Japan player ratings vs England | Rugby World Cup 2023
Despite a promising start to the game, Japan have fallen to a disheartening 34-12 loss to England in Nice on Sunday evening.
13 survivors from 2022’s 52-13 defeat at Twickenham were included in the 23 for Japan’s second Rugby World Cup game of 2023 and while they were able to stay in touch with their opposition for the first three quarters of the match, they couldn’t prevent England from grabbing a try-scoring bonus point on the Côte d’Azur.
How did the Brave Blossoms rate in defeat?
1. Keita Inagaki – 7/10
Strong at the set-piece, not giving an inch against a more vaunted pack. Left the field as the top tackler, with 11 to his name. Off in 50th minute.
2. Shota Horie – 4
Busy around the park but while his effort couldn’t be faulted, the accuracy was rarely up to scratch. One lineout overthrow on the five-metre line saw England grab their first try of the night – and he was spoken to by the ref for making a no-arms tackle in the process. A number of his other throws missed the mark while one was ruled not straight. Busy on defence – one of a number of players to reach the high teens.
3. Jiwon Gu – 6
Like his propping teammate, impressed at scrum time. Tackled his heart out before succumbing to a stinger of a hit. Off at half time.
4. Jack Cornelsen – 6
Industrious, particularly on defence, finishing with 15 tackles. Helped keep England honest when they attempted to drive the ball down the field from lineouts.
5. Amato Fakatava – 5
Brought down to earth a bit after the highs of last week. Made a great cover tackle at the beginning of the second half and nabbed one lineout steal but struggled to impose himself on the larger England pack. Off in 62nd minute.
6. Michael Leitch – 6
An important tackle when England were looking likely forced a knock-on. Stuck to his guns throughout the evening, finishing as Japan’s top tackler with 14 to his name. Tried to punt the ball downfield from a turnover but only managed to send it five metres. Couldn’t take a lineout to save himself – but a lot of that was down to the thrower.
7. Pieter Labuschagne – 7
Went about his business without doing anything too flashy. Finished the match with a game-high 19 tackles to his name. Off in 74th minute.
8. Kazuki Himeno – 7
Gave his all on the offence, making carry after carry, and usually earning a few metres in the process. Forced a crucial breakdown penalty when England were hot on attack. A strong return from injury.
9. Yutaka Nagare – 6
Looked sharp and did an excellent job maintaining the tempo when Japan had the ball on attack. Peppered England’s 22 with kicks that kept them honest. Popped once backwards box kick over his shoulder which almost led to a great result for the Brave Blossoms. Otherwise, his kicks from the base of the ruck lacked the height needed for his teammates to chase – in a major contrast to his opposition scrumhalf. Panicked when the ball spat out the back of the scrum on Japan’s goal-line, batting the ball to his No 10, and England were able to force the ball carrier over the line. England scored from the ensuing possession. Off in 65th minute.
10. Rikiya Matsuda – 4
Nailed his kicks on goal and grabbed one lineout but was otherwise inaccurate and costly. Attempted a few cross-field kicks to varying levels of success. Charged down a George Ford kick to put England under pressure inside their 22. Made a poor decision next time Japan were inside their own red zone, sending the clearing kick right into the middle of the pitch where Ford was able to slip the ball into the corner. That wasn’t the only time he handed England prime attacking ball in the first half. Penalised once for making a tackle off the ball following a defensive misread at the set-piece (although Ford missed the kick), kicked the ball directly into touch from just outside Japan’s 22 with time almost up on the clock (but England couldn’t capitalise from the ensuing possession), then crept up offside once the siren had gone to hand England three points.
11. Jone Naikabula – 5
Not a particularly busy night out on the left wing. Twinkling toes saw him evade one tackle on the sideline. Made one great counter-attacking break from a high kick but couldn’t link up with his teammates. Off in 50th minute.
12. Ryoto Nakamura – 6
Struggled to have much of an impact on either side of the ball but generally made his tackles. Rushed up in an offside position when England were on the prowl, handing Ford a simple three points from the tee. Pounced on a loose ball when an England attack went awry.
13. Tomoki Osada – 5
Kept Joe Marchand under wraps for much of the evening. Showed great composure when covering a raking kick inside Japan’s 22, securing possession under pressure and then offloading to a teammate. Tossed the ball to no one when Japan were looking to launch an attack from inside their half in the dying stages of the game.
14. Kotaro Matsushima – 7
Japan’s most threatening player with ball in hand. A clever kick-and-chase into England’s 22 saw Japan earn themselves a lineout in the danger zone. Sparked a brilliant counter-attack from deep inside Brave Blossoms territory, beating a handful of defenders before charging to the 10-metre line in England’s half.
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15. Semisi Masirewa – N/A
Made an absolutely cardinal error with his first touch, knocking the ball on in goal when he could have simply touched it down for a drop-out, putting his team under immediate pressure. England kicked a penalty from the next play. Departed with an injury in the 7th minute.
Reserves:
16. Atsushi Sakate – 4
On in 50th minute. Wasn’t able to provide any impact from the pine. Like the man he replaced, struggled with his lineout deliveries.
17. Craig Millar – 7
On in 50th minute. Defended the line fiercely when England were hammering away looking for their bonus-point try. Made one great covering tackle on Jonny May with time almost up on the clock.
18. Asaeli Ai Valu – 5
On at halftime. Struggled at scrum time, giving up one penalty and generally looking under the pump at the set-piece. Defended resolutely.
19. Warner Dearns – 5
On in 62nd minute. Struggled to work his way into the match.
20. Kanji Shimokawa – N/A
On in 74th minute. Dropped a high ball as his only real contribution.
21. Naoto Saito – N/A
On in 65th minute. Spent most of the match with his team on defence.
22. Dylan Riley – 7
On in 50th minute. Put in a strong tackle for his first involvement. Looked great with the ball in hand. Has certainly earned a start for when Japan take on Argentina.
23. Lomano Lemeki – 6
On in 7th minute. Had mixed results under the high ball. Looked good when unopposed but rarely won the battle against opposition jumpers. Looked good in space and his chip-and-chase game remained strong throughout.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments