Japan floor Samoa 33-14 in rugby world cup dress rehearsal
Asian champions Japan stunned Samoa 33-14 on Friday (30/05/2014), registering a record seventh straight test win to strike a psychological blow before they face the Pacific islanders at next year's World Cup.
Winger Yoshikazu Fujita scored two explosive first-half tries and full-back Ayumu Goromaru kicked 18 points in Tokyo as the "Brave Blossoms" beat Samoa for only the third time in 13 meetings.
"We've broken the record with seven wins in a row," Japan coach Eddie Jones told reporters. "That's a fantastic achievement. Our target next week is to make it eight," added the Australian before his team's tour of North America.
"We made hard work of it but the great thing is we created a lot of opportunities. I really liked the attitude of the players today and obviously we can improve."
Both drawn in Pool B at the World Cup in England, alongside South Africa, Scotland and the United States, Samoa burst from the blocks with a breakaway try from Fautua Otto in the seventh minute.
But Japan, who secured a place in their eighth successive World Cup by beating Hong Kong 49-8 last weekend, hit back quickly, with Fujita crashing over in the corner after a slick move.
Goromaru, whose deft pass had set up Fujita, kicked a penalty from almost halfway to give Japan a 10-7 lead before Fujita scored with a carbon copy of his first try in the 26th minute.
Goromaru calmly converted despite the angle and added a simple penalty after the buzzer to give the home side a 20-7 halftime advantage.
Surprisingly, Samoa's most aggressive contribution was their pre-match 'Siva Tau' war dance as Japan ran the visitors ragged. Brando Vaalu's 43rd-minute try failed to ruffle Japanese feathers and Kotaro Matsushima capped a fine debut by superbly evading Samoa's clutches to dart over with nine minutes left.
Jones has set a World Cup quarter-final target but Japan's only previous victory at rugby's showcase tournament came against Zimbabwe back in 1991.
Japan disappointed at the 2011 World Cup under former All Black John Kirwan, beaten by hosts New Zealand, France and Tonga before drawing 23-23 with Canada.
However, Jones takes Japan into away tests against Canada (June 7) and the United States (June 14), before a home game against Italy on June 21, on a wave of optimism.
The 54-year-old praised the influence of lock Hitoshi Ono after the 36-year-old won a Japan record 82nd cap.
"Every game he puts his body on the line," said Jones, whose team are now set to rise to 12th in the world rankings. "He's the model Japanese rugby forward player. He'll have 82 beers tonight -- that's a light night for him!"
Samoa coach Stephen Betham admitted his young side had been thoroughly outplayed. "It was a big test for us as we build for the World Cup," he said. "We learn from our mistakes and move on. Japan work well as a unit. They have made big strides in the last couple of years." - Sapa-AFP
