The Japan's women's development sevens side saved their worst till last on Friday, when they were knocked out of the Fiji Coral Coast Sevens at Lawaqa Park at the semifinal stage.

The young side -- containing mostly high school and university students -- went into the game against local side Striders heavily favored to go all the way by the big crowd that included Ben Ryan, who led the Fiji men's team to gold at the Rio Olympics.

But some uncharacteristic errors with ball in hand and less than impressive defense saw Japan beaten 36-7 by the eventual tournament winners.

"We made a mistake straight after the kickoff and couldn't recover," rued coach Makoto Inada.

"The rugby here in Fiji is very physical and we found it tough to defend. But from a positive point of view we now know these girls can play international rugby."

Just how strong the teams are in this tournament was highlighted in the men's competition, where a side containing three of Ryan's team in Rio -- Masivesi Dakuwaqa, Vatemo Ravouvou and Kitione Taliga -- and Fijian rugby legend Pio Tuwai were beaten in the pool competition.

And the physicality was also present in the women's game with Striders beating the Hong Kong national side 19-12 in the final despite having a player shown a red card for a dangerous tackle.

Despite losing captain Sora Nishimura to concussion on the opening day, Inada's side opened their account with a 29-14 win over SNAX Nadi Aviators in the quarterfinals.

Hinano Nagura, who took over from Nishimura as captain, led by example, touching down three times as the Junior Sakura Sevens once again showed that disciplined rugby and tenacious defense can overcome natural flair.

However, that all came apart in the second game on another hot day in "Rugby Town" Sigatoka.

Japan went behind straight from the kickoff and the only thing their many fans in the crowd had to cheer about was a try right at the death from 25-year-old Miho Matsunaga, the second oldest member of the squad.

While they may have failed to pick up any trophies, the Japan team impressed a great many with 16-year-old Rinka Matsuda and third-year university student Nagura finishing the tournament as the third and fourth top try scorers, respectively.

"You have got to love the commitment of the Japanese teams," said former U.S. sevens captain and Rugby World Cup participant Brian Hightower.

"They are always so determined and consistent and that helps them overcome their physical deficiencies."

"But today they just got two straight games where they had a size disadvantage. They couldn't take the ball into space and when they lose that ability to get away from the contact area it's a huge disadvantage especially in this heat."

Kensuke Iwabuchi, the director of high performance for the Japan Rugby Football Union's women's sevens program, meanwhile, said coming to Fiji was a great learning experience for the young team.

"All the girls showed they could make the squad for the Tokyo Olympics if they put the effort in."