Japan started their November series in Kobe with a terribly disappointing performance against a rampant NZ Maori side that were good, but not that good. Inaccuracy was the word of the day for the Brave Blossoms. An astonishing 24 turnovers conceded including 11 handling errors literally left the game on a plate for the visitors. What could, and should, have been a close game was instead one of Japan’s worst performances in recent memory.

Eddie Jones will have highlighted the breakdown as the area where his side lost the game. They were often too slow in support, and when they did get there they failed to clear out the Maori defenders, sometimes even with numerical advantage. They very rarely won the contact area, and though they were able to get through the phases, it was almost invariably slow ball with weak or messy ball placement resulting in slow service from Atsushi Hiwasa. The Maori defensive line wasn’t particularly quick to advance, but it was solid and more often than not stuffed the Japanese attackers behind the advantage line.

When the Brave Blossoms coughed up the ball, either at the breakdown or from numerous careless knock-ons, it wasn’t long before it was under the sticks. Once the Maori attackers found a half-gap they were through, and the Japanese scramble defense was nowhere to be seen. The Maori actually only had 36% possession when it was all said and done, only once going through multiple phases, and yet outscored the home side by 40 points. Stats aren’t always the best way to adjudicate a rugby match, but in this case they paint a pretty clear picture.

It wasn’t entirely bad for Japan. Their set pieces were accurate and yielded two penalty tries, one from a scrum and one from a driving maul off a lineout. Experienced coaches Marc Dal Maso and Steve Borthwick can take some credit for that. Amanaki Mafi scored a very nice try from a Kosei Ono break only a couple minutes after entering the match. The Tongan-born back rower made a noticeable difference with his powerful running and should find himself in the starting lineup next week, and possibly through to the World Cup.

The Maori, for their part, played well. They didn’t have much to do on offense except handle and finish, but they did so with deadly precision. Ihaia West controlled the game nicely and put his runners into space, and the rest took care of itself. James Lowe was the outstanding player on the pitch with his all-round attacking skills. Chiefs fans will have been delighted to see big winger using his fend, chip kick, and pace to break the line seemingly at will.

It’s hard to say how next week will turn out, but surely Japan will respond with a better effort in Tokyo. Mafi should start, and scrapping an ineffective Shoji Ito in the second row is probably a good idea. The backs just need to play better. Spending the week improving their support lines would probably be wise. For the Maori it’s just another day at the park.

JAPAN 21 vs 61 NZ MAORI
Saturday, November 1, 05:00 GMT, Kobe

SCORING
07 mins – C. Eves try 0-5
15 mins – I. West pen 0-8
18 mins – I. West pen 0-11
21 mins – J. Emery try 0-16
21 mins – I. West con 0-18
24 mins – S. Polwart try 0-23
24 mins – I. West con 0-25
27 mins – Penalty try (collapsed maul) 5-25
28 mins – A. Goromaru con 7-25
35 mins – J. Emery try 7-30
36 mins – I. West con 7-32
40 mins – I. West pen 7-35
47 mins – I. West try 7-40
47 mins – I. West con 7-42
52 mins – A. Mafi try 12-42
52 mins – A. Goromaru con 14-42
55 mins – N. Milner-Skudder try 14-47
62 mins – C. Ngatai 14-52
62 mins – M. McKenzie con 14-54
73 mins – Penalty try (scrum) 19-54
73 mins – A. Goromaru con 21-54
76 mins – J. Lowe try 21-59
77 mins – I. West con 21-61

CARDS
72 mins – M. McKenzie yellow (professional foul)

JAPAN
A. Goromaru; K. Matsushima, M. Sa’u, H. Tatekawa (K. Uchida 60), A. Yamada (K. Hesketh 53); Y. Tamura (K. Ono HT), A. Hiwasa; M. Mikami (K. Inagaki 8), T. Kizu (H. Yuhara 70), K. Hatakeyama (S. Kakinaga 64); L. Thompson, S. Ito (S. Makabe 53); H. Tui, M. Leitch (capt.), H. Hopgood (A. Mafi 49).

NZ MAORI
R. Robinson (M. McKenzie 56); M. Proctor, J. Emery (N. Milner-Skudder 54), C. Ngatai (capt.), J. Lowe; I. West, C. Smylie (J. Gibson-Park 56); C. Eves (J. Royal 65), A. Dixon (C. Taylor 22), M. Kainga (N. Barrett 59); T. Franklin, H. Triggs; B. Thomson (N. Crosswell 53), S. Polwart (D. Pryor 49), E. Dixon.

Referee: L. Pearce (RFU)
Assistants: A. Gardner (ARU) & J. Leckie (ARU)
TMO: G. Ayoub (ARU)