Goromaru added the extras and then three more to give Japan a 13-0 lead, as Samoa were restored to full-strength shortly before half-time but continued to fall foul of referee Joubert’s whistle.
Advertisement
Japan came into this tournament with only one win in Cup history.
Hooker Ole Avei and No. 8 Faifili Levave were the only other changes to the pack, and there were two changes in the backline; starts for flyhalf Tusi Pisi and inside center Johnny Leota, who will make his Cup debut.
Both sides need a win to stay in contention for a quarterfinal spot, which would be an historic achievement for the “Brave Blossoms”.
“I thought the ref was consistent with the calls and at the end of the day it was a few illy stuff from us that cost us three men in the bin”.
Samoa coach Stephan Betham, who has had to rouse his team after their 46-6 thrashing by South Africa last weekend, said the stakes are clear.
A dominant performance from Eddie Jones’ side left the fearless Blossoms with hope of reaching the last eight for the first time as they head into their final Pool B match against the United States next Sunday.
“If we’re good enough we’ll go through”.
This is a hard game to call – England need to stand up and respond to the pressure, whereas Australia, in terms of this tournament, are as yet an unknown quantity when it comes to their ability to win the really big games.
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on”, says the wizard Prospero, in William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. “We could not get on the front foot and Japan played well and took their chances”.
Joubert was having trouble with the Samoan discipline at the offside line and yet another penalty saw Goromaru increase the lead in the 33rd minute, before Akihito Yamada lifted the roof off the stadium. A couple of vintage counter-attacks started by (and one finished by) Paul Perez in the second-half helped them avoid being nilled for the first time since 1996, but there was little else to show. He lay motionless for several minutes, and taken away on a stretcher.
“He looks all right, mate”.
“He got knocked out, but he’s recovered well so we will do the appropriate concussion protocol and he should be available for our next game”.
“Our tallest lock is 6ft 4in, we are a very small team but we beat teams with our speed and movement, and Borthwick has been a driving force in that”.
Advertisement
“Some of the lesser teams have played incredible rugby and improved their standards so much”.
