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Australia were pushed until the last few seconds but held on for a scrappy 19-15 win over a Japan side led by controversial ex-Wallabies coach Eddie Jones at a rain-soaked National Stadium in Tokyo to kick off their autumn campaign.
Nick Champion de Crespigny scored a try in his first match as captain, with Josh Flook and openside Carlo Tizzano also crossing to give the Wallabies a seventh win in seven matches against the Brave Blossoms.
Japan had a sniff of an upset of the twice world champions when second-half tries from prop Shuhei Takeuchi and Australian-born flanker Ben Gunter brought them to within four points of the lead in the final quarter.
The Wallabies hung on, however, and will move on to Europe for Tests against England, Italy, Ireland and France over the next four weeks, having snapped a three-match losing streak.
“It was great to get the win and definitely some areas to improve on, but we got the win and that’s the important thing,” said flanker Champion de Crespigny.
Australia’s lack of fluency was understandable given coach Joe Schmidt made 13 changes to his starting side and they lost locks Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and his replacement Josh Canham to injury in the first half.
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Shuhei Takeuchi’s try couldn’t stop the Brave Blossoms falling to defeat (Getty Images)
They also produced the one moment of genuine quality in the match when full back Andrew Kellaway ran a beautiful line to carve through the Japan defence and found Flook in support to score a try that gave the visitors a 14-3 half-time lead.
Outspoken coach Jones – now in his second stint as Japan coach following a disastrous spell in charge of the Wallabies – had talked up his side’s chances before the game, but despite drawing so close, they were undone by handling errors and marginally more disciplined opponents.
The charged contest – Australia’s first chance to prove themselves against the coach who walked out on them after the 2023 World Cup – was evident from the outset as the sides traded bruising hits.
Drizzly conditions foiled the quick hands and fleet footwork Japanese rugby has become known for, while the Australians applied pressure with the boot and thundering forwards to limp to victory.
“We had our opportunities, but we didn’t start the game well enough,” said Jones. “In Test match rugby, I think if you score the first try, it gives you a 70 per cent chance of winning, and we were just too slow out of the blocks.
“What I’m super pleased about is that now we are a team that stays in the fight. We kept going, we could have won the game in the end, but we weren’t quite good enough.”
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Eddie Jones suffered defeat on his return to face Australia (Getty Images)
Aidan Ross came on as a replacement prop to make his Australia Test debut in the second half, becoming the fifth man to play for both Wallabies and All Blacks.
Australia coach Joe Schmidt also confirmed that the injuries to Salakaia-Loto and Canham would force a rejig before facing England at Twickenham next weekend.
“With England’s strong pack, it means we may be light in the second row,” Schmidt said. “We might need to get some reserves from Australia.”
Reuters
AloJapan.com