Japan Storm To Victory as Canada Is Overwhelmed by Rival's Speed in PNC Opener

The Maple Leafs tried to dig deep but couldn't recover from the early blitz at the Rugby Pacific Nations Cup

The Canadians fought hard but were unable to recover, eventually losing 55-28 to Japan. /

By Priscilla Jepchumba

Canada’s return to the Pacific Nations Cup was unsuccessful as Japan were comfortable 55-28 winners in Vancouver on Sunday. A dreadful start for the Maple Leafs saw them conceding 38 unanswered points in 30 minutes, though some credibility was restored with three second-half tries.

The speed of Japan’s attack left the Canadian defense bewildered in the opening minutes. Malo Tuitama raced clear four minutes into his test debut, followed in short order by Warner Dearns.

Seung-Sin Lee landed a penalty goal and Kanji Shimokawa then followed up a Yoshitaka Yazaki line break for the simplest of finishes. Lee added all three conversions.

"(Japan) were so efficient, the speed of ball," said Kingsley Jones, Maple Leafs’ head coach. "It was like a whirlwind, like a wave coming over the players."

The Canadians fought hard but were unable to recover, eventually losing 55-28.

"I spoke at halftime to the team and I said `Do we want to wait until next week to put things right or do we want to start now? Can we win the second half?' That was the challenge," said Jones.

"And we won the second half. Japan may have taken their foot off the gas a little bit, but I'm really proud of the players, the way they stuck at it."

Dearns scored again when he plucked from a ruck, moved out of one tackle, then fended off two more would-be tacklers to complete a 40-meter solo effort.

Dylan Riley followed with a straightforward run-in that rendered it 38-0, however, Andrew Coe took advantage of some careless handling by Japan and scored against the flow of play shortly before halftime.

Lee scored a try early in the subsequent half, but the Canadians responded when Lucas Rumball, the team captain, crossed seconds later.

Talon McMullin scored a try following a well-executed lineout set play, with the midfielder darting back inside on a short throw from Andrew Quattrin to discover an opening within the defense of the Brave Blossoms.

Takoda McMullin joined his brother on the scoreboard right before halftime, yet the Brave Blossoms would ultimately prevail, with Tomoki Osada scoring their eighth try.

The Maple Leafs are scheduled to travel southwards to Los Angeles, where they will face the USA next Saturday. If Canada is to advance to the Semi-Finals, it will need to win.

Japan returns home to prepare for their encounter with the Eagles on the 7th of September in Kumagaya.