Japan thump Georgia to end home Tests on a high
Japan's fly half Harumichi Tatekawa (centre) tries to break through Georgia's defence during their rugby union Test match at Toyota Stadium in Toyota on June 23, 2018. PHOTO | MARTIN BUREAU |
What you need to know:
- The 2019 World Cup hosts, ranked one spot above Georgia at 11th in the world, ran in three second-half tries after a scrappy first period in rain-soaked Toyota.
TOYOTA CITY
Japan thrashed Georgia 28-0 on Saturday to end a busy month of home Tests on a high note after splitting a two-match mini-series against Italy.
The 2019 World Cup hosts, ranked one spot above Georgia at 11th in the world, ran in three second-half tries after a scrappy first period in rain-soaked Toyota.
Leading by nine points at the break, Japan broke the game open when Wimpie van der Walt bundled over three minutes after the restart, quickly followed by a brilliant solo try from Lomano Lemeki.
Kazuki Himeno added a third try for the Brave Blossoms, who were never seriously threatened by the visitors.
Earlier this month, Japan beat Italy 34-17 before coming up just short in a 25-22 defeat against the Azzurri last weekend.
Fly-half Yu Tamura finished with 10 points but completed just four of eight attempts with the boot, missing several easy kicks.
He slotted two first-half penalties but sliced three more easy kicks wide before Ryuji Noguchi gave Japan a 9-0 advantage at the interval.
