TOYOTA CITY:Kotaro Matsushima scored a bonus-point try deep into injury time as Japan moved to the brink of their first Rugby World Cup quarter-final with a 38-19 Pool A victory over Samoa at the City of Toyota Stadium on Saturday.
Number eight Kazuki Himeno, centre Timothy Lafaele and winger Kenki Fukuoka also scored tries for Japan, while flyhalf Yu Tamura added 18 points with the boot in front of a passionate crowd of just under 40,000.“It was definitely hard work out there,” Japan captain Pieter Labuschagne told reporters. “It took us a long time. They are a good quality side and they showed it, especially in the first half.
The opening half was littered with errors as both sides battled to assert themselves, though Japan created the greater scoring opportunities but struggled at the breakdown as Samoa won six turnovers. Samoa’s disciplinary issues continued when flanker TJ Ioane was sent to the sin-bin for a no-arms tackle, their fifth yellow card of the tournament, and while he was off the field Japan scored their opening try.
The teams traded penalties at the start of the second period before Japan scored a second try on 56 minutes to open up some daylight on the scoreboard.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: fmtoday - 🏆 5. / 72 Read more »
Source: fmtoday - 🏆 5. / 72 Read more »
Source: fmtoday - 🏆 5. / 72 Read more »
Source: NST_Online - 🏆 17. / 53 Read more »
Source: fmtoday - 🏆 5. / 72 Read more »
Source: NST_Online - 🏆 17. / 53 Read more »