Test Match No. 208: Spain's second visit to Japan

日本語 Photo Journal
5 November 2005 at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
○Japan 44-29 Spain●
Elissalde and his men achieved a giant-killing
 
Data:
05/11/2005, Lipobitan D Challenge 2005
Japan 44 Spain 29
Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground, Tokyo
Half-time: 21-18
Referee: Andrew Cole (Australia)
Touch Judges: 1st Shinji Aida (Japan), 2nd Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan), 3rd Takashi Onozuka / Ryota Yashima (Japan)
Crowd: 11,465
 
JAPAN: 15 Goshi Tachikawa, 14 Nataniera Oto (22 Takashi Miyake 74), 13 Junpei Enomoto, 12 Shotaro Onishi, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 Keiji Hirose, 9 Wataru Ikeda (capt) (20 Mamoru Ito temp-bs 62-64), 8 Hajime Kiso, 7 Takashi Kikutani (19 Takanori Kumagae 86), 6 Tomoaki Nakai (21 Ryota Asano 64), 5 Takashi Akatsuka (18 Tsuyoshi Sato 51), 4 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 3 Ryo Yamamura (17 Tomokazu Soma 55), 2 Yuji Matsubara (16 Takashi Yamaoka 60), 1 Yuichi Hisadomi.
Tries: Tachikawa, Kikutani, Akatsuka, Oto, Onozawa; Conversions: Hirose (5); Penalty Goals: Hirose (2); Drop Goal: Hirose.
 
SPAIN: 15 César Sempere Padilla, 14 Jorge Juan Prieto Solis (22 David Mota Sierra 55), 13 Ferran Velazco Querol (capt) (21 Alvar Enciso Fernandez-Valderama 70), 12 Jaime Nava de Olano, 11 Ignacio A. Martin Goenaga, 10 Esteban Roqué Segovia, 9 Pablo Feijóo Ugalde, 8 Iván Criado Garachana (19 Alejandro Ortega 63), 7 Juan González Goicoechea, 6 Rafael Camacho Bilboa, 5 César Bernasconi Rivera, 4 Andrew Ebbet (18 Alvaro Lázaro Gaminde 47), 3 Javier Salazar Lizarraga, 2 Diego Zarzosa Pena (16 Mathieu P. Cidre Baroni 70), 1 Ion Insausti Jimenez (17 César Caballero San Jose 70).
Tries: Martin, Feijóo, Mota; Conversion: Roqué; Penalty Goals: Roqué (2); Drop Goals: Sempere (2).
 
Scoring sequence (Japan's score shown first): 4min-try Japan, Tachikawa; conv. Hirose-7-0, 7min-try Spain, Martin; conv. Roqué (missed)-7-5, 12min-try Japan, Kikutani; conv. Hirose-14-5, 19min-drop goal Spain, Sempere-14-8, 22min-try Spain, Feijóo; conv. Roqué-14-15, 26min-drop goal Spain, Sempere-14-18, 33min-try Japan, Akatsuka; conv. Hirose-21-18, Half-time, 42min-pen Spain, Roqué-21-21, 46min-pen Japan, Hirose-24-21, 50min-drop goal Japan, Hirose-27-21, 59min-pen Japan, Hirose-30-21, 67min-try Spain, Mota; conv. Roqué (missed)-30-26, 72min-try Japan, Oto; conv. Hirose-37-26, 77min-pen Spain, Roqué-37-29, 81min-try Japan, Onozawa; conv. Hirose-44-29.
 


The match against Spain drew attention because its result would affect the decision on the host country of the 2011 World Cup two weeks later. Japan, ranked 16th in the world, could not lose to Spain, the 30th. Although they fortunately won 44-29, ideally they should not concede more than 15 points.
The first half was a close game by 21-18, with the number of tries 3-2 respectively. The game remained tangled in the second half; the point differential was only four for 30 minutes. Japan scored two tries in the first half: one by fullback Tatekawa, who joined the line from a ruck, and another from a maul. The try that extended Japan's lead in the 32nd minute of the second half was scored by pushing a maul, and no sign of the French style of offence. We saw a satisfactory try at the very end of the match when Onozawa ran for 40 metres to score a try. Hirose, an experienced player, successfully kicked all five goals. He also scored two penalties and a drop goal to contribute to the win. Newly appointed head coach Elissalde said, without smiling, that he was “not satisfied with the way the game was played”.