Japan bow out on a high with 28-18 victory over USA

Brave Blossoms sparkle at Kingsholm to complete their third Pool B win and cap a memorable RWC 2015

GLOUCESTER: Japan capped a memorable RWC 2015 with a 28-18 Pool B victory over USA at Kingsholm, becoming the first team in the tournament’s history to win three matches but miss out on qualification to the quarter-finals.

Thirteen points from the Brave Blossoms’ composed full-back and man of the match Ayumu Goromaru made him the group stage’s second-highest points scorer with 58 - two behind Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw - to complete a perfect send-off for departing head coach Eddie Jones.   

The USA’s Irish-born fly-half Alan MacGinty broke the ice from the tee early on but, while the Americans secured the majority of first-half possession and territory, the Brave Blossoms were far more clinical.

Fly-half Kosei Ono breached the line to set his team on their way two minutes later and, after the ball was recycled, captain Michael Leitch had to gather well from the floor before feeding through the hands and putting wing Kotaro Matsushima free on the left with seven minutes played.

Goromaru converted but it was the Americans who dictated play and they would have created more chances if not for several handling errors. Eventually, they crossed with a quarter of the match expired - wing Takudzwa Ngwenya receiving a well-weighted pass from captain Chris Wyles.

Japan celebrate after their victory Action Images via Reuters

MacGinty missed the conversion and the Brave Blossoms struck back immediately. Japan’s youngest-capped wing Yoshikazu Fujita started the move by collecting the ball as the USA mistimed the Japanese restart, and then finished it - the 18-year-old crashing over the whitewash at the base of a rolling maul on his World Cup debut. Goromaru converted to surpass 700 test points for Japan and then hit the mark again from 40 metres out to extend the lead, which was maintained before the break on the back of some gutsy defending. Leitch was outstanding again for the Brave Blossoms, increasing his personal tally of tournament gain-line carries above anyone else in the pool stages and was accompanied in the second half by powerful number eight Amanaki Mafi, who had threatened Pool B’s second-placed Scotland at Kingsholm earlier in the tournament. Goromaru split the posts again from the 40-metre line two minutes after the break, and MacGinty struck back 12 minutes later as the USA continued to put up a fight.

Mafi then had to charge back to knock his opposite number, Samu Manoa, into touch but, despite gaps beginning to appear on Japan’s fringes, discipline proved USA’s undoing. Their loosehead prop Eric Fry was sent to the bin on 60 minutes and Japan went to the corner. Lock Luke Thompson climbed high and offloaded to Mafi on his descent, before the commanding back-row forward powered over to all but secure victory.