14 September 2025: G: DICK'S Sporting Goods Park (USA Colorado Denver) ; R: Luc Ramos (FRFU)
○Japan 62-24 Tonga●
Data:
14/9/2025, Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Semifinals
Japan 62 – 24 Tonga
DICK'S Sporting Goods Park (USA Colorado Denver)
Half-time 21 – 19
Refree: Luc Ramos (FRFU)
Crowd: 6,452
JAPAN: 15 Sam Greene, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Charlie Lawrence (23 Yuya Hirose 56), 11 Tomoki Osada, 10 Seungsin Lee, 9 Shinobu Fujiwara (22 Kenta Fukuda 73), 8 Amato Fakatava (21 Faulua Makisi 56), 7 Kanji Shimokawa (20 Tiennan Costley 67), 6 Gunter Ben, 5 Warner Dearns (capt), 4 Jack Cornelsen (19 Waisake Raratubua 64), 3 Shyuhei Takeuchi (18 Keijiro Tamefusa 62), 2 Hayate Era (16 Kenji Sato 60), 1 Kenta Kobayashi (17 Ryosuke Iwaihara 50).
Reserves:
HIA:
Coach: Eddie Jones.
Tries: Hayate Era, Amato Fakatava, Warner Dearns, Dylan Riley, Shinobu Fujiwara, Kenji Sato, Keijiro Tamefusa, Penalty try.; Conversions: Seungsin Lee (7); Penalty Goals: Seungsin Lee (2); Drop Goals: None.
Red Cards: None, Yellow Cards: None.
Tonga: 15 Salesi PIUTAU, 14 Nikolai FOLIAKI (22 James FAIVA 72), 13 Fetuli PAEA, 12 Willis HALAHOLO (23 Josiah UNGA 48) , 11 John TAPUELUELU, 10 Patrick PELLEGRINI, 9 Sonatane TAKULUA (21 Siaosi NAI 74), 8 Siosiua MOALA, 7 Fotu LOKOTUI (20 Tevita AHOKOVI 57:HIA), 6 Tupou AFUNGIA, 5 Harison MATAELE (20 Tevita AHOKOVI 25~40 : Bleeding) , 4 Veikoso POLONIATI (19 Justin MATAELE 72, ⇒ 4 Veikoso POLONIATI 78 : HIA ) , 3 Ben TAMEIFUNA (capt) (18 Solomone TUKUAFU 47), 2 Samuela MOLI (16 Sosefo SAKALIA 60), 1 Siegfried FISI'IHOI (17 Tau KOLOAMATANGI 74).
Reserves:
HIA: 7 Fotu LOKOTUI (57~80: 20 Tevita AHOKOVI), 19 Justin MATAELE (78~80: 4 Veikoso POLONIATI)
Coach: Tevita Tu’ifua.
Tries: Fotu LOKOTUI, Ben TAMEIFUNA, Veikoso POLONIATI, John TAPUELUELU.; Conversions: Patrick PELLEGRINI (2); Penalty Goals: None; Drop Goals: None.
Yellow Cards: Tupou AFUNGIA (Dangerous play), Siaosi NAI (Unfair play).
Scoring sequence (Japan’s score shown first): 6min-try Tonga, Fotu LOKOTUI-0-5; conv. Patrick PELLEGRINI (missed)-0-5, 10min-try Japan, Hayate Era-5-5; conv. Seungsin Lee-7-5, 18min-try Japan, Amato Fakatava-12-5; conv. Seungsin Lee-14-5, 26min-try Tonga, Ben TAMEIFUNA-14-10; conv. Patrick PELLEGRINI-14-12, 32min-try Japan, Warner Dearns-19-12; conv. Seungsin Lee-21-12, 38min-try Tonga, Veikoso POLONIATI-21-17; conv. Patrick PELLEGRINI-21-19, 42min-try Japan, Dylan Riley-26-19; conv. Seungsin Lee-28-19, 51min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee-31-19, 53min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee (missed)-31-19, 42min-try Japan, Shinobu Fujiwara-36-19; conv. Seungsin Lee-38-19, 60min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee-41-19, 63min-try Tonga, John TAPUELUELU-41-24; conv. Patrick PELLEGRINI (missed)-21-19, 72min-try Japan, Kenji Sato-46-24; conv. Seungsin Lee-48-24, 77min-try Japan, Keijiro Tamefusa-53-24; conv.Seungsin Lee-55-24, 77min-try Japan, Penalty try (No ball tackle).
Japan's record against Tonga is 10 wins and 9 losses, with three consecutive wins in the last 10 years. However, Tonga has sent several physical monsters to the Japanese national team, including Latu, Koliniasi, and Mafi. They also have many players who have played for the New Zealand and England national teams. This means that Tonga's individual strength exceeds that of the Japanese national team, so the key to this match will be whether Japan can stop them with double tackles and tire them out with lightning-fast rugby.
Japan kicked off the match. No. 11 Osada burst out from the center to apply pressure, and No. 6 Gunter also delivered a powerful tackle. From a lineout 10 meters to the left of Tonga's territory, Japan Warner charged forward and advanced to the right. Tonga was highly conscious of stealing the ball after tackling, giving the impression of being ready to take it back at any time. They also aggressively deployed to their backs. Tonga's No. 10 Pellegrini kicked the ball from near Japan's 10-meter line toward the Japanese goal, landing near the left 5-meter line. As expected, Tonga formed a maul from this lineout and launched a powerful push. Japan forward blocked it, preventing Tonga from advancing further. However, Tonga continued to pressure Japan, repeatedly charging forward, leveraging the physical strength of their forwards. Then, in the sixth minute of the first half, No. 7 Lokotui, supported by No. 15, dashed into the try zone, but the TMO ruled it a no-try. However, Japan was offside, and Tonga's Pellegrini kicked the ball for touch 5 meters to the right of Japan's goal, restarting the game with a lineout in Tonga's possession. While Japan had previously firmly blocked Tonga's lineout maul, this time the maul point was shifted to the right, allowing the forwards to mount a forceful attack (No. 7 Lokotui scored the try; No. 10 Pellegrini missed the goal, making the score 0-5). In the 10th minute, Japan earned a free kick (due to a delayed set) from a Tonga lineout just beyond the halfway line. No. 3 Takeuchi tapped in and charged forward. He was once held by the opponent, but shook him off and made another dash. Finally, the ball was passed to No. 2 Era, who supporting Takeuchi and dove under the post (Lee's goal made it 7-5). (Lee's goal made it 7-5). After Gunter stole the ball in midfield, Japan kicked it into touch and entered the Tonga half, launching a series of attacks. Then, in the 18th minute, Japan pushed forward on the scrum to the right of Tonga's goal, immobilizing the opposing back-row players. Fakatava then carried the ball to the right and dove into the right corner (Lee's goal made it 14-5). But Tonga was not going to sit back. A high tackle earned a penalty kick, which took Tonga to the Japanese half, and the forwards and backs combined to launch vertical attacks and win consecutive rucks. In the 26th minute, Japan was awarded a penalty kick for being offside, and No. 3 Ben used his physical prowess to charge forward powerfully from the tap kick, scoring a no-brainer try (Pellegrini's goal made it 14-12).scoring a no-brainer try (Pellegrini's goal made it 14-12). His charging performance with his massive 151kg frame was truly world-class. In the 32nd minute, Japan closed in on the Tonga goal, with their backs launching successive attacks from left to right and from right to left. No. 5 Warner received a pass from a ruck in front of the goal, and by the step like backs player, beat the defender and scored a try (Li's goal made it 21-12). In the 38th minute, Tonga closed in on the Japanese goal, tapping in No. 4 Poloniatsi, who was running backwards from a lineout on the left of the 5m line. Poloniatsi evaded a Japanese tackle and dashed into the try zone (Pellegrini's goal made it 21-19). And so the first half ended. Japan steadily halted Tonga's charges with double tackles, but the charges of Tonga's No. 3 and No. 4 were truly world-class, and Tonga conceded three tries through their physical attacks. We hope to see Japan come up with a solution to these problems in the second half.
In the second half, Japan dropped Tonga's kickoff ball forward. However, during a Tongan counterattack, this advantage was over, and Japan regained the ball. No. 12 Lawrence kicked the ball out of their own half to escape the pinch. It went 5 meters in front of the Tongan goal on the right, and the rule of 50-22 gave my ball to Japan. In the second minute, Warner made a clean catch on a lineout, and Gunter passed it to Fujiwara, who was playing at fly-half. As Tonga's defenders charged out, Fujiwara sent a short punt behind the defence line, which went into the chest of No. 13 Riley, who was running towards the goal, for a try (Lee's goal made it 28-19). This was truly a big play after the mistake. After the restart, Tonga attacked aggressively, but Japan all members tackled Tonga on the front area, denying them momentum. Determined to secure victory, Japan extended their lead to 31-19 with a penalty kick in the 10th minute by Lee. Lee missed a rare penalty kick in the 13th minute, but in the 14th minute, Japan closed in on the Tonga goal, winning consecutive rucks with a combined attack from both the forwards and backs. Fujiwara then scored a try in the space on the side of the ruck (Lee's goal made it 38-19). Japan continued their offensive streak, steadily widening the gap to 41-19 with another penalty kick in the 19th minute. Tonga's No. 9 Takulua broke away from a midfield scrum and entered the Japanese half. In the 22nd minute, Tonga's backs developed an attacking play, winning consecutive rucks. Finally, they swung to the left, where No. 11 John evaded Ishida's pursuit and scored a try in the left corner (Pellegrini's penalty kick made it 41-24). Tonga's strength was not limited to the forwards' physical attacks. In the 32nd minute, Japan kicked the ball from a scrum on the left just before the halfway line, and Hirose kicked it towards the Tonga goal. Tonga's No. 23 Josiah caught the ball and launched a counterattack, but Nagata calmly tackled him. Costley picked up the ball, passed it to Lalatubua and Gunter on the left, and finally No. 16 Sato dove into the left corner (Lee's goal made it 48-24). Then, in the 37th minute, Japan earned a penalty kick from a scrum in front of the Tonga goal. No. 21 Maxi took a tap kick and charged forward, followed by repeated vertical runs by the forwards, and finally No. 18 Tamefusa scored a try into the try zone (Lee's goal made it 55-24). With Japan playing at perfect Japan pace, in the 38th minute, Riley caught the Tonga kickoff ball and made a dash down the left wing. He then punted the ball towards the Tonga goal and pursued it himself. Before the ball could be caught, a Tongan defender made a no-ball tackle, which was ruled a penalty try (62-24: Tonga's No. 21 Nai was given a yellow card). After that, Tonga's attacks were fended off by Japan all the team's tackles, and the game reached full time.
As expected, the first half was a close one, with Tonga conceding three tries to their power play. However, in the second half, Japan came up with brilliant countermeasures, tiring out Tonga with kicks to the back and other moves, and then completely pulling away with their ultra-fast attacking moves, achieving a perfect victory. Next week is the Pacific Nations Cup final against defending champions Fiji, and we hope Japan will pull ahead with the ultra-fast rugby they are aiming for and win at all costs. The player of the match for this match was Japan's No. 3 Takeuchi, who made his presence felt not only in the scrum but also in his gains on the field, making him the epitome of ultra-fast rugby.