Rugby (File, Mainichi)
LONDON (Kyodo) — Tries to Naoto Saito and Kazuki Himeno were among the rare bright moments for Japan in a heavy 59-14 defeat to England at Twickenham on Sunday.
The hosts ran in nine tries as they snapped a run of five losses and spoiled former England head coach Eddie Jones’ return to the “Home of Rugby.”
England captain Jamie George scored two of his team’s five first-half tries, with his replacement at hooker, Luke Cowan-Dickie, also dotting down twice.
Japan boss Jones said his young team’s poor lineout and scrum execution meant they “struggled to compete,” but expressed confidence that they would cut down the mistakes with more experience.
“They’re a really young team (with) 200 (total) caps today, and we’ve just got to accept that it’s part of the process,” the 64-year-old Australian said. “We’ve just got to stick at it.”
Having never beaten England, the Brave Blossoms looked unlikely to break the streak from the outset, and they trailed 28-0 by the time Marcus Smith converted George’s second try in the 32nd minute.
But the visitors managed to show their attacking flair on Saito’s 34th-minute try, which culminated from quick movement wide and a penetrating run by center Dylan Riley.
Himeno’s five-pointer in the 62nd minute was another positive sign for Japan’s 2023 Rugby World Cup captain, who returned to the national team in October following elbow surgery earlier in the year.
Toulouse scrumhalf Saito, who captained Japan on the day, said defensive indiscipline created “a vicious cycle” for his team, who could only show “glimpses of really good rugby” for a short period either side of halftime.
The loss completed a three-test European tour for the Brave Blossoms that began with a 52-12 defeat to France followed by a 36-20 win over Uruguay.
Jones said there was “no magic solution” to reaching his lofty goal of a top-four finish at the next Rugby World Cup and that experience would be the ultimate teacher.
“When you’ve got 200 caps it means most players have played 10 tests or less. So they don’t have any accumulated adaption on the field, so when something doesn’t go right, they can’t adapt to it. And you only learn that by doing it,” he said.
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