Test Match No. 163: The 5th Pacific Rim Championship, game 2

日本語 Photo Journal
27 May 2000 at Hanazono Rugby Stadium
●Japan 21-36 United States○
Gave in to the powerful U.S.
 
Data:
27/05/2000, the 5th EPSON CUP Pacific Rim Championship
Japan 21 U.S.A. 36
Hanazono Rugby Grounds, Osaka
Half-time: 7-18
Referee: Masunu Tuisila (Samoa)
Touch Judges: 1st Nobuaki Tanaka (Japan), 2nd Koji Taniguchi (Japan), 3rd Masakazu Minato (Kansai)
Crowd: 6,000
 
JAPAN: 15 Toru Kurihara, 14 Daisuke Ohata (22 Michinori Oda 37), 13 Akira Yoshida, 12 Hideki Nanba, 11 Terunori Masuho (capt), 10 Shotaro Onishi (21 Keiji Hirose 80), 9 Yuji Sonoda, 8 Yashunori Watanabe (19 Takuo Kawasaki 62), 7 Kazuya Koizumi, 6 Hiroshi Sugawara, 5 Hiroyuki Tanuma, 4 Naoya 'Katsuo' Okubo, 3 Masahiko Toyoyama (17 Takahiro Hirata 34), 2 Shin Hasegawa (16 Yasuhiko Iwama 59), 1 Toshikazu Nakamichi.
Reserves: 18 Kosuke Fujii, 20 Mamoru Ito.
Tries: Oda (2), Sonoda; Conversions: Kurihara (3).
 
U.S.A.: 15 Kurt Shuman, 14 Andre Blom, 13 Phillip Eloff, 12 Juan Grobler, 11 Malakai Delai, 10 Grant Wells, 9 kevin Dalzell, 8 Dave Hodges (capt), 7 Kort Schubert, 6 Don Younger, 5 Matt Kane, 4 Phillippe Farner, 3 Ray Lehner, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 1 John McBride (21 Joe Clayton 51).
Reserves: 16 John McGeachy, 17 Link Wilfley, 18 Jovesa Naivalu, 19 John Burke, 20 Tom Kelleher, 22 Robbie Flynn.
Tries: Blom, Shuman, Hodges, Khasigian; Conversions: Wells (2); Penalty Goals: Wells (3); Drop Goal: Wells.
 
Scoring sequence (Japan's score shown first): 1min-pen U.S.A., Wells (missed), 4min-pen U.S.A., Wells-0-3, 8min-try Japan, Sonoda; conv. Kurihara-7-3, 21min-pen Japan, Kurihara (missed), 30min-try U.S.A., Blom; conv. Wells-7-10, 39min-pen U.S.A., Wells-7-13, 41min-try U.S.A., Shuman; conv. Wells (missed)-7-18, Half-time, 42min-pen U.S.A., Wells-7-21, 45min-try Japan, Oda; conv. Kurihara-14-21, 47min-pen Japan, Kurihara (missed), 61min-try U.S.A., Hodges; conv. Wells (missed)-14-26, 63min-try Japan, Oda; conv. Kurihara-21-26, 65min-pen U.S.A., Wells (missed), 73min-try U.S.A., Khasigian; conv. Wells-21-33, 81min-drop goal U.S.A., Wells-21-36.
 


It was a close match in which Japan scored three tries and conceded four. It was also a match that Japan had a chance of winning. They were the first on the scoreboard: Stand-off Onishi cut in from the lineout in front of the goal in the 7th minute of the first half. A ruck was formed, and scrum-half Sonoda dived under the goal post. The U.S. scored their first try in the 30th minute, but they were still almost even. Japan played regrettably during extra time in the first half, when they conceded a try from a counterattack. Japan's wing Oda scored two tries from consecutive possessions in the second half. They got so close, but they collapsed around the 20th minute onwards, conceded three tries to the U.S., and lost 21-36.