8 October 2023: G: Stade de la Beaujoire（Nantes） ; R: Ben O’Keeffe (NZRFU)
●Japan 27-39 Argentina○
Data:
8/10/2023, RWC2023 French tournament Pool D 4th game
Japan 27 – 39 Argentina
Stade de la Beaujoire（Nantes）, France
Half-time 14 – 15
Refree: Ben O’Keeffe (NZRFU)
Crowd:
JAPAN: 15 Lomano Lava Lemeki, 14 Kotaro Matsushima (23 Jone Naikabula 60), 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Ryoto Nakamura (22 Ryohei Yamanaka 70), 11 Siosaia Fifita, 10 Rikiya Matsuda, 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Kazuki Himeno (capt), 7 Pieter Labuschagne (20 Amanaki Saumaki ), 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Amato Fakatava (19 Warner Dearns 51), 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Jiwon Koo (18 Asaeli Ai Valu 43), 2 Shota Horie (16 Atsushi Sakate 48), 1 Keita Inagaki (17 Craig Millar 48).
Reserves: 21 Kenta Fukuda
HIA:
Coach: Jamie Joseph.
Tries: Amato Fakatava, Naoto Saito, Jone Naikabula; Conversions: Rikiya Matsuda(3); Penalty Goals: Rikiya Matsuda; Drop Goals: Lomano Lava Lemeki.
Yellow Cards: Pieter Labuschagne (23 Dangerous Play).
ARGENTINA: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli , 13 Lucio Cinti (23 Matias Moroni 70), 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras (22 Nicolas Sanchez 59), 9 Gonzalo Bertranou (21 Lautaro Bazan Velez 59), 8 Juan MartIn Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera AGAESE SEU (19Matias Alemanno 24) , 5 Tomas Lavanini (20 Pedro Rubiolo 48 ), 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela (18 Eduardo Bello 43)(3 Francisco Gomez Kodela 70, 2 (c) Julian Montoya (16 Agustin Creevy 78 ), 1 Thomas Gallo (17 Joel Sclavi 67).
Reserves:
HIA:
Coach: Michael Cheika
Tries: Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras (3), Emiliano Boffelli; Conversions: Emiliano Boffelli (3), Nicolas Sanchez; Penalty Goals: Emiliano Boffelli, Nicolas Sanchez.
Yellow Cards:
Scoring sequence (Japan’s score shown first): 2min-try Argentina, Santiago Chocobares-0-5;conv. Emiliano Boffelli-0-7, 16min-try Japan, Amato Fakatava-5-7;conv. Rikiya Matsuda-7-5, 25min-pen Argentina, Emiliano Boffelli (missed)-7-7, 28min-try Argentina, Mateo Carreras-7-12;conv. Emiliano Boffelli(missed)-7-12, 35min-pen Argentina, Emiliano Boffelli-7-15, 38min-try Japan, Naoto Saito-12-15;conv. Rikiya Matsuda-14-15, 46min-try Argentina, Mateo Carreras-14-20;conv. Emiliano Boffelli-14-22, 52min-pen Japan, Rikiya Matsuda-17-22, 56min-dg Japan, Lomano Lava Lemeki-20-22, 58min-try Argentina, Emiliano Boffelli-20-27;conv. Emiliano Boffelli-20-29, 65min-try Japan, Jone Naikabula-25-29;conv. Rikiya Matsuda-27-29, 68min-try Argentina, Mateo Carreras-27-34;conv. Nicolas Sanchez-27-36, 75min-pen Argentina, Nicolas Sanchez-27-39.
With both teams having two wins and one loss, this was the final pool match that they could not afford to lose. The key to victory seems to be whether Japan can stop Argentina's momentum, not let them take over, and force a stressful game. Japan will want to stabilize their scrums and lineouts, never concede penalties, and provide stable balls to their backs when they have the ball. On this day, Japan used Fifita, who was absent due to injury, as number 11. He is expected to play with enough force to damage Bofeli (as his marker), who is also the goal kicker.
Argentina kicks off, and Himeno catches the high ball from the center of the Japanese 22m line, and from the ruck, SO Matsuda's touch kick brings them back to the 10m line to the right. At the lineout, Argentina forms a maul and advances 10m powerfully, then their backs move to the open right. Then, number 12 Chocobares hits out Nakamura hard , who has a strong tackle, and ran inside Matsushima and scoring a try to the right of the goal post (0-7 with a goal from Bofeli). Although they were taken aback right from the start, they continued to tackle Argentina attacks with coordinated effort, preventing them from making any gains. Then, 22 meters to the left of the Japan area, Argentina knocked on, resulting in the first scrum. The Japanese forwards pushed hard and earned a penalty kick. They kicked the ball out to the touch line to the left of the halfway line, and Saito high-punted the ball from the lineout. Number 14 Boffelli caught the ball and launched a counter attack, evading Japan's tackles one after another and advancing forward.
Argentina's backs are full of strong runners. When both teams get the ball, they launch a bold attack, but they exchange fierce tackles, and in the end they kick the high ball, but Argentina, centered around Boffeli, repeatedly makes great catches in high positions, showing the difference between them and Japan. In the 10th minute, Horie's Jackal gets a penalty kick against Argentina attack, and Japan attempts an attack from a lineout 22m to the right of the Argentine side. From Nakamura's point, Saito kicks the ball to the Argentine side with his back to the ruck, and Lemeki, who runs in, catches it beautifully and charges forward, creating a chance. Himeno charges from the ruck and approaches the center in front of the goal, and from there it is played to the right, but Matsuda's pass to Leitch is a little high, and it does not become a try chance. Then, from the Argentine scrum 10m to the right of the Argentine side, the ball is played to the left and kicked, hitting a Japanese player and spilling near the touch line. The Argentina backs kicked the ball towards the Japanese half again, but Fifita picked it up and launched a counter attack, passing it to Himeno and Leitch, who then made a sharp left move to the front, drawing two defenders and making a brilliant floating pass to Fakatava on the line side. Fakatava used his natural speed to shake off his backup and punt vertically. The ball bounced towards him, and Fakatava brilliantly caught it, dodged the defender and dove into the in-goal (Matsuda's goal made it 7-7).
After that, against the Argentine attacks, the Japanese team kept discipline and made sure to stop them with solid defense, and also calmly dealt with the opponent's kicks. However, in the 23rd minute, after receiving a charge from Argentina's No. 1, Labuscafni's head hit the opponent's face and a yellow card was issued (the yellow card was judged to remain the same by the bunker system). Boffelli aimed for the penalty kick (10m to the right of the Japanese side) but missed. Then Matera hurt his foot and was replaced by Alemano. After that, Japan made short side wing Fifita rush from a penalty touch lineout, breaking through the gain line and launching consecutive attacks. After winning several rucks, Matsuda aimed for the drop goal, but was charged by Krummell, and Matsushima picked up the ball that had fallen behind and kicked back a high punt. However, in the 28th minute, Argentina No15 caught the high ball brilliantly and ran hard, and despite being tackled by Japan, he passed it to No. 2 and No. 9, and finally passed it to No. 11 Mateo Carreras running on the far left. Lemeki and Matsushima were shaken off by his speed. And he jumped into the in-goal (Bofeli's missed goal made it 7-12). It was a brilliant attack by Argentina, who gave them space and made it difficult to stop them once they started running forward. After that, Argentina kicked their way to the right of the Japanese 22m line, stole the lineout ball from Japan and launched a series of attacks, inviting a foul from Japan within the 22m, and in the 35th minute Bofeli scored a penalty goal to pull ahead to 7-15. After the restart, a ruck was formed from the Japanese scrum on the right of the halfway line, with Saito, Fifita, Matsushima, and Lemeki, and Himeno and Horie charged to the right. From that ruck, Saito, Matsuda, Nakamura, and Riley spread out to the left, and Riley completely attracted his marker and made a perfect pass with his left hand to Fifita on the left side. Fifita made a dummy pass to Matsushima, who was following on the left side, and then ran off his marker, and finally passed the ball to Saito, who was free on the right and jumped into the in-goal (Matsuda's goal made it 14-15). After this, it was halftime, and it was a good first half, because Japan was able to hang on to a one-point bihind, helped by two GK mistakes by Bofeli.
The second half began with Japan kicking off in the direct sunlight, wanting to score first at all costs. Argentina's No. 9 made a high punt from a ruck in the center of the Argentine 22m line, Matsushima landed on the halfway line and made a perfect jump, but Argentina's big wing Boffeli secured the ball from above and passed it to No. 8, and he advanced to the 22m line. Japan was completely defeated by high ball catching. However, Japan continued to stop Argentina's consecutive attacks with a well-coordinated DF line. Inagaki and Leach stopped No. 5 Lavanini's charge with a double tackle and took the ball back, and with consecutive attacks, they crossed the 22m line, Himeno's charge created a ruck, and quickly connected with Saito, Matsuda, and Leach, who passed it to Nakamura with a back flip pass. Nakamura read the direction of the DF line and passed it to Labuscafni, skipping Riley. Bofeli took one touch (it looked like a deliberated knock-on but the referee didn't judge it), and the timing was off, so the try chance disappeared, but the consecutive attacks started again. Leitch, Himeno, and Gu rushed forward and continued to secure the ball, but Horie, who received the ball next, was unlucky and was isolated and lost the ball by jackal. From this penalty kick, Argentina kicked a touch kick to the left of their own 10m line, secured the lineout, and advanced 20m with a maul. In the 46th minute, they launched a consecutive attack of 16 phases, approaching the Japanese goal, and after inviting an offside foul from Japan, they passed the ball to their trump card Mateo Carreras with a bold attack and scored a try (Bofeli's goal made it 14-22). Argentina's tenacity in surviving Japan's fierce attack and switching to the offensive, repeating the phases to get to the try, was amazing. In the 48th minute, Miller and Sakate were brought in to replace Inagaki and Horie, who had been working hard.
Argentina took possession of Japan's kick-off ball and kicked for touch, but Matsushima, who caught it outside the touchline, immediately sent it to Lemeki to attack. Reilly, who received a pass from Lemeki, made a bold move to break through vertically as he saw that the defender had not come out. He was unable to break through with an ankle tap from Argentina, but he passed it to Cornelsen and created a ruck, starting a series of attacks. He kicked the ball and entered the Argentine half for a series of attacks, but Argentina, in a panic, kicked a direct touch, resulting in a lineout for Japan on the right inside the Argentine 22m lineout. Cornelsen caught the ball and moved it to the left, and Matsushima rushed 5m in front of the goal and created a ruck. Argentina could not stand the continuous attacks from Japan and committed a foul, and Matsuda easily scored a penalty goal in the 51st minute (17-22). At this point, Japan brought in Warner to replace the highly successful Fakatava. Even after the kick-off resumed, Japan made sure to tackle Argentina's attacks, often inviting Argentina to knock on. Saito took the ball from the scrum in the center of the Argentine 10m line and passed it to Nakamura and Lemeki, making a big gain. The ball was further developed and shaked to the right and left. At the ruck in the center of the 10m line, Argentina was called for a foul, and in the 56th minute, Lemeki scored a 45m drop goal, putting Argentina behind by two points at 20-22. However, at the kick-off, due to the glare of the sun, Himeno knocked on. In the 58th minute, Argentina pushed the scrum in the center of the Japanese 22m line and took a penalty, then developed to the right. The CTB returned the ball to the SH, who passed it to the FB who ran outside. The pass was passed to the free Boffeli, who scored an easy try (Boffeli's goal made it 20-29). Japan left wing Fifita made a bold ran to close the opponent's SH, but this seemed to have resulted in the opponent's FB running easily. Argentina then replaced No. 10 Carreras with Sanchez to close the game.
Japan also replaced Matsushima with Naikabula in the 60th minute of the second half to try to win. After Japan's kickoff, Argentina had a knock-on, and the game resumed with Japan ball scrum on the right of the Argentine 22m line. Japan's Naikabula and Lemeki, who were positioned at the back of the scrum, ran to the left side to pass the ball, but Lemeki's pass was disrupted and Fifita, who was waiting on the outside, was pushed into touch. Japan then pushed the scrum back, earned a penalty kick, and kicked for touch, leading to a lineout 7m to the left of the Argentine goal. Japan threw to Reach, who did not jump, and formed a maul, and was almost pushed into touch, but he barely got the ball out, and Fifita, who received the pass, showed his strength and approached 3m in front of the goal. At this ruck, Warner, who received a pass from Saito, approached 1m in front of the goal, and moved to the right while receiving the penalty judgement. Matsuda passed to Riley, leaving Lemeki and Naikabula in a free, but Riley charged forward without passing. The ball was dead, and the game returned to the previous penalty. Japan, thinking about the score difference, took a penalty kick in front of the Argentine goal in the 65th minute, and Saito tap-kicked it to Leitch, creating a ruck in the center of the Argentine goal. It was quickly passed to the right, passed from Nakamura to Matsuda who was supporting from behind, and then passed to the free Naikabula via Lemeki. Naikabula shook off two Argentine players backing up and jumped into the right corner. Matsuda squeezed in a difficult goal, and Japan was once again two points behind at 27-29. However, the Argentine players looked tired during defense, but once they went on the attack, they moved as if a SW had really entered. Japan secured the kickoff ball from Argentina and Matsuda kicked a high punt, but Argentina secured the ball and began a series of energetic attacks. Japan also maintained discipline and showed solid defense, but in the 68th minute, Argentina, approaching the Japan goal, received a penalty, and after that, they spread to the left, and Mateo Carreras shook off tackles from Nakamura and Naikabula to score his third try of the day (Sanchez's goal made it 27-36).
Argentina, who have made it to the semi-finals twice in the past RWC, showed off their strength and unwavering mentality. In the 70th minute of the second half, Yamanaka was substituted for Nakamura, and Saumaki was substituted for Labuscafni. The Argentine fans' enthusiastic cheering echoed throughout the stadium. Argentina tried to attack the Japanese side with kicks, but the fielding efforts of substitutes Naikabula and Yamanaka prevented them from gaining an advantageous position. In the 75th minute, Japan was penalized (Val's no-ball tackle) just inside their own half, and Sanchez scored a 45m penalty goal to put them 27-39 behind.
Japan, who never gave up until the end, made a nice play of a high punt by Argentina near the halfway line after the kickoff, with Naikabula jumping to catch it. They resumed their consecutive attacks, and Miller charged forward and swung to the left, and this time Yamanaka charged in to form a ruck. Warner, who received the pass from here, advanced forward, connecting with Cornelsen and Sakate to the 10m line of the opponent's territory. From there, Japan spread out to the right, connecting with Saito, Matsuda, Yamanaka, and Riley to the right of the 22m line. Japan, who received a penalty, continued their continuous attacks, but their attacks were stopped and they went back to a penalty kick. Matsuda kicked for touch to the right in front of the opponent's goal, and there was Japan ball lineout. Argentina competed for the ball and it was a mess, but Leitch managed to secure and got a ruck. However, just before the ball was released, Saito lost his balance due to a push from the Argentine forward, and the pass was disrupted, resulting in an accidental offside, and there was Argentina ball scrum. Japan was pushed to give penalty, and although they managed to survive the subsequent developments with tackles, Argentina confirmed that 80 minutes had passed (full time), kicked the penalty kick out to touch, and full time came. Unfortunately, Japan lost their chance to advance to the top eight to Argentina, but Japan showed their determination to train well and prepare well in a tough environment, and never give up until the end. I hope that the new members, mainly consisting of young players, will not forget the determination shown by veterans such as Leitch, Horie, Labuschagne and Inagaki, who continued to work hard, and aim to advance to the top eight, or even the top four, in four years' time.