Japan too quick for Canada

Japan rallied with 25 unanswered points in the second half to beat Canada 34-25 in a Pacific Nations Cup match.

The hosts appeared to be on their way to victory after reeling off 17 points late in the first half en route to a 25-9 half-time lead.

But the Japanese came back with a vengeance in the second half.

Yoshikazu Fujita, Yu Tamura and Hendrik Tui had tries for Japan, with Ayumu Goromaru kicking five penalties and two conversions.

John Moonlight, Ciaran Hearn and Taylor Paris scored tries for Canada, and James Pritchard added two penalties and two conversions.

Fujita's try in the 42nd minute trimmed the deficit to 25-14.

Goromaru missed the conversion, but kicked his fourth penalty in the 56th minute to make it 25-17 and a Tamura try and Goromaru conversion saw Japan narrow the gap to just one point 25-24.

Tui gave Japan the lead with a try, and Goromaru added the conversion and one more penalty on the final kick of the game.

The six-team Pacific Nations Cup tournament also includes Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and the United States.

Underdogs Tonga launched the competition with an 18-18 draw in injury time against Samoa in Apia on Saturday.

This year the tournament has been split into two conferences for the first time – Pool A featuring the Pacific island nations of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, while Pool B comprises Japan, Canada and the United States.

In the next round, defending champions Fiji host Tonga and the United States clash with Japan in Los Angeles.

The scorers:

For Canada:

Tries: Hearn, Moonlight, Paris

Cons: Pritchard 2

Pens: Pritchard 2

For Japan:

Tries: Fujita, Tamura, Tui

Cons: Goromaru 2

Pens: Goromaru 5

Teams:

Canada: 15 James Pritchard, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Harry Jones, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Tyler Ardron (captain), 7 John Moonlight, 6 Adam Kleeberger, 5 Jamie Cudmore, 4 Tyler Hotson, 3 Jason Marshall, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Hubert Buydens.

Replacements: 16 Aaron Carpenter, 17 Andrew Tiedemann, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Jon Phelan, 20 Benoit Piffero, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Connor Braid, 23 DTH Van Der Merwe.

Japan: 15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Yoshikazu Fujita, 13 Male Sau, 12 Yu Tamura, 11 Akihito Yamada, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, 7 Michael Leitch (captain), 6 Justin Ives, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Masataka Mikami.

Replacements: 16 Hisateru Hirashima, 17 Takeshi Kizu, 18 Hiroshi Yamashita, 19 Shoji Ito, 20 Shinya Makabe, 21 Hendrik Tui, 22 Toshiaki Hirose, 23 Atsushi Hiwasa.

Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)

Assistant referees: Greg Garner (England), Nick Ricono (United States)