Test Match No. 48: Wales first visit to Japan, game 3

日本語 Photo Journal
21 September 1975 at Hanazono Rugby Stadium
●Japan 12-56 Wales○
Trampled on by Red Devils
 
Data:
21/09/75, 1st Test
Japan 12 Wales VX 56
Hanazono Rugby Grounds, Osaka
Half-time: 9-26
Referee: Norman R. Sanson (Scotland)
Touch Judges: Hiroshi Nonomura (Japan), Kohei Irie (Japan)
Crowd: 15,000
 
JAPAN: 15 Nobuyuki Ueyama, 14 Masaru Fujiwara, 13 Shigetaka Mori, 12 Masao Yoshida (21 Nobufumi Tanaka 53), 11 Ken Aruga, 10 Masakatsu Iguchi, 9 Ryozo Imazato (capt), 8 Ichiro Kobayashi, 7 Takeo Ishizuka, 6 Yoshiaki Izawa, 5 Toshio Terai, 4 Hiroshi Ogasawara, 3 Susumu 'Asura' Hara, 2 Toshio Kurosaka, 1 Tsukasa Takata.
Reserves: 16 Toru Wada, 17 Koichi Shibata, 18 Hideo Akama, 19 Akio Ueda, 20 Susumu Kurihara.
Penalty Goals: Ueyama (4).
 
WALES: 15 John Peter Rhys Williams, 14 Thomas Gerald Reames Davies, 13 Raymond William Robert Gravell, 12 Steven Paul Fenwick, 11 John James Williams, 10 John David Bevan, 9 Gareth Owen Edwards (19 Roger Clive Shell 53), 8 Thomas Mervyn Davies, 7 Trevor Pryce Evans, 6 Terence John Cobner, 5 Allan Jeffrey Martin, 4 Geoffrey Arthur Derek Wheel, 3 Donald Barry Llewlyn, 2 Robert William E. ('The Duke') Windsor, 1 Anthony George ('Charlie') Faukner.
Reserves: 16 Graham Price, 17 E. Roy Thomas, 18 Derik Leslie Quinnel, 20 Philip Bennett OBE, 21 Roy Thomas Edmond Bergiers.
Tries: J.J. Williams (2), G. Davies (2), Gravell (2), Evans (2), Shell, Bevan,; Conversions: Fenwick (5); Penalty Goals: Fenwick (2).
 
Scoring sequence (Japan's score shown first): 3min-pen Japan, Ueyama-3-0, 6min-pen Wales, Fenwick-3-3, 14min-pen Wales, Fenwick-3-6, 19min-try Wales, J.J. Williams; conv. Fenwick (missed)-3-10, 24min-try Wales, G. Davies; conv. Fenwick (missed)-3-14, 27min-pen Japan, Ueyama-6-14, 33min-try Wales, J.J. Williams; conv. Fenwick-6-20, 37min-pen Japan, Ueyama-9-20, 39min-try Wales, G. Davies; conv. Fenwick-9-26, Half-time, 48min-try Wales, Gravell; conv. Fenwick-9-32, 49min-try Wales, Evans; conv. Fenwick (missed)-9-36, 52min-pen Japan, Ueyama-12-36, 72min-try Wales, Evans; conv. Fenwick (missed)-12-40, 74min-try Wales, Gravell; conv. Fenwick (missed)-12-44, 76min-try Wales, Shell; conv. Fenwick-12-50, 78min-try Wales, Bevan; conv. Fenwick-12-56.
 


Wales won game 1 against Waseda and Kinki combined team 3-32, and game 2 against Japan B 7-34. The stadium overflowed with 15,000 fans expecting a good match. The union had to let them in the ground not just the stands just as they did for the match against England in 1971. Before the match, coach Oka said that he was hoping for a better result than Japan B, scoring two or more tries while preventing Wales scoring more than 20 points. But in reality, Japan could do nothing but watch the red jerseys easily pass the ball like a basketball and swiftly dodge tackles. The only good thing about Japan was the place kicks by Ueyama, who successfully kicked all the penalties. Coach Oka was mortified at the fact that his men could not score a try, and said that “we had more possession than the previous two matches, but regrettably missed the opportunity due to our poor judgment. When the opponent plays so comfortably, it is beyond our control.'