min-try NZ Jr., Stephens; conv. Burgess (missed)-23-19.
 


JRFU sent the national team to the much-awaited tour to New Zealand. This tour is today acknowledged as the beginning of the internationalization of Japanese rugby as well as the starting point of modern day rugby.
The first half, 2 min: NZ scored a penalty, 0-3. 3 min: The wing for NZ scored a try (and scored a goal), 0-8. 7 min: Japan earned a penalty for offside, and Katsuraguchi successfully scored it, 3-8. 10 min: Yokoi tackled NZ's three-quarter player during their passes. Sakata picked up the dropped ball and managed to score a try to the corner, 6-8. 17 min: From a lineout to the right, Japan deployed an open attack. NZ's fullback missed Ozaki's rolling punt, which was then picked up and tried by Sakata (and a conversion gained), 11-8. 25 min: From Japan's consecutive possessions, Ozaki passed the ball to Yokoi, who bursted through the pack by cutting-in and scored a try, 14-8. 27 min: NZ kicked a penalty, 14-11. 35 min: Japan deployed to the left from a lineout, Yokoi got away with a loop pass, and scored a try to the left corner, 17-11 (end of the first half). The second half, 16 min: NZ scored a try to the centre (and a conversion), 17-16. 25 min: Japan deployed to the right from scrum, Mantani burst through with Kanpei, and Ito scored a try, 20-16. 30 min: Japan deployed from a lineout to the right, Yokoi burst through and Sakata scored a try to the centre, 23-16. 34 min: NZ deployed from a lineout and scored a try, 23-19.
This was how Japan won the match, which became a milestone in the history of Japanese rugby. The short lineouts Japan developed worked well. Yokoi and other men made Kanpei, cut-in and loop pass also work well. Sakata, Ito, and Mantani ran well, too. It is a victory of Onishi's rugby based on “getting close, deployment, and continuation”. Tetsunosuke Onishi commented as follows:
“We were taking a chance on this match which was not about winning or losing, but an opportunity to test our true ability. We thought a lot about how we would play, and came up with the following three conclusions: (1) play with a belief that a strategy of relentlessness will make us a certain winner, (2) as for attacking, press ahead with what we have been practising, (3) as for defence, for the opponents have only five tactics, we should watch their moves with clear eyes, to determine what is best in the moment, faithfully deploy the defensive shield, and tackle in a relentless manner. As the opponents are young, we should confuse them from the beginning with a variety of strategies, maintain our pace till the end and never let them pull themselves together. These thorough concepts and decision making led to this victory. All the players did an excellent job. This was a very satisfactory game that will be our lifetime memory. I can call it a victory achieved by our go-for-broke attitude.”