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How Japan put Fiji under pressure in ‘special’ PNC Final triumph
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TOKYO: Japan lock Jack Cornelsen has spoken of the impact the forward pack was able to make with their set-piece dominance, as the Brave Blossoms went on to claim the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 title on a “special” night in Tokyo.
The Brave Blossoms had lost the 2024 and 2025 PNC deciders, but gave themselves another shot at silverware with a semi-final win over the USA Eagles. They played the Flying Fijians on Saturday evening and prevailed 20-15 in a thriller at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.
Cornelsen, who started at No. 8 in the clinical 49-point win over the USA Eagles in Osaka, was part of the Brave Blossoms pack that found plenty of success. Japan laid down a marker at scrum time and applied plenty of pressure at defensive lineouts.
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Fiji were held to a win rate of less than 65 per cent when throwing into the lineout, and the team conceded 14 penalties on the night – with some of those coming at scrum time. The maul also proved effective, leading to a yellow card against Fiji’s Mesake Doge in the first half.
“It’s not the type of game that probably either team usually plays; quite stop-start, a lot scrum set-piece. A bit different to what we’re used to,” Cornelsen told RugbyPass.
“The front-row did a great job there at scrum time to put them under pressure and the scrum gave us a bit of a platform really.
“We always talk about, as a forward pack, being able to put other teams under pressure at set-piece. I think a lot of teams probably overlook our scrum and our maul. The last few games it’s been quite a strength of ours and hopefully it’s something we can keep building on.”
Replacement Samisoni Tua scored what proved to be the match-winning try with nine minutes left, and the Brave Blossoms dominated possession from then, as they held on for an unforgettable result in front of 17,421 supporters.
The Tokyo crowd was incredibly loud and passionate throughout the 80-minute contest – except for when players lined up shots at goal, then you could hear a pin drop. You could feel the tension as the clock ticked towards full-time, and then the stadium erupted in a celebratory cheer.
“We don’t really get to play for too many trophies so when we do, it’s pretty special,” Cornelsen said.
“We’ve fallen short [twice] so to finally get that one as this group, definitely pretty special.”
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