22 July 2023: G: Sapporo Dome Stadium (Hokkaido) ; R: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
●Japan 22-24 Samoa○
Data:
22/7/2023, Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2023
Japan 22 – 24 Samoa
Sapporo Dome Stadium (Hokkaido) , Japan
Half-time 10 – 10
Refree: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Crowd: 22,063
JAPAN:15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Dylan Riley (23 Tomoki Osada 62), 12 Shogo Nakano (20 Shota Fukui 55), 11 Jone Naikabula, 10 Seungshin Lee (22 Rikiya Matsuda 69), 9 Yutaka Nagare (21 Naoto Saito 55), 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Kazuki Himeno, 6 Jack Cornelsen, 5 Amato Fakatava (19 Uwe HELU 65), 4 James Moore, 3 Jiwon Koo (18 Shinnosuke Kakinaga 66), 2 Atsushi Sakate (capt) (16 Shota Horie 62), 1 Keita Inagaki (17 Craig Millar 62).
Reserves:
HIA:
Coach: Jamie Joseph.
Tries: Amato Fakatava ; Conversions: Seungshin Lee ; Penalty Goals: Seungshin Lee (5)
Yellow Cards:
Red Card: Michael Leitch (30 Dangerous Play)
Samoa: 15 Danny Toala (22 Martini Talapusi 65) , 14 Neria Fomai (23 Ed Fidow 59), 13 Ulupano Junior Seuteni , 12 Duncan Paiaaua, 11 Tumua Manu, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Jonathan Taumateine (21 Ereatara Enari 68), 8 Sootala FAASOO (19 Genesis Lemalu 59), 7 Alamanda Motuga, 6 Taleni Seu, 5 Michael Curry, 4 Brian Alainuuese (20 Miracle Faiilagi 59), 3 Paul Alo-Emile (18 Charlie Faumuina 53), 2 Luteru Tolai (16 Ray Niuia 53), 1 Jordan Lay (17 Tietie Tuimauga 70).
Reserves:
Coach: Seilala Mapusua.
Tries: Alamanda Motuga, Jonathan Taumateine, Tumua Manu; Conversions: Christian Lealiifano (3) ;
Penalty Goals: Christian Lealiifano.
Yellow Cards: Taleni Seu (17, sin-bin).
Scoring sequence (Japan’s score shown first): 6min-try Japan, Amato Fakatava-5-0; conv. Seungshin Lee-7-0, 19min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee-10-0, 25min-pen Samoa, Christian Lealiifano-10-3, 37min-try Samoa, Alamanda Motuga-10-8; conv. Christian Lealiifano-10-10, 42min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee-13-10, 47min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee-16-10, 48min-try Samoa, Jonathan Taumateine-16-15; conv. Christian Lealiifano-16-17, 57min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee-19-17, 61min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee-22-17, 63min-try Samoa, Tumua Manu-22-22; conv. Christian Lealiifano -22-24.
The match started with a kick-off from Samoa. Japan won consecutive rucks with steady passes and forwards' vertical rushes, and Lee kicked deep into the enemy's territory. Samoa pushed at the first scrum. In the 6th minute, lock Fakatava, who was making his first cap in this match, carried the ball knocked on by Samoa into the in-goal and scored a try (Lee's goal was successful, making it 7-0). Sapporo Dome was an indoor stadium that day, and was fully air-conditioned, and it was incredibly cool at 22 degrees Celsius for July, but both teams were sweating and knock-ons were noticeable. In the 16th minute, Samoa made a high tackle and earned a penalty kick 5 meters to the left of the Samoa 22-meter line, which SO Lee kicked 7 meters to the left in front of the goal, resulting in a lineout for Japan. Japan used a sign play to pass the ball caught by Fakatava in the back to Leitch in front, who passed it to Himeno on the left side and Sakate rushed in, but unfortunately it was not a try after a Samoan tackle 2 meters in front of the goal. In this play, Samoa's No. 6 Taleni Seu, who first tackled Sakate, is given a yellow card for a high tackle and sent off for 10 minutes. Japan again kicked for touch 5 meters in front of the Samoa goal, and from the lineout, they formed a great maul. If they had pushed forward, they would have scored a try, but they were unable to push through Samoa's power, and CTB Nakano, who received a pass from SH Nagare, charged vertically, but dropped the ball on by a Samoa tackle. After that, from a lineout with Japan's ball, Himeno charged vertically, but Samoa again committed a high tackle, and in the 19th minute, SO Li easily score a penalty goal (10-0). However, the momentum may be on Japan's side, but it was not. They repeatedly gave the momentum to their opponents, such as early pushes in the scrum and not rolling away in the ruck. In the 25th minute, Samoa's No. 10 Lealifano scored a penalty goal about 10 meters from the center of the Japanese half (10-3). He was Australia's number 10 at the RWC 2019 Japan tournament, but this year he became a Samoa representative due to the application of a new rule (allowing players to return to their home country after three years). Then, 30 minutes into the game, Samoa's No. 8 received a direct pass from the SH at a lineout 22 meters to the left of the Samoa area, and Sakate and Leach made a double tackle, but the shoulder of the second tackler, Leach, hit the opponent's chin, and the TMO ruled him a red card. With the clear purpose of "reducing head injuries as much as possible," the WRs took a stricter stance, and there is a possibility that the whistle will be even stricter in the actual tournament. It was a shocking blow to the Japanese national team, who had to play the remaining 50 minutes with 14 players, but the players will have taken it to heart as a lesson that they must never do in the actual tournament. After that, they added a blind WTB to the scrum against the 7-man FW, but they were undeniably at a disadvantage and were pushed back, resulting in a penalty. In the 37th minute, Samoa get a lineout 5m to the left of the Japanese goal by the penalty touch kick, and the forwards repeatedly charged vertically to win the ruck, and finally No. 7 jumped into the in-goal (Lealifano's goal was successful, making it 10-10). After that, Samoa continued to attack, taking advantage of Japan's mistakes, but in the end, SH Nagare kicked the loose ball from the ruck into touch, and the score was tied at halftime.
The second half started with a Japanese kickoff, but as if they had changed their mindset, Japan went on the offensive at once, scattering the ball. In the 42nd minute, Fakatava broke away from his second charge, drawing an off-the-feet foul from Samoa, and Li easily score a penalty goal 30 meters from the center (13-10). The ball from the subsequent kickoff also went into the enemy's territory with a long kick from fullback Yamanaka, and Japan went on the offensive. CTB Nakano's vertical charge got deep into the Samoan territory, and the forwards repeatedly charged vertically while winning rucks. Samoa could not help but commit a foul, and in the 47th minute, Li easily scored a penalty goal 15 meters in front of the Samoan goal (16-10). However, on the next kickoff, at a ruck within the Japanese 22m territory, SH Nagare passed the ball to fullback Yamanaka and tried to kick for touch, but the Samoan SH jumped out and charged brilliantly, and the ball was caught in the in-goal, leading to a try (Lealifano's successful goal turned the game around to 16-17). After that, both teams attacked each other bravely, but both lost their chances due to knock-ons. In the 54th minute, at a scrum with Samoa's ball, the Japanese forwards, including No14 Naikabula at number 7 posision, pushed through Samoa and earned a penalty kick, entering the enemy's territory. At this point, the Japanese team replaced Nagare and Nakano with Saito and Fukui, and went on the offensive with eight forwards. Fukui repeatedly charged with the ball, giving the Japanese team momentum. Samoa could not help but commit a foul, and in the 56th minute, Lee easily scored a penalty kick 15 meters to the left of the Samoan goal, and took the lead again (19-17). After the kick-off, both teams fought for territory with kicks, but Naikabula and Saito, who were chasing Riley's grubber kick, tackled Samoan players one after another, inviting a Samoan player to commit a foul for not releasing the ball. In the 60th minute, Lee easily scored a penalty kick to the left of the Samoan 22m line (22-17). Japan then brought in Horie, Miller, and Osada. However, in the 23rd minute, in a scrum with Samoa ball 15m to the right of the Japanese goal, Samoa attacked to the right side (Samoa's left side) where there were fewer Japan backs DF, and Matsushima couldnot tackle Samoa's No. 11 while difficult position, allowing a try and tying the score. Leali Fano's goal from the left corner gave Samoa the lead again (22-24). Japan replaced Fakatava, who had been playing well today, with Heluwe. However, he committed a foul when he entered the enemy's territory and the ball was kicked back to their own territory. At this point, they replaced Goo with Kakinaga. In the 69th minute, they replaced Lee with Matsuda and tried to win. Japan regained their rhythm in attack, and Osada, who had played as a center, made effective runs to launch consecutive attacks, but Osada's final charge was a foul for not releasing the ball, which killed the chance. With three minutes left, Japan gained the ball in a scrum with Samoa knock-on, but Samoa was skillful at wasting time, and Japan tried to make several final attack, but Japan neck roll at the ruck makes the game finish. There should be no player who thinks it is unavoidable because there are only 14 players. The test matches will continue from next week onwards, and we will train towards the main tournament, so I hope that the Japan national team will go back to the basics of "how to reduce mistakes and fouls" and do their best to win the main tournament.