Japan captain Michael Leitch yesterday bagged two tries as the enterprising Brave Blossoms celebrated their return to the Pacific Nations Cup with a 34-20 win over the US in Fiji.
Victory in the tournament, which this year serves as a crucial shakedown for six Pacific rim nations ahead of the Rugby World Cup, put Japan ahead of Fiji in the world rankings and into the top 10.
It was their third Pacific crown after winning in 2011 and sharing the title with Samoa in 2014, and came after a three-year absence from the tournament.
Japan’s set piece steadily improved through the competition and in the final they added a variety of moves in general play to counter the size dominance of the Americans.
“It all came down to preparation. We’ve been together since February and all the hard work has paid off,” Leitch said. “I think our discipline maybe let us down, but I think we’re on the right track.”
The US finished strongly and coach Gary Gold said that his team’s World Cup preparation was on track, despite the scoreline.
“We got tested by a such a good Japanese team. When you make mistakes they make you pay, and that was a good lesson for us,” Gold said. “But I’m really proud of our guys for how they fought right until the end, and I think we’re in a good place.”
Fiji, who had won the tournament for the past four years, had to be content with winning the playoff for third against Samoa 10-3.
In a bruising encounter, Harlequins wing Vereniki Goneva scored the only try in the match early in the second half.
Samoa had the better of territory and possession, but Fiji coach John McKee was pleased to see that they could not crack his side’s close marking defense.
“We won a very physical arm wrestle. In our attack we would have like to develop more continuity,” McKee said. “But we were under pressure defensively for parts of the game and credit to our players I thought our defensive system worked well.”
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