27 August 2023: G: Stadio Comunale di Monigo (Nanto) ; R: Karl Dickson (RFU)
●Japan 21-42 Italy○
Data:
27/8/2023, Challenge Tour 2023
Japan 21 – 42 Italy
Stadio Comunale di Monigo (Nanto) , Italy
Half-time 11 – 17
Refree: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Crowd:
JAPAN: 15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Semisi Masirewa, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Tomoki Osada (23 Ryoto Nakamura 68), 11 Jone Naikabula, 10 Seungshin Lee (22 Rikiya Matsuda 40), 9 Yutaka Nagare (21 Naoto Saito 58), 8 Kazuki Himeno (capt), 7 Shota Fukui (20 Ben Gunter 61), 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Uwe HELU (19 Amanaki Saumaki 40), 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Jiwon Koo (18 Ai Valu 54), 2 Shota Horie (16 Atsushi Sakate 61), 1 Craig Millar (17 Keita Inagaki 54).
Reserves:
HIA:
Coach: Jamie Joseph.
Tries: Jone Naikabula, Kotaro Matsushima, Dylan Riley; Conversions: nothing; Penalty Goals: Seungshin Lee (2)
Yellow Cards:
Italy: 15 Tommaso ALLAN , 14 Ange CAPUOZZO (23 Paolo ODOGWU 63), 13 Juan Ignacio BREX, 12 Luca MORISI, 11 Montanna IOANE, 10 Paolo GARBISI, 9 Stephen VARNEY (22 Martin PAGE-RELO 72), 8 Lorenzo CANNONE (21 Manuel ZULIANI 54), 7 Michele LAMARO, 6 Sebastian NEGRI, 5 Federico RUZZA (20 Giovanni PETTINELLI 72), 4 Niccolo CANNONE (19 Dino LAMB 54), 3 Simone FERRARI (18 Pietro CECCARELLI 54), 2 Giacomo NICOTERA (16 Luca BIGI 68), 1 Ivan NEMER (17 Danilo FISCHETTI 69).
Reserves:
HIA: Giacomo NICOTERA (16 Luca BIGI 29),
Coach: Kieran Crowley.
Tries: Stephen VARNEY, Montanna IOANE (3), Martin PAGE-RELO; Conversions: Tommaso ALLAN (4), TETI TELA; Penalty Goals: Tommaso ALLAN (3).
Yellow Cards:
Scoring sequence (Japan’s score shown first): 6min-try Italy, Stephen VARNEY-0-5; conv. Tommaso ALLAN-0-7, 16min-try Japan, Jone Naikabula-5-7; conv. Seungshin Lee (missed), 21min-try Italy, Montanna IOANE-5-12; conv. Tommaso ALLAN-5-14, 31min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee (missed), 34min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee-8-14, 37min-pen Italy, Tommaso ALLAN-8-17, 42min-pen Japan, Seungshin Lee-11-17, 46min-pen Italy, Tommaso ALLAN-11-20, 52min-try Japan, Kotaro Matsushima-16-20; conv. Rikiya Matsuda (missed), 56min-try Italy, Montanna IOANE-16-25; conv. Tommaso ALLAN (missed), 65min-pen Italy, Tommaso ALLAN-16-28, 52min-try Japan, Dylan Riley-21-28; conv. Rikiya Matsuda (missed), 77min-try Italy, Montanna IOANE-21-33; conv. Tommaso ALLAN-21-35, 77min-try Italy, Martin PAGE-RELO-21-40; conv. Tommaso ALLAN-21-42.
As it was the final test match before the RWC2023 in France, Japan wanted to win comfortably and gain confidence, but they struggled with Italy's fast wingers running, and in the end, they made mistakes in their aggressive attacks to tie the score and were left behind. Italy had been trained so much in the Six Nations Tournament, and they had developed their strength by playing aggressively based on a strong scrum and making their fast wingers run, but in the actual match, the game developed faster than expected and each player had speed. In the early stages, the Japanese team made sure to make tackles to stop Italy's attacks, and sometimes used jackals to take back the ball from the opponent. However, in the sixth minute, the Italian backs spread out to the left from a ruck in the center of the Italian 10m line, and a pass was made from No. 13 Brex behind the forward who was running shallow, allowing No. 10 Garbisi to break through, and finally No. 9 Bernie, who followed inside, was left unmarked and scored a try just under the goal post (0-7 thanks to a successful goal from FB Alan). In the 16th minute, Japan got a penalty kick, this time from a lineout 15m to the left of the Italian goal, which was caught by Leitch, who passed it to thrower Horie, who was supported by Fukui, who went outside, and Horie went straight to the in-goal. Left wing Naikabula, who followed inside, received the pass and dodged three defenders to jump into the in-goal. However, Lee missed this easy goal kick to the left (5-7). In the 21st minute, Italy pushed a lineout maul 30m to the left of their own goal and moved to the right, and the fullback broke through with a loop play, and No. 14 Capuozzo ran alone along the right line. After passing the 22m line of the Japanese side, they punted it to the inside, and No. 11 Ioane, who was chasing, caught it just before the in-goal, breaking Nagare backing up, and scored a try (fullback Alan's goal made it 5-14). In the 31st minute, Japan attacked in front of the Italian goal and got a penalty kick, and Lee tried for a penalty kick, but it also ended in failure. There is no denying the anxiety before the tournament. In the 34th minute, a similar penalty kick in front of the Italian goal was scored by Li (8-14). In the 37th minute, Italy's fullback Alan attacked the Japanese goal and earned a penalty kick, which they converted with a penalty kick (8-17). In the 42nd minute, Li scored a long penalty kick from near the halfway line, ending the first half with a score of 11-17.
In the second half, Japan replaced No. 5 Uwe with No. 19 Saumaki Amanaki and No. 10 Li with No. 22 Matsuda. Japan was trying to make a comeback, but in the 6th minute Italy fullback Alan scored a penalty goal (11-20). In the 49th minute, Matsuda ran into the blind from a ruck 10 meters to the left of the Italian side and passed the ball to No. 11 Naikabula. Naikabula used his speed to shake off his marker and evade his backup, approaching 5 meters in front of the goal. However, the attack from here was sloppy, and Italy kicked back the pass Japan tried to force a connection, missing the chance. In the 52nd minute, Japan again approached the goal, winning consecutive rucks, and Matsuda, who picked up a messy pass, passed it brilliantly to Matsushima, who was following on the outside while being held by the opponent. Matsushima evaded the defender and brilliantly jumped into the in-goal. However, Matsuda, who was a substitute, missed this easy goal (16-20). In the 54th minute, Japan replaced both PRs (Miller to Inagaki, Gu to Val). In the 56th minute, Italy moved from a ruck 30m to the left of the Japanese side to the right, and with some brilliant passing, No. 14 made a run, received a Japanese tackle, passed the ball to the outside FW, and then passed it to No. 11 who followed inside and jumped into the right corner (16-25 due to FB Alan's missed goal kick). In the 61st minute, Japan replaced No. 2 Horie with No. 16 Sakate, and No. 7 Fukui with No. 20 Gunter. In the 65th minute, FB Alan scored a penalty kick, widening the gap (16-28). In the 68th minute, Japan replaced Osada with Nakamura. In the 71st minute, Japan again approached the Italian goal, won consecutive rucks, and finally Riley, who received a pass from Nakamura, jumped into the in-goal (21-28). However, Matsuda once again missed a crucial goal kick that should have brought the score within six points.Japan, desperate to tie the score at all costs, moved to the right from a ruck 22 meters to the left of the Japanese half in the 77th minute, and Nakamura sent a short punt, which went into the chest of Italy's No. 11 Ioane, who evaded the Japanese defenders one after another and scored a try just under the goal post (fullback Alan's goal made it 21-35). In the 80th minute, Japan moved to the left from a ruck to the left of the halfway line on a shallow line, but Naikabula's tap pass was misplayed, and Italy's No. 22 Lilo picked it up, ran along the line and scored a try just under the goal post (fullback Alan's goal made it 21-42), and the game reached full time.
Despite being right before the main tournament, it was a game that left a bad taste in the mouth. They couldn't score a goal kick that even a high school student could easily score, giving the momentum to the other team, and they were in a pinch when a mistake in a pass they tried to force a connection was picked up, and the other team's fast-footed two wingers were able to run as they pleased.
On the other hand, it could also be said that they got a good opportunity to go back to basics. The opponent is stopped by low tackles by all players without foul play, and the goal kick is sure to be scored. And in a situation where they can't get a try, they don't make a forced pass, but endure and form a ruck to tire out the opponent. I just hope that the much improved Japan national team will perform very well, just like they did in the actual RWC 2019 Japan tournament four years ago.