Poor start costs Canada against Japan in PNC clash

Canada’s return to the Pacific Nations Cup was unsuccessful as Japan were comfortable 55-28 winners in Vancouver on Sunday. A dreadful start for the Maple Leafs saw them conceding 38 unanswered points in 30 minutes, though some credibility some credibility was restored with three second half tries.

The speed of Japan’s attack left the Canadian defense bewildered in the opening minutes. Malo Tuitama raced clear four minutes into his test debut, followed in short order by Warner Dearns. Seung-Sin Lee landed a penalty goal and Kanji Shimokawa then followed up a Yoshitaka Yazaki line break for the simplest of finishes. Lee added all three conversions.

Dearns grabbed a double when the giant lock picked from a ruck and stepped out of one tackle before fending off two other would-be tacklers for a 40-meter solo effort. Dylan Riley was next with a simple run-in to make it 38-nil, but Andrew Coe capitalised on some sloppy handling from Japan to score against the run of play just before halftime.

Lee himself crossed for a try early in the second half, but this time there was a response from the Canadians with captain Lucas Rumball crossing moments later. A well-orchestrated set play from a lineout resulted in a try for Talon McMullin, the midfielder cutting back inside on a short pass from Andrew Quattrin to find a gap in the Brave Blossoms defense.

Jone Naikabula carved through the Canadian backline on a 60-meter break to bring up the half-century for the visitors. Takoda McMullin joined his twin on the score sheet just before full-time, but the Brave Blossoms would still have the final say with Tomoki Osada breaking through for their 8th try.

The Maple Leafs will now travel south to Los Angeles where they will meet the USA next Saturday. A victory will be needed if Canada are to have a shot at a place in the Semi Finals. Japan return home to prepare for their match against the Eagles in Kumagaya on September 7.

 

SCORING

CANADA 28
Tries (4) – A. Coe (37′), L. Rumball (45′), Tl. McMullin (50′), Tk. McMullin (78′)
Cons (4) – P. Nelson 4/4 (38′, 46′, 51′, 79′)

JAPAN 55
Tries (8) – M. Tuitama (4′), W. Dearns 2 (7′, 28′), K. Shimokawa (22′), D. Riley (30′), S. Lee (43′), J. Naikabula (68′), T. Osoda (80’+1′)
Cons (6) – S. Lee 6/6 (5′, 8′, 23′, 29′, 31′, 44′), H. Tatekawa 0/2
Pens (1) – S. Lee 1/1 (26′)

TEAMS

CANADA
1 Cali Martinez (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 57′), 2 Andrew Quattrin (16 Dewald Kotze 57′), 3 Conor Young (18 Cole Keith 57′), 4 Izzak Kelly (19 James Stockwood 63′), 5 Kaden Duguid, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Ethan Fryer (20 Matthew Oworu 66′), 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Jason Higgins, 10 Peter Nelson, 11 Nic Benn, 12 Talon McMullin (21 Brock Gallagher 71′), 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Andrew Coe (22 Mark Balaski 69′), 15 Cooper Coats (23 Takoda McMullin 60′)

JAPAN
1 Shogo Miura (17 Takayoshi Mohara 47′), 2 Atsushi Sakate (capt.) (16 Mamoru Harada 47′), 3 Keijiro Tamefusa (18 Shuhei Takeuchi 47′), 4 Sanaila Waqa (19 Eishin Kuwano 65′), 5 Warner Dearns, 6 Tiennan Costley, 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 8 Faulua Makisi (20 Isaiah Mapusua 54′), 9 Shinobu Fujiwara (21 Taiki Koyama 63′), 10 Seung-Sin Lee (22 Harumichi Tatekawa 63′), 11 Malo Tuitama (23 Tomoki Osada 63′), 12 Nik McCurran, 13 Dylan Riley, 14 Jone Naikabula, 15 Yoshitaka Yazaki

MATCH INFO

Date: Sunday, August 25
Venue: BC Place, Vancouver
Kickoff: 14:00 local (17:00 Eastern, Mon 06:00 Japan)
Weather: partly cloudy, 66°F (19°C), wind SE 5-7mph (8-11 km/h)

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Luke Rogan (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)