Test Match No. 146: the 3rd Pacific Rim Championship, game 5

日本語 Photo Journal
13 June 1998 at Boxer Stadium
○Japan 25-21 United States●
An upset win against the U.S. with Hirose's dramatic try
 
Data:
13/06/98, the 3rd Pacific Rim Championship
Japan 25 U.S.A. 21
Matthew J. Boxer Stadium, Balboa Park, San Francisco
Half-time: 6-13
Referee: David Steele (Canada)
Touch Judges: unknown
Crowd: 1,800
 
JAPAN: 15 Tsutomu Matsuda, 14 Terunori Masuho, 13 Osami Yatsuhashi, 12 Yukio Motoki, 11 Patiliai Tuidraki, 10 Stephen Miln (17 Keiji Hirose 63), 9 Wataru Murata, 8 Ross Thompson, 7 Greg Smith (19 Takeomi Ito 46), 6 Robert Gordon, 5 Hiroyuki Tanuma, 4 Yoshihiko Sakuraba, 3 Naoto Nakamura, 2 Masahiro Kunda (capt), 1 Shin Hasegawa.
Tries: Thompson, Tuidraki, Hirose; Conversions: Miln, Hirose; Penalty Goals: Miln (2).
Yellow Cards: Thompson (81, sin-bin, ----------), Motoki (83, sin-bin, ----------).
 
U.S.A.: 15 Dan Kennedy, 14 Jason Raven, 13 Tini Saulala ( Kurt Shuman 80), 12 Tamasi Takau, 11 C.D. Labounty, 10 Vaea Anitoni, 9 Andre Bachelet, 8 Rob Lumkong, 7 Tasi Mo'unga, 6 Alec Parker, 5 David Hodges 4 Luke Gross (Jason Walker 66), 3 George Sucher, 2 Tom Billups (capt), 1 Chris Lippert (Bart Furrow 68).
Tries: Billups, Saulala; Conversion: Bachelet; Penalty Goals: Bachelet (3).
 
Scoring sequence (Japan's score shown first): 4min-pen Japan, Miln-3-0, 11min-pen Japan, Miln-6-0, 14min-pen U.S.A., Bachelet-6-3, 16min-pen U.S.A., Bachelet (missed), 22min-pen Japan, Miln (missed), 25min-try U.S.A., Billups; conv. Bachelet-6-10, 37min-pen U.S.A., Bachelet-6-13, 40min-pen Japan, Miln (missed), Half-time, 43min-try U.S.A., Saulala; conv. Bachelet (missed)-6-18, 54min-try Japan, Thompson, conv. Miln-13-18, 66min-try Japan, Tuidraki, conv. Hirose (missed)-18-18, 70min-pen Japan, Hirose (missed), 77min-pen U.S.A., Bachelet-18-21, 39min-try Japan, Hirose, conv. Hirose-25-21.
 


Japan conceded only three tries to the United States while scoring three tries to win in the opponent's home country.
Tuidraki scored a try from consecutive possessions in the 26th minute of the second half to tie the score by 18-18. The penalty scored by the U.S. in the 37th minute cast dark clouds over Japan (18-21), but in the 39th minute, Japan deployed to the left from the scrum and Hirose scored a dramatic try to earn the second win in this Championship.
Japan finally won in San Francisco, where they had many bad memories of devastating defeats since the first Pacific Rim Championship. The game itself wasn't very applaudable: There were 34 infringements during the match, Japan made many mistakes in the first half, and they allowed the U.S. to launch a fierce attack during injury time. However, it is commendable that Japan endured them all and won in the end. “We now have the persistence to win in a relentless game like this. The team is getting tough,” said coach Hirao.