1
Scott Lawrence’s USA Eagles saw their potent second half comeback fall short as Eddie Jones’s Japan secured a 41 – 24 at the Kumagaya Rugby Stadium.
ADVERTISEMENT
Weathering an early storm from the Brave Blossoms, the Eagles closed to within a score with twenty minutes left on the clock.
Unfortunately for Lawrence’s side, Japan’s fitness, tempo and composure ensured they finished the contest strongly with a converted try and a penalty sealing the deal.
Here is how the USA players fared in their Pool B decider.
1. Jack Iscaro – 6
Struggled at times against the stout and powerful physique of Japanese tighthead Keijiro Tamefusa. Defensively he put in a solid shift with 7 tackles and was his team’s go-to-carrier in the tight exchanges getting on the ball for 6 carries into heavy traffic.
2. Kapeli Pifeleti – 5
Pinpoint with his line-out throwing, Pifeleti will be happy with a 90% win rate against a potent Japanese pack.
3. Alex Maughan – 3.5
Enduring a similar issue to his loosehead, Maughan had a moderately tough time against the Japanese front row who seemed to routinely bore in on him. with both the loosehead and hooker. Away from the set-piece, Maughan was a visible presence at the breakdown and had a few solid tackles before being removed early in the second half.
4. Vili Helu – 6.5
Soaring at line-out time, Helu was the USA’s banker with 11 takes one of which was an absolute peach that set-up his team for a strong driving maul that netted their first try.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the loose, the San Diego Legion stand-out was busy without flashing as he completed 6 tackles, carried twice and hit a ton of rucks.
5. Greg Peterson – 5.5
Recovering from an early knock-on which came straight from the first kick-off, the skipper was his team’s chief protector at the breakdown.
Pulling the strings at line-out time, the skipper marshalled a strong showing for his side bagging five takes himself. Defensively Peterson made ten tackles and was a constant breakdown threat with his physicality slowing down the Japanese attack.
Departing after having played an important role in his team’s comeback, the giant lock looked out on his feet having emptied the tank.
ADVERTISEMENT
6. Paddy Ryan – 6.5
The diesel engine in the Eagles pack, Ryan got through a mountain of work with 12 tackles, 2 line-out takes, 4 carries and a turnover.
7. Cory Daniel – 7
Displaying his toughness to shake-off a stinger, the openside flanker topped the tackle charts for his team with 14.
Given his side were struggling to contain the Japanese attack, his work rate went a long way towards stopping the Eagles conceding more points but did limit his opportunities to get on the ball himself.
8. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz – 8.5
Head and shoulders above any other player in the carry, the number eight was his team’s go-to-guy when it came to getting over the gainline.
Carrying 15 times for 64 metes, the Old Glory DC backrow was used creatively by the Eagles which set him up for a handful of mismatch situations which he duly capitalised on. Mixing in some subtle skills, the number eight had two offloads and won a key turnover for his side as well as showing exceptional composure to score his team’s opening try.
9. Ruben de Haas – 4
Tasked with containing Japan’s electric Shinobu Fujiwara, the Cheetahs scrumhalf by and large tracked his man during their 52 minute head-to-head.
Unfortunately for scrumhalf he didn’t have the cleanest platform to operate from with the likes of Warner Deans and Sanaila Waqa using their sizeable frames to slow down the USA ruck. When he did have go forward ball he showed his skill was he whipped the ball superbly for Auspurger’s first try.
10. Luke Carty – 7
Mirroring his older brother, Carty is a sweet striker of a rugby ball and was central to his team’s ability to stay in the fight.
Mixing up his kicking game, Carty probed the Japanese backfield with testing kicks and cleared his lines superbly to release pressure for his pack. Routinely in the right place at the right time, Carty had a try assist to go with his solid day from the kicking tee where he landed a penalty and three conversions.
11. Nate Augspurger – 8.5
Single handedly dragged his team back into the contest with two superb quick fire tries in the 50th and 57th minutes.
Creating two line-breaks from five carries to go with his two tries, the veteran winger was highly efficient with his limited opportunities.
12. Tommaso Boni – 4
Carried hard and straightened the line for his team but was rarely a line breaking threat with just a single defender beaten.
Defensively it was a disappointing evening for the former Italian international as he missed four of his nine tackle attempts with one being key in Japan’s opening try.
13. Tavite Lopeti – 4
Worked hard to get into the contest despite the ball rarely coming his way he still managed to beat three defenders from his four carries. Defensively he held up his side of the bargain albeit the Japanese didn’t overly test his channel instead opting to search for inside balls closer to the ruck.
14. Conner Mooneyham – 4
Spent the bulk of his evening on defensive duty as he marked the uber dangerous Japanese back three.
Ending his account with 8 tackles, 1 turnover and 1 carry paints a clear picture of the challenges he faced in the humid and slippery conditions.
15. Mitch Wilson – 4
Rarely offered a chance to counter attack given Japan’s clear intention to keep the ball in hand. The fullback only had 3 carries for 14 meters and 1 defender beaten.
Replacements
16. Sean McNulty – 4
The dynamic hooker got through his work but couldn’t quite bring the running impact that he would ordinarily implement.
17. Jake Turnbull – 6
Came on for a solid twenty minute stint and put in some good tackles for a generally solid showing.
18. Paul Mullen – 6.5
The giant tighthead from the remote Irish island of Inishmore solidified a struggling scrum when he entered the fray in the 45th minute. Around the park he provided a physical presence at the breakdown which allowed his team to get a foothold in the contest.
19. Jason Damm – 4
Replaced the skipper in the 58th minute and fulfilled his role as ruck hitting physical presence.
20. Thomas Tu’avao – 4
Came on for a ten minute cameo in the face of a Japanese onslaught and couldn’t really put his print on the match.
21. Moni Tongauiha – 6
Replaced Cory Daniel in the 48th minute and brought some great energy as a willing ball carrier and physical maul presence.
22. Juan Philip Smith – 6
Replaced his fellow South African born scrumhalf De Haas for a busy twenty-eight minute showing with 19 passes and 6 kicks as his team climbed back into the fixture.
23. Dominic Besag – 4
Coming on for two ten minute spells, the utility back was a decent role player without really influencing proceedings.
