Undermanned Brave Blossoms prevail
Japan hung on to claim a 26-22 Test victory in Vancouver on Saturday despite playing the last 26 minutes with 14 men.
|||Vancouver – Canada prop Djustice Sears-Duru was held up over the line in a thrilling finish as Japan hung on to claim a 26-22 Test victory in Vancouver on Saturday despite playing the last 26 minutes with 14 men.
Number eight Aaron Carpenter had scored Canada’s fourth try off the back of a rolling maul to bring the hosts within a try of victory with a minute remaining in the contest at BC Place.
The Canucks marched straight back down the pitch and Sears-Duru burrowed over the line but was just unable to touch the ball down for what would have been the winning score.
The hosts were left ruing their inability to make the extra man pay after debutant flanker Yoshiya Hosoda had been dismissed for a dangerous clearout at the ruck in the 54th minute.
Rather than extend their one-point lead, the Canadians gave up a converted Kotaro Matsushima try and a Yu Tamura penalty to leave them with a nine point deficit to make up with four minutes remaining.
“We are so frustrated,” said Canada captain Jamie Cudmore. “To play as well as we did and still come out losers at the end is heartbreaking for us. We’ve got to work a lot harder and be more precise so that things like this don’t happen again.”
Canada turned around 13-12 down despite scoring first half tries through winger Taylor Paris and hooker Ray Barkwill but lock Cudmore gave them a 17-13 lead with a try six minutes after the break.
As with all but one of Canada’s tries, however, scrumhalf Gordon McRorie was unable to convert.
Brave Blossoms flyhalf Yu Tamura, in contrast, kicked 16 points through four penalties and two conversions, ably deputising from the kicking tee for injured World Cup hero Ayumu Goromaru.
Japan, who also had a try from hooker Takeshi Kizu off a rolling maul in the first half, face Scotland in back-to-back tests in Tokyo over the next two weeks.
“We had some new faces amongst the forwards and we didn’t work together well at the start, but we got better in the second half,” prop Kensuke Hatakeyama told Kyodo news agency.
“The most important thing is we won.”
– Reuters