Test Match No. 91: English and Scottish Tour 1986, game 8

日本語 Photo Journal
11 October 1986 in Twickenham
●Japan 12-39 England○
Led the first half but lost at the end
 
Data:
11/10/86
Japan 12 England XV 39
Twickenham, London
Half-time: 12-6
Referee: Raymond James Megson (Scotland)
Touch Judges: J. Brian Anderson (Scotland), Jim M. Fleming (Scotland)
Crowd: 25,000
 
JAPAN: 15 Shogo Mukai, 14 Nohomuli Taumoefolau, 13 Eiji Kutsuki, 12 Seiji Hirao, 11 Shinji Onuki, 10 Katsuhiro Matsuo, 9 Yoshimitsu Konishi, 8 Michihito Chida, 7 Toshiyuki Hayashi (capt), 6 Katsufumi Miyamoto, 5 Seiji Kurihara, 4 Yoshihiko Sakuraba, 3 Masaharu Aizawa, 2 Tsuyoshi Fujita, 1 Toshitaka Kimura.
Reserves: 16 Osamu Ota, 17 Toshihide Tai, 18 Yoshifumi Kasai, 19 Hisataka Ikuta, 20 Toshiro Yoshino, 21 Daijiro Murai.
Try: Konishi; Conversion: Matsuo; Penalty Goals: Matsuo (2).
 
ENGLAND XV: 15 William Marcus Henderson Rose, 14 Mark Davis Bailey, 13 James Lionel Broome Salmon, 12 Simon John Halliday, 11 Rory Underwood, 10 Stuart Barnes, 9 Richard John Hill (capt), 8 Dean Richards, 7 Gary William Rees, 6 John Peter Hall, 5 Stephen Bainbridge, 4 Nigel Charles Redman, 3 Gary Stephen Pearce, 2 Brian Christopher Moore, 1 Gareth James Chilcott.
Reserves: 16 John Carleton, 17 Christpher Robert Andrew, 18 Richard Mark Harding, 19 Paul Anthony George Rendall, 20 Richard Graham Reed Dawe, 21 Peter James Winterbottom.
Tries: Hall, Bailey, Richards, Rees, Underwood, Salmon; Conversions: Rose (6); Penalty Goal: Rose.
 
Scoring sequence (Japan's score shown first): 14min-pen England XV, Barnes (missed), 15min-try Japan, Koishi; conv. Matsuo-6-0, 17min-pen England XV, Barnes (missed), 20min-pen England XV, Barnes (missed), 28min-pen Japan, Matsuo (missed), 29min-pen Japan, Matsuo-9-0, 32min-try England XV, Hall, conv. Rose-9-6, 38min-pen Japan, Matsuo (missed), 40min-pen Japan, Matsuo-12-6, Half-time, 45min-pen England XV, Rose-12-9, 49min-try England XV, Bailey, conv. Rose-12-15, 55min-try England XV, Richards, conv. Rose-12-21, 59min-pen Japan, Matsuo (missed), 71min-try England XV, Rees, conv. Rose-12-27, 75min-try England XV, Underwood, conv. Rose-12-33, 79min-try England XV, Salmon, conv. Rose-12-39.
 


The way Japan started off was impressive. They used a lot of physical play and bravely attacked the team representing the world oldest rugby union. 25,000 spectators with experienced eyes groaned and applauded at each play. The spectators were surprised when Konishi, though physically small, shook off the opponent's defence and ran 50 metres to score the first try on the scoreboard. This was the first time Japan led the first half in a test match against a team from a member country of the international board. England's forwards switched to the side attack in the second half, and their powerful play made Japan run out of energy. However, instead of conceding a streak of tries, brilliant tackling by captain Hayashi and other Japanese players offered a sense of tension to the game, and made the stadium fill with cries of amazement. Japan had gotten over the discouragement of the French tour. They had a little more to go before they could make the savvy spectators ‘turn white'. I look forward to seeing the two countries play again in the World Cup next year.