JPN
No.Name
15Ryohei Yamanaka, FB
14Kotaro Matsushima, W
T
13Timothy Lafaele, C
T
12Ryoto Nakamura, C
11Lemeki Lomano Lava, W
10Yu Tamura, FH
3
4
9Yutaka Nagare, SH
1Keita Inagaki, P
2Atsushi Sakate, H
3Jiwon Gu, P
4Wimpie van der Walt, L
5James Moore, L
6Michael Leitch, FL
7Lappies Labuschagne, FL
8Kazuki Himeno, N8
T
Replacements
16Shota Horie, R
17Isileli Nakajima, R
18Asaeli Ai Valu, R
19Uwe Helu, R
20Hendrik Tui, R
21Fumiaki Tanaka, R
22Rikiya Matsuda, R
23Kenki Fukuoka, R
T

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: City of Toyota Stadium
11:30 AM, October 5, 2019
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

81'+638-19 End of second half
81'+436-19 Try - Kotaro Matsushima , Japan
81'+638-19 Conversion - Yu Tamura , Japan
80'All over! What an end to the game. Japan will go into next week's encounter against Scotland with their destiny in their own hands.
80'Unbelievable! Samoa concede a free kick from their own scrum and Japan finally get the bonus point. It's that man Kotaro Matsushima. Japan are dominate in the scrum and work the ball wide for Matsushima to score. What a noise!
79'Japan came so close but Samoa somehow get the turnover within metres of the try line.
78'With two minutes remaining, Japan need one more try to earn a crucial bonus point.
76'Japan have surely won it now! The hosts respond brilliantly and work the ball wide for Kenki Fukuoka to touchdown and send the crowd wild.
76'31-19 Try - Kenki Fukuoka , Japan
74'26-19 Conversion - Henry Taefu , Samoa
73'There is just a glimmer of hope that Samoa can get something from this game. They manage to win their lineout and work the ball wide on the right for Henry Taefu to score their first try of the game.
73'26-17 Try - Henry Taefu , Samoa
70'Samoa finally get a grip in the game and produce some wonderful passes and get a penalty right under the sticks.
70'Substitute on - Rikiya Matsuda , Japan
70'Player substituted - Ryoto Nakamura , Japan
70'Player substituted - TJ Ioane , Samoa
70'Substitute on - Josh Tyrell , Samoa
68'Substitute on - Uwe Helu , Japan
68'Player substituted - Wimpie van der Walt , Japan
66'Substitute on - Pele Cowley , Samoa
66'Player substituted - Dwayne Polataivaia , Samoa
66'Substitute on - James Lay , Samoa
66'Player substituted - Jordan Lay , Samoa
64'Ed Fidow looks to start a break on the left hand side but Kotaro Matsushima's excellent tackle puts him into touch. The Japan No. 14 has been outstanding today.
64'Player substituted - Michael Leitch , Japan
64'Substitute on - Hendrik Tui , Japan
63'Player substituted - Yutaka Nagare , Japan
63'Substitute on - Fumiaki Tanaka , Japan
61'Player substituted - Piula Faasalele , Samoa
61'Substitute on - Senio Toleafoa , Samoa
60'Samoa have a scrum within 5 metres but Japan's forwards dig in and produce the turnover. The home crowd respond with a massive cheer.
58'Japan make another mistake from the restart and hand possession over. Samoa once again fail to take full advance due to some brilliant defensive work from Japan.
57'Substitute on - Paul Alo-Emile , Samoa
57'Player substituted - Michael Ala'alatoa , Samoa
57'Player substituted - Seilala Lam , Samoa
57'Substitute on - Ray Niuia , Samoa
57'Player substituted - Ryohei Yamanaka , Japan
57'Substitute on - Kenki Fukuoka , Japan
56'26-12 Conversion - Yu Tamura , Japan
54'Ahsee Tuala fails to keep the ball in play for Samoa and concedes a lineout. Japan produce a wonderful drive from inside the 22 and Kazuki Himeno powers over the line to grab the second try of the game.
54'24-12 Try - Kazuki Himeno , Japan
54'Player substituted - Ahsee Tuala , Samoa
54'Substitute on - Tusi Pisi , Samoa
52'Player substituted - Keita Inagaki , Japan
52'Substitute on - Isileli Nakajima , Japan
52'Player substituted - Jiwon Gu , Japan
52'Substitute on - Asaeli Ai Valu , Japan
51'Yu Tamura doesn't make any mistakes as he converts yet another penalty from under the sticks. Samoa cannot afford to continue giving away sloppy penalties within range.
51'19-12 Penalty goal - Yu Tamura , Japan
47'There's shock around the ground as Yu Tamura misses his first penalty or conversion attempt of the match.
46'Henry Taefu's kicking has kept Samoa within touching distance of Japan but they concede another penalty from the kickoff for an obstruction.
45'16-12 Penalty goal - Henry Taefu , Samoa
43'More ball handling errors from Samoa are preventing them from getting some real momentum in this match.
41'Samoa get us up and running for the second half!
41'Player substituted - Atsushi Sakate , Japan
41'Substitute on - Shota Horie , Japan
41'16-9 End of first half
40'The half ends with a knock on from the hosts but Japan head into the break with a lead over the Samoans.
40'16-9 Start of second half
40'Substitute on - Kieron Fonotia , Samoa
40'Player substituted - Tim Nanai-Williams , Samoa
36'TJ Ioane returns to the game from his yellow card as Samoa manage to get the turnover from inside their own half from a lineout.
34'Tim Nanai-Williams is tackled by James Moore and Henry Taefu makes up for his earlier missed penalty attempt and Samoa are back within seven points of the hosts.
34'16-9 Penalty goal - Henry Taefu , Samoa
33'Henry Taefu has a chance to get Samoa back into the match but misses with a long distance penalty.
30'16-6 Conversion - Yu Tamura , Japan
29'
Yu Tamura
29'Japan get the first try of the match. Kotaro Matsushima instigates the move with another brilliant run and the ball finds its way to Samoa-born centre Timothy Lafaele on the left who crosses the line.
28'
TRY
Timothy Lafaele
28'14-6 Try - Timothy Lafaele , Japan
27'Samoa head coach Steve Jackson is not too pleased with the decision and there is some ironic clapping.
26'TJ Ioane has been sent to the sin bin following a late shoulder charge and Samoa are down to 14 for the next 10 minutes.
25'
TJ Ioane
25'Poor handling from both teams after the restart. Lomano Lemeki knocks on giving Samoa a chance to engineer a chance to score a try but Samoa mishandle minutes later and Japan have the ball back.
25'Yellow card - TJ Ioane , Samoa
24'
Yu Tamura
24'9-6 Penalty goal - Yu Tamura , Japan
19'Kane Leaupepe produces a wonderful drive for Samoa and he can't manage to get his pass away to Dwayne Polataivao and Japan are back in possession.
17'Kotaro Matsushima produces a wonderful break and skips past three Samoan players but Japan fail to take advantage as the ball is kicked into touch.
16'
Henry Taefu
16'6-6 Penalty goal - Henry Taefu , Samoa
14'Henry Taefu misses a drop goal attempt but the referee brings the play back for a penalty and Samoa have a great chance to level the scores.
14'Drop goal-missed
12'Samoa are finding their rhythm and win a penalty from the scrum.
10'
Henry Taefu
10'6-3 Penalty goal - Henry Taefu , Samoa
9'Samoa respond and get the turnover straight from the kickoff and have a chance to get points on the board with a penalty of their own.
8'
Yu Tamura
8'6-0 Penalty goal - Yu Tamura , Japan
7'Samoa simply cannot handle the hosts at the moment and concede another penalty.
5'More wonderful passing exchanges from Japan and Lomano Lemeki went very close to getting the opening try of the match.
3'
3'3-0 Penalty goal - Yu Tamura , Japan
2'Japan get off to a fantastic start in the opening minutes and have a penalty right under the sticks.
1'Japan get us underway!!
1'Samoa have just performed their pre-ritual Siva Tau war dance and both sides are lined up and ready to start.
1'Japan's Player of the Match against Ireland Shota Horie must settle for a place on the bench with Atsushi Sakate making his first World Cup start. Keita Inagaki, captain Michael Leitch and Kotaro Matsushima feature and all three players started in Japan?s victory against Samoa in the last World Cup. Samoa have made six changes from the Scotland defeat with TJ Ioane and Tim Nanai-Williams the only players from the starting XV to survive for today?s encounter. Jordan Lay, Piula Faasalele, Ulupano Seuteni, Seilala Lam and Ah See Tuala will make their first starts in this year?s competition.
1'Hello and welcome to ESPN's live coverage of the Pool A match between Japan and Samoa at the City of Toyota Stadium. Hosts Japan should be bouncing into this match after claiming one of the biggest upsets in Rugby World Cup history with a memorable victory over world No. 1 Ireland last weekend. It was the second consecutive World Cup where Japan have produced an upset after beating South Africa in 2015. Meanwhile, Samoa suffered a heavy loss to Scotland on Monday and their hopes of remaining in the tournament are hanging by a thread.
1'0-0 Start of first half

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