Japan will leave these shores for the Rugby World Cup on the back of another loss after it was beaten 35-12 by Fiji in the Pacific Nations Series at a sold-out Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground on Saturday night.
With just a game away to Italy before they kick off their Rugby World Cup campaign against Chile on Sept. 10 in Toulouse, France, the Brave Blossoms once again paid the penalty for indiscipline and poor tackle technique. Although, to their credit, they never gave up competing and showed glimpses of how dangerous they can be with ball in hand.
"We had a team with 14 men never giving in and playing unbelievable attacking rugby in 30-degree (Celsius) heat," Japan coach Jamie Joseph said. "At the end of the day, we finished stronger than Fiji. That spirit is what we need at a World Cup. Yes, we need to adjust to the referee, and we need to be smarter. But it's hard to beat quality teams with 14 players."