29 July 2023: G: Hanazono Rugby Stadium (Osaka); R: Matthew Carley (RFU)
○Japan 21-16 Tonga●
Data:
29/7/2023, Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2023
Japan 21 – 16 Tonga
Hanazono Rugby Stadium (Osaka) , Japan
Half-time 13 – 5
Refree: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Crowd: 21,138
JAPAN: 15 Ryohei Yamanaka (23 Kotaro Matsushima 64), 14 Jone Naikabula, 13 Dylan Riley (23 62), 12 Tomoki Osada, 11 Semisi Masirewa , 10 Seungshin Lee (22 Rikiya Matsuda 47), 9 Naoto Saito (21 Yutaka Nagare 53), 8 Kazuki Himeno (capt), 7 Ben Gunter (20 Tevita Tatafu 58), 6 Jack Cornelsen, 5 Uwe HELU (19 James Moore 47), 4 Amato Fakatava, 3 Asaeli Ai Valu (18 Jiwon Koo 53), 2 Atsushi Sakate (16 Shota Horie 59), 1 Keita Inagaki (17 Craig Millar 59).
Reserves:
HIA:
Coach: Jamie Joseph.
Tries: Jone Naikabula, Amato Fakatava, Semisi Masirewa; Conversions: nothing;
Penalty Goals: Seungshin Lee, Rikiya Matsuda
Yellow Cards:
Red Card:
Tonga: 15 Salesi Piutau, 14 Solomone Kata, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Pita AhKi, 11 Kyren Taumoefolau (23 George Moala 64), 10 William Havili (22 Otumaka Mausia 73), 9 Sonatane Takulua (21 Manu Paea 67), 8 Lopeti Timani (20 Solomone Funaki 47 ), 7 Sione Havili Talitui, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sitiveni Mafi (19 Tanginoa Halaifonua 47), 4 Halaleva Fifita, 3 Ben Tameifuna (18 David Lolohea 69), 2 Samiuela Moli (16 Paula Ngauamo 69), 1 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi (17 Feao Fotuaika 69).
Reserves:
Coach: Toutai Kefu.
Tries: Sonatane Takulua, Samiuela Moli; Conversions: notthinng; Penalty Goals: William Havili (2).
Yellow Cards:
Scoring sequence (Japan’s score shown first): 18min-pg Japan, Seungshin Lee (missed)-0-0, 20min-try Japan, Jone Naikabula-5-0; conv. Seungshin Lee (missed)-5-0, 23min-pen Tonga, Sonatane Takulua-5-5; conv. William Havili (missed)-5-5 , 32min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee-8-5, 40min-try Japan, Amato Fakatava-13-5; conv. Seungshin Lee (missed)-13-5, 42min-pen Tonga, William Havili-13-8, 47min-pen Tonga, William Havili-13-11, 53min-try Japan, Semisi Masirewa-18-11; conv. Rikiya Matsuda (missed)-18-11, 57min-try Tonga, Samiuela Moli-18-16; conv. William Havili (missed)-18-16, 67min-pen Japan, Rikiya Matsuda-21-16.
Last week, Japan lost the match against Samoa. losing 22-24 after playing the entire 50 minutes with only 14 players. We hope they can bounce back and show some effective attacks.
Japan started with a kickoff from Lee, but his short kick to secure possession did not go to 10 meters, and Tonga ended up with a scrum. Determined to win, Tonga's forwards and backs worked together to push forward, while Japan had almost no chance to attack in the opposition's territory for the first 18 minutes of the match. However, Japan made good tackles, mainly double tackles, and managed to minimize unnecessary fouls. They made tenacious tackles in the maul in front of the goal, and in the side attacks and backs' development, to keep the score at zero. In the 18th minute, Li missed a penalty goal from 45 meters in the center, which Tonga had obtained after a foul, but in the 20th minute, Tonga knocked on and finally got the ball in their own territory with a scrum on the right side of the 22 meters. From a stable scrum, SH Saito passed the ball to inside center Osada, who pretended to run vertically and returned the ball to the supporting Saito, who passed the ball from right wing to Masilewa, who had moved to support. They were in a difficult situation with the Tonga DF closing in on them, but Masilewa's individual skill allowed him to dodge to the outside and made a brilliant pass to left wing Naikabula, who was waiting on the far outside. Naikabula ran through the empty space with his natural speed and scored a try in the left corner (5-0 after Li's missed goal). Attention was focused on how they would prevent the loss of points after scoring, as seen in the Samoa match, but they were missed again. A counter attack by Tonga fullback Piutau on Lee's kick in front of the goal created a ruck on the right side of the 10m line (Tonga's left side), and Tonga's No. 6 ran through the short side, which was only 2m long, and No. 9 Takulua, who supported the inside, ran alone and scored a try (No. 10 Havili's goal was missed, making it 5-5). The main reasons for the loss were that Saito, who should have been guarding the short side, was forced to tackle Piutau, and that Valu, who stayed on the short side, missed his tackle. After the restart, the Japanese national team went on the offensive in the Tonga half, but they lost their chances with small mistakes such as knock-ons and maul pile-ups. In the 32nd minute, Lee finally scored a penalty goal after a play after a scrum by Tonga 30m into the center of the Tonga half, giving Japan the lead (8-5). The Japanese national team continued to attack after that, but they were unable to score due to small mistakes and fouls. However, the defense was highly aware of Tonga's attacks when they were cut back, and did not allow the opponent to score easily. In the 40th minute, Li passed the ball from a central ruck to left wing Naikabula, who punted the ball vertically from the left sideline towards the Tonga goal. Japan's Saito and Fakatava, who were chasing, competed with the Tonga fullback, but in the end the ball bounced into Fakatava's chest and dived into the in-goal (13-5 due to Li's missed goal).
In the second half, Japan went on the offensive and tried to increase the score, but committed fouls in the fierce breakdown battles with Tonga, and Tonga's No. 10 Havili scored penalty goals in the 42nd and 47th minutes (13-11). Japan then substituted Moore and Matsuda for Uwe and Li. In the 53rd minute, Koo and Nagare were replaced by Baru and Saito. Matsuda kicked a penalty touchi kick from a Tonga foul in the midfield to the left of Tonga's 22m, resulting in a lineout for Japan. Japan caught the lineout cleanly, passing to No. 2 Sakate, No. 8 Himeno, and No. 21 Nagare, and then No. 13 Riley passed the ball to No. 15 Yamanaka, who was running in space, and finally No. 14 Masilewa, who received the ball in the defense gap, shook off his marker with his speed and dived into the right corner (Matsuda's missed penalty made it 18-11). However, in the 57th minute, Tonga kicked a penalty touchi kick earned from a Japan foul to 5m to the left of the Japanese goal, and from a lineout with the ball in Tonga's possession, they formed a powerful maul, which Japan had been able to defend up until then, but Tonga No2 Moli scored a try (18-16). At this point, Japan replaced Tatafu, Horie, and Miller with Gunter, Sakate, and Inagaki. They tried to increase the tempo of their attacks, but small mistakes prevented them from continuing their effective attacks. In the 64th minute, Matsushima was brought in to replace Yamanaka. After that, the Japanese national team launched consecutive attacks with their forwards and backs working together, and at the end, Naikabula and Osada came close to reaching the in-goal, but were blocked by Tonga's tenacious defense. However, in the 67th minute, Matsuda easily scored a penalty kick almost in front of the Japanese goal due to a Tonga foul, making the score 21-16. However, a five-point difference was enough to turn the game around with one try or one goal, so Tonga, inspired by this, launched consecutive attacks. In the 70th minute, Tonga, who had advanced 10m to the left of the Japanese goal, passed the ball from the ruck to the open side, and the CTB punted it to the open side. It looked like a try if it had gone to Tonga's No. 20, who was waiting on the very edge of the right side, but for some reason it bounced once, and when he caught it in the in-goal, he was tackled by Naikabula, who was backing up, and it was knocked on. Japan, who had escaped death, once again showed their tenacious defense and dynamic attack, but Tonga was not defeated either. Then, in the 79th minute, just before the end of the game, in a battle on the halfway line, Matsushima passed the ball to Masilewa, who was free on the right side, and he ran alone, and just when it seemed that a success pass to Riley, who was supporting on the left, would be a sure try, Tonga's CTB intercepted the pass and ran alone instead. It was a nerve-wracking scene that made people think it was a big comeback try, but Matsushima, who had been tackled and fallen after passing to Masilewa earlier, got up and gave chase. When the opponent crossed the 22m line, he made a great tackle to save the try. Tonga's fierce attack continued after that, but Horie's well-aimed jackal finally scored, and Japan finally won the victory. Due to the new rules, Tonga became a team that could not be underestimated, with former New Zealand and Australian players participating. The Japanese national team won the victory with the tackles of all the players who had been trained in the training camp and the teamwork that shared their tenacity. It was impressive to hear the TV commentators say, "It's really good that we were able to continue believing in what we have built up so far." I hope that they will build up more confidence and belief in the remaining games before the tournament and be in top condition for the RWC tournament.