By Rich Freeman ,
Japan fell to their first loss of the 2023 Rugby World Cup on Sunday, going down 34-12 to England in Pool D in front of 30,500 at Stade de Nice.
With the heat and humidity leading to handling errors for both sides, the Brave Blossoms produced, for moments at least, one of their most spirited performance in recent years.
But it was not enough, as the 2003 champions eventually took control of the game in the final 20 minutes to go top of the pool with nine points.
"I thought we created a lot of opportunities, we just made too many mistakes," Japan head coach Jamie Joseph said. "England obviously put us under a lot of pressure, but there were times in the first 60 minutes of the game where I thought it was a real arm wrestle. We just needed to capitalize on those opportunities."
The Brave Blossoms trailed 13-9 at the break knowing that England's points -- through a try by Lewis Ludlam and two penalties and a conversion from George Ford -- had come from two unforced handling errors close to their own line and over-eagerness with their line speed in defense.
The mistakes aside, Japan's defense held firm and three penalties from Rikiya Matsuda kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Kazuki Himeno and Michael Leitch made inroads with ball in hand and Yutaka Nagare put in some clever little kicks behind the England defensive line as Japan mixed up their game and tried to make the most of limited possession.
With the game evenly poised, the benches would be crucial, and so it proved as England finished stronger, dominating possession and territory.
Matsuda added a fourth penalty 14 minutes into the second half to make it a one-point game before England scored a fortuitous try through Courtney Lawes, after the ball bounced off the head of Joe Marler.
"That was a first for me," said Joseph. "We just didn't have any luck. We blew one with an overthrow in the line-out, there was the juggling act by Joe. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck and we didn't get any of that today. I guess it was a fair try, what more can I say?"
Freddie Steward added England's third try before Joe Marchant touched down in the final minute to ensure Steve Borthwick's team left the South of France with a valuable bonus point.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game like that. They're a great team, Japan, they challenge you in a different way," man-of-the-match Ford said. "We knew it wouldn't be until the third or fourth quarter until we could potentially pull away a bit."
Matsuda said things had "gone to plan" in the first half for the Brave Blossoms, who went on to commit too many mistakes after the break.
"We talked about needing to play at a good pace in the second half," Matsuda said. "But infringements and penalties were a problem. It allowed them to put us under pressure."
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