"Poor handling of high balls and line-out winning"
was pointed out by former Japan national team prop Ryo Yamamura.
In the Rugby World Cup France, Japan faced England, the runners-up of the previous tournament, in the second match of the first round, and although they trailed by one goal in the second half, they were pushed away and lost 1-2. We Japan have won the World Cup two times before, but this match did not upset us.
(Sports News Department, Reporter Tatsuki Kobayashi)
table of contents
Kick to the back of the hook
Scrum that fought well
The "heading try" that separated the match
"Lineout" and "highball handling" were the reasons for the defeat
Looking forward to the next match against Samoa
notice
《Data Japan×England》
Open Table of Contents
table of contents
table of contents
Kick to the back of the hook
Scrum that fought well
The "heading try" that separated the match
"Lineout" and "highball handling" were the reasons for the defeat
Looking forward to the next match against Samoa
notice
《Data Japan×England》
Rugby World Cup Japan Lost to England to 1-1
Kick to the back of the hook
Japan impatient England with the tactics they envisioned from the first half.
What was effective was the kick that kicked behind the opponent's defensive line.
Ryudai player
Centered on scrum-half Ryudai and stand-off Rikiya Matsuda, they developed quickly and kicked to the back if there was even a little space. We succeeded in containing England's fast-paced defence.
England full-back Freddie Steward praised his attacking style, saying, "Japan's kicking strategy was amazing.
Scrum that fought well
We also played well in the Scrum.
In last autumn's match, we were repeatedly penalized in the scrum and lost heavily, but in this match, we saw the scrum stop many times and we were able to counter the strong forwards of England.
Scrum is stable
Mr. Ryo Yamamura, who was active in the Japan national team as a prop at the forefront of Scrum, evaluated Scrum, which was a point of attention, as follows.
Former Japan national team prop Ryo Yamamura
: "It was wonderful, especially the fact that we were able to overcome the first scrum without being pushed or fouled in a pinch moment of 5 meters right after the match was one of the reasons why it was a close match until the middle of the match."
This achievement was due to a sense of preparation from an early stage.
Japan, by the time the opposing forwards were shoulder to shoulder, the eight players were already united and had a low posture that allowed them to group up and press at any time.
This was a lesson learned from last year's late defeat, and Michael Leach was convinced, saying, "We did a good job against England, who are strong in the scrum."
The "heading try" that separated the match
On the other hand, the turning point of the match was the "heading try" scene where the ball hit the head of an England player and led to a try that seemed to be a knock-on.
In this scene, the Japan player decided to knock on before the referee stopped it, and he easily conceded a try.
Knock-on and concealed a try
Winger MATSUSHIMA Kotaro said, "While the referee didn't stop us, we will reflect on the fact that we made our own decisions and stopped play."
As a result, our opponents scored when we needed an extra goal, and we couldn't draw the momentum.
"Lineout" and "highball handling" were the reasons for the defeat
Mistakes made in areas that we had been wary of beforehand, such as lineouts and handling high balls, also contributed to the loss.
Especially in the lineout, in the 24th minute of the first half, we were able to convert a spilled ball from our own side into a try.
Suffer England's highball attack
Even though we knew they were going to kick the high ball, we were hit by the opponent's tall fullback and steward player and regained it, and we couldn't catch it and attack it.
Leach, who played the full game, said that in addition to the intense scrums, mauls and defence, there were many scenes where he chased kicks, which reduced his energy even more than usual.
This is one of the reasons why we were barely able to attack the opponents' half after 20 minutes of the second half.
Mr. Yamamura also cited his handling of high balls and the low rate of winning lineouts as the reasons for the loss.
Former Japan national team prop Ryo Yamamura
: "(Regarding the response to the high ball) it is important to secure the spilled ball even if you cannot catch the ball directly, and the players around you are required to support the players who compete for the high ball."
In terms of lineouts) Under pressure from opponents, the winning rate of My Ball lineouts was as low as 66%. That's why we couldn't take advantage of our offense from the lineout."
Looking forward to the next match against Samoa
Japan was a revenge match for last November's heavy defeat. Although the gap was narrowed, they were held back by a no-brainer, and there is still a high wall to overcome against England.
According to the AI prediction of the victory or loss by the rugby data company, the probability of Japan winning is 11%. That expectation could not be overturned.
Kazuki Himeno Captain (right)
Even so, as captain HIMENO Kazuki said, "There is no time to look down," and the battle in the first round will continue. In the first round, we have two matches left against Samoa and Argentina.
【Commentary by Ayumu Goromaru】Round 3 What kind of team is Samoa?
【Commentary by Ayumu Goromaru】Round 4 What kind of team is Argentina?
Mr. Yamamura is preparing for the remaining two matches against Samoa and Argentina to advance through the first round.
Former Japan national team prop Ryo Yamamura
: "Both teams are physically strong, so it's important not to lose in Japan terms of contact.
The next match against Samoa will be played on the 29th of this month, which is Japan time, and there will be plenty of time left on the 10th.
Against the opponents who lost in the test match in July, we will have to correct our issues during this period and secure a victory.
- notice
《Data Japan×England》
Let's look back on the match against England with various data.
【Area Dominance Rate】
Japan 39% England were 61% (10 minutes to the end of the match)
Japan 13% England 87%
Japan were quite aggressive. Towards the end, you can see that Japan couldn't maintain his stamina.
【Kick】
▽ Japan: 37 metres in 925 times England: 42 metres
in 1175 England
used a lot of high punts with high trajectories, so the number and distance were higher.
【Number of successful tackles】
Japan 174 England 83
tackles [Tackle success rate]
Japan 88% England 86%
of players Flanker Peter Labuskafni scored the most tackles with 19 times across both teams.