INTERNATIONAL RUGBY
SCOTLAND coach Gregor Townsend was bitterly disappointed after seeing his dream of an unbeaten tour to launch his term in charge blown apart by the vibrant running and tackling of Fiji.
The Scots won the try count by three to two but their discipline was poor and they were ripped apart by the brilliant handling of Leone Nakarawa as five penalties from Ben Volavola secured a 27-22 win for the hosts.
Hopes were high of another Scotland win after Townsend’s men followed up their defeat of Italy with a stunning victory over Australia but they were unable to make it a clean sweep.
“We did not play as well as we have done on tour but credit to Fiji, they played some outstanding rugby, particularly in the second half and were tough to handle,” said Townsend.
“For us to win Test matches we have to play really well, as we showed last week [against Australia], but we missed too many tackles and Fiji came alive when they broke those tackles.
“Also we have to look after the ball in our attack; too many balls were lost in contact with the wet ball. I’m really disappointed.”
A number of the leading Fijians showed just why they are among the most sought-after players in Europe. I RELAND head coach Joe Schmidt was relieved to see his side clinch a hard-fought 35-13 victory over Japan at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo.
Tries from Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, Kieran Marmion and Rhys Ruddock established a commanding 28-8 half-time lead, but the visitors wilted in the heat and high humidity after the break.
Ireland were kept scoreless for the majority of the second half, with substitute flanker Sean Reidy adding a late try.
The win completes a clean sweep on Ireland’s summer tour following a 55-19 victory over the US Eagles in New Jersey and a 50-22 win against the Brave Blossoms last Saturday.
“Having spoken to the players, that was very, very tough going,” said Schmidt.
“The Japanese defence came very quick off the line, very effective in the tackle and made the day very hard work.
“It was very hot out there, the players were fatiguing early in the game, so it was great to get a good start and hang on at the finish.”
Ireland were looking on course to bring up another half-century against Japan thanks to another powerful first-half display, but the hosts came roaring back into the contest after the break.
Led by inspirational captain Michael Leitch, Japan were much improved in the second half with Kotaro Matsushima scoring a well-worked
But there was a degree of irony in the fact that the torturer in chief was Leone Nakarawa, who Townsend had plucked from the Fijian sevens line-up while he was at Glasgow and turned him into one of the world’s great locks.
“There were a number of Fijians who played really well and Leone was an outstanding example of that,” Townsend said.
“He is probably the best second row in the world, certainly the best offloading second row.
“At times we defended him really well and managed to close him down but at other times he kept his energy and offloading ability and he created a fantastic try.” try to add to wing Akihito Yamada’s earlier effort.
“I think we got exactly what we expected, it was very tough, very physical,” noted Schmidt.
“Michael Leitch was enormous.
For his captain John Barclay, it was an equally disheartening experience.
“It was physical but we could not exert control,” he said.
“Last week, when we got back into it we had a calm nature about us.
“This week we did not hold onto the ball very well, we didn’t make the right decisions with the ball and when we did we didn’t move well with it.
“Defensively we made poor decisions and just fell off too many tackles.”
By contrast Fiji coach John McKee celebrated one of the best results in recent years.
“We have made a lot of progress Even when it looked like John Cooney was going to get away (at the end of the game), Leitch got back to tackle him. He does not give up.
“I could mention so many players... Yamada, first time he got the ball he beat our winger so quickly, I think our player hardly saw him.
“The other area is the scrum, they were so much stronger in the scrum, they held us very solidly at scrum time.”
Ireland captain Ruddock agreed that his young side had been pushed to the limit.
He said: “Everyone found it unbelievably tough, both in terms of the physicality, speed and the way they challenged us in the tackle, with strength and tempo. It’s certainly our biggest test of the tour and we had to work very hard to get the win.”
Meanwhile, Japan head coach Jamie Joseph bemoaned his side’s lack of discipline during the first half.
Joseph’s men conceded a flurry of penalties as they struggled to contain a rampant Ireland in the opening half before their resurgence after the break.
“The penalties that are avoidable for me are the silly penalties when we were on the back foot,” he said.
“Under pressure, those sort of penalties you just can’t afford to give away at Test match level. Today, they gave away a lot of penalties around the ruck.
“There was nothing wrong with our attention, it was just our application.” as a team in the time we have been together but we have two big games ahead of us [World Cup qualifying matches] against Tonga and Samoa,” he said.
“We will enjoy the victory but then start focusing on those.
“The team is advancing. When I was first interviewed for the job I said I wanted Fiji to be a competitor with Tier One nations because I believe we have the talented athletes here and have shown we can step up.
“We have very talented rugby players and for me the big thing is to see those guys who are top players in Europe coming back to play for Fiji.”