France punish Japan 42-15 in scrappy Tokyo try-fest
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TOKYO, July 18 : France ran in six tries against a ragged Japan at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday with hooker Maxime Lamothe and fullback Matthieu Jalibert each grabbing a brace as Les Bleus rounded off their first leg of the inaugural Nations Championship with a 42-15 win.
The Six Nations champions took advantage of the high-tempo, unstructured match with No. 8 Alexandre Roumat and scrumhalf Maxime Lucu also dotting down, and Lucu and Romain Ntamack converting all the scores.
“We loved playing these matches because they were played at a very high level, with a lot of ball-in-play time and a great intensity,” captain Lucu told a post-match news conference.
France bounced back from a narrow 34-32 loss away to New Zealand with an emphatic 42-26 win in Australia in their other opening matches. The tournament will resume in November before a finals weekend in London.
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While Japan showed flashes of attacking brilliance, it was a disappointing end to a strong run that saw them beat Italy 27-10 and front up to Ireland in a 20-36 loss in Australia.
JAPAN STRUGGLE TO STOP FRENCH MAUL
France punished Japan’s defence less than two minutes after kickoff with Lamothe powering over from a lineout maul, an area the hosts struggled to deal with throughout.
The Brave Blossoms looked shell-shocked in the opening exchanges but they showed some mettle and inched into a slim lead with a penalty from fullback Takuro Matsunaga and a silky piece of counterattacking play finished by winger Kippei Ishida.
But that score on the 15-minute mark would be the only time they were ahead and moments later Jalibert, who missed training in the build-up to the game through injury, found himself in acres of space as Japan back-pedalled.
Japan lost a man to the sin bin in the lead-up to Jalibert’s try and France took full advantage. Roumat rolled over from another driving lineout before Lucu grabbed the bonus-point try.
The Brave Blossoms rallied before the break with prop Sojiro Otsuka bulldozing through several French defenders from a close-range tap penalty to bring the scores to 15-28 at halftime.
Like the first period, France struck within minutes when play resumed: Lucu flipped a switch pass to Jalibert, who juggled the ball before jinking over the whitewash. Soon after, Lamothe muscled through for his second try after another rumbling maul.
France lost two players to the sin bin in the final quarter of the match but still Japan could not add to their tally with the hot and humid conditions taking their toll on both sides.
Replacement Tiennan Costley looked to have scored moments after coming on but it was ruled out for a double movement.
“We learned we got beaten in two areas very convincingly that probably affected the result the most, which was we got beaten in the maul … and then they convincingly won the battle in the air,” Japan coach Eddie Jones told reporters after the match.
“I’m pleased with the commitment of the players today. I thought they really stuck at it, played hard, played together, didn’t give up.”
Source: Reuters
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