Hosts Japan smashed Samoa 38-19 yesterday as they took another step toward a first quarter-final spot at the Rugby World Cup.
Tries by Timothy Lafaele, Kazuki Himeno, Kenki Fukuoka and Kotaro Matsushima helped make it three wins out of three for the Brave Blossoms, who returned to the top of Pool A.
Yu Tamura scored 18 points from the boot to pace Japan, who added a bonus point through Matsushima’s try that ended the game to take control of their own destiny.
Photo: AP
Japan showed the greater hunger and fight as the Pacific islanders made an early exit.
Tamura and Henry Taefu traded a handful of penalties in the early skirmishes before Lafaele scored the game’s first try just before the half-hour mark after swarming Japanese pressure.
With Samoa’s T.J. Ioane in the sin bin for a late hit on local boy Tamura, Lafaele spotted a gap and crashed over to the joy of 45,000 fans at the Toyota Stadium.
Photo: AP
Samoa’s Tim Nanai-Williams went off with a head injury just before half-time after being smashed by James Moore — the fullback’s failure to re-emerge a big miss.
Leading 16-9 at the break, Taefu’s boot brought Samoa to within four points before Tamura slotted a penalty of his own and Himeno bulldozed over after 54 minutes.
The crowd’s excitement reached fever pitch as Japan’s maul rolled on from a line-out and Himeno completed the job.
Photo: AFP
Samoa had won 11 of the 15 Tests played between the sides, but it has been seven years since they last beat Japan.
Himeno’s try knocked the stuffing out of the Pacific islanders, who reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 1991 and 1995 but have been cannon fodder for the bigger teams at recent tournaments.
Taefu scored and converted a try that gave Samoa brief hope before Fukuoka added a third for Japan.
Almost five minutes after the final gong, Matsushima darted over for his fourth try of the tournament to bring Japan a bonus point.
ENGLAND-ARGENTINA
England became the first team to reach the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after a 39-10 bonus-point win over Argentina, who had a man sent off for a high tackle.
Jack Nowell celebrated his return from injury with a late try, one of six scores for Eddie Jones’ men.
Argentina hooker Agustin Creevy had described the match as “like a war” and passions boiled over in the 12th minute with an off-the-ball scrap sparked by a hit from Pablo Matera.
Shortly afterward, referee Nigel Owens showed lock Tomas Lavanini a red card for a high hit on center Owen Farrell, the tournament’s fourth.
The 14-man Pumas lost their way from there and despite a second-half score, were never in the match
AUSTRALIA-URUGUAY
Teenage wing Jordan Petaia crashed over for a try on his debut as Australia rode out two yellow cards to rout Uruguay 45-10 and stay on course for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
However, Australia again had disciplinary issues, with two players sin-bined for dangerous tackles.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB