OPINION: The Brave Blossoms were left shell-shocked at Wembley as Eddie Jones’ side were pulverised 7-61 by the world champion Springboks.
South Africa’s power game was relentless, and while Japan grabbed a fine individual try through Yoshitaka Yazaki, it was otherwise a long and bruising afternoon.
*Ian Cameron rates Japan!
1 Kenta Kobayashi
Given a torrid time at scrum time against debutant Zachary Porthen, who had him going backwards on multiple feeds. Conceded a penalty try before the break and offered little resistance in the carry.
4.5/10
2 Kenji Sato
Tackled like a demon, but was chasing shadows for much of the contest. The line-out faltered under Bok pressure, but Sato’s effort couldn’t be faulted.
6/10
3 Shuhei Takeuchi
Yellow-carded before half-time after the Japanese scrum collapsed once too often. The tighthead endured a rough outing, with Ox Nché and then Wilco Louw dominating him.
4/10
4 Jack Cornelsen
Tried to keep his head above water but drowned in the rising Springbok tide. One line-out steal aside, he couldn’t impose himself physically and was blown away by the Bok maul.
5/10
5 Warner Dearns
Showed his class to pinch two turnovers against the run of play. Quiet with the ball in hand, but didn’t make any inroads into the Bok forwards.
6/10
6 Ben Gunter
A clumsy challenge on Kolisi saw him carded early in the second half. Couldn’t quite match the physical edge he showed against Australia a week earlier, but at least tried to punch through contact.
5.5/10
7 Kanji Shimokawa
A few nuisance moments at the breakdown, but too often found himself carried backwards by Kolisi and Wiese. Lacked the stopping power required at this level.
5/10
8 Michael Leitch
Again, among Japan’s best. Tackled every Bok that moved—and some that didn’t. Kept standards up even as the scoreline ran away. The veteran refuses to fade quietly.
7.5/10
9 Shinobu Fujiwara
Sharp early on but faded badly under Bok pressure. His box-kicks were routinely charged down or punished on the counter. Replaced at 65 minutes with Japan looking out of ideas.
6/10
10 Seungsin Lee
A mixed bag. Landed Japan’s lone conversion, but a few too many errors under pressure. Tried to play flat but was repeatedly monstered by Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Kolisi flying out of the line.
6/10
11 Tomoki Osada
Made a bright line break in the lead-up to Yazaki’s try, but was mostly starved of ball. Struggled to contain Arendse when South Africa went wide.
5/10
12 Charlie Lawrence
The DynaBoars centre had a torrid evening defensively, repeatedly carved open by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cheslin Kolbe cutting against the grain. Offered little with the ball in hand and was too easily stepped when South Africa ran their patterns through midfield. A long 60 minutes.
4/10
13 Dylan Riley
Worked hard defensively but lost his battle with Jesse Kriel. Rarely saw front-foot ball, and the Wild Knight was forced into scramble mode all afternoon.
5.5/10
14 Kippei Ishida
Ran willing support lines but couldn’t lay a hand on Kolbe, who cut through at will. Minimal involvement and limited yardage gained.
5/10
15 Yoshitaka Yazaki
Took his try superbly, showing composure and pace when given half a gap. However, it was way too leaky at the back, dropping several balls and looking a little brittle when wave after wave of green came crashing.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Shodai Hirao
On from 64 minutes. Couldn’t stop the bleeding at scrum time, but at least brought some urgency.
6/10
17 Ryosuke Iwaihara
On in the same spell and met the same fate — folded in by Louw.
5/10
18 Keijiro Tamefusa
Part of a replacement front row that barely slowed South Africa’s dominance.
5/10
19 Tyler Paul
Some grunt and intent when he entered the fray, but limited impact in such a one-sided contest.
5.5/10
20 Faulua Makisi
Excellent cameo. Threw himself into contact and was one of the few to meet Bok collisions head-on. A lone bright spark from the bench.
7.5/10
21 Kenta Fukuda – N/A
Not on long enough to rate.
22 Sam Greene – N/A
Came on late with the result long gone.
23. Tiennan Costley – N/A
Saw out the final quarter and had one half-chance down the touchline, but otherwise anonymous.
AloJapan.com