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TOKYO: The USA The Eagles are looking to end their Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup campaign on a positive note, learning from a 63-14 defeat to Japan in the third-place playoff against rivals Canada in Tokyo.
Japan began their quest for the Pacific Cup of Nations title with a dream-like attack, attacking spirit and dominance on the scoreboard as they raced to a 28-0 lead over the USA after just 16 minutes.
Shilo Klein and Tavite Lopeti hit back for the Eagles, who made a slight comeback during the second quarter at Osaka’s Hanazono Rugby Stadium. But a yellow card to USA captain Jason Dam was another key moment as Japan took control during the second half.
The Eagles head to Tokyo for another important shot as they continue to build towards the men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia. They took to the field on Friday for their captain’s series, with the players taking long shots on goal and honing various other skills.
“A really great learning experience for our players last week against a strong Japanese side. We’re really looking forward to the challenge of Canada – a great rivalry between two countries and we’re looking forward to playing our best game so far in this tournament,” Rugby World Cup-winning Wallaby and USA assistant coach Nathan Gray told reporters.
“For us, it was about our speed to set up and also being able to handle failure. They scored right away, very quickly (and) guys kind of went into their shells. We want to make sure that whatever happens we focus on the next outcome,” he added.
“Probably defensively, it’s just the speed of the game early on. We practice that a lot, but we haven’t really been that great.”
The USA cut their former 28-point deficit in half during the opening 40, before Japan responded with another try on the final play of the half. But the Eagles still believed they could fight for a comeback, before a yellow card made things difficult in wet conditions.
Damm was sent to the sin bin and the Brave Blossoms made the most of their advantage as they continued to pile on the points. Japan continued to play their fast, breaking style of attacking rugby as they ran away with a big win.
“It’s all about getting used to different scenarios and different experiences,” Gray said when asked about Damm’s yellow card.
“The playing group has been really good. We have a plan and it’s about going out and executing that plan when we’re 14.
“It puts you under pressure and thinking… you’re never happy to lose a game, but the opportunity to learn from that experience was really embraced by the coaches and all the players. We saw that as a positive.”
Canada will be looking to bounce back, having suffered back-to-back losses in back-to-back weeks to Japan and Fiji, respectively. Japan produced a very entertaining run of rugby in the JRFU’s 100th jubilee match, which resulted in a convincing victory.
The Canadians conceded less than 30 seconds into the semi-final against defending PNC champions Fiji, but mounted impressive comebacks on several occasions. Canada put 29 points on one of the top 10 sides in the World Rugby Rankings.
“They also play fast rugby. They like to move the ball wide and their maul is quite strong.
“We’ve had a good look at them, but the big focus for us this week has been us and our performance. We’re really looking forward to putting on our best performance yet in a grass court, because that’s what counts.”