Australia A savage Japan

Australia A recorded an emphatic 42-21 win over Japan in Fukuoka on Sunday to join New Zealand Maori and Fiji as winners in the opening round of this year's IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

The Australians ran in six tries, including a brace to Brumbies lock Peter Kimlin, to overwhelm a gallant Japanese outfit and claim a bonus point in front of 7,493 fans.

Japan found themselves 25-3 down at the break, despite taking the lead courtesy of a drop goal by James Arlidge in the sixth minute.

Tries from captain Morgan Turinui, Mark Gerrard, Peter Kimlin and Van Humphries, all converted by Gerrard, gave the visitors a commanding lead at the break.

The second half began in the same fashion as the first, with Arlidge kicking a penalty for Japan before Australia A extended their lead through Sam Norton-Knight's try.

After Arlidge had added another penalty, Australia then lost two players to the sin bin -- Guy Shepherdson and Julian Salvi -- and Japan made the most of their extra numbers.

Tomoaki Taniguchi made full use of his 125kg to power over for two tries, the second coming following a great offload from Hare Makiri.

But any hopes Japan had of pulling off a remarkable victory were dashed when Kimlin crossed for his second try in the 70th minute.

"In one-on-one situations, we let the opposition come through our defence," said Japan captain Takuro Miuchi.

"We need to rectify our set plays and give more ball to our backs."

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Taniguchi 2
Cons:  Arlidge
Pens:  Arlidge 3

For Australia A:
Tries:  Kimlin 2, Humphries, Turinui, Gerrard, Norton-Knight
Cons:  Gerrard 6

The teams:

Japan:  15 Shaun Webb, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Yuta Imarua, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Takuro Miuchi, 7 Hare Makiri, 6 Ryu Koliniaisi Holani, 5 Toshizuma Kitagawa, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Tomokazu Soma, 2 Yusuke Aoki, 1 Tatsukichi Nishiura.
Replacements:  16 Taku Inokuchi, 17 Yuta Inose, 18 Tomoaki Taniguchi, 19 Takashi Kikutani, 20 Tomoki Yoshida, 21 Bryce Robins, 22 Christian Loamanu

Australia A:  15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Morgan Turinui (c), 12 Timana Tahu, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Ben Lucas, 9 Josh Holmes, 8 Julian Salvi, 7 Matt Hodgson, 6 Mitch Chapman, 5 Peter Kimlin, 4 Van Humphries, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements:  16 Tai McIsaac, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Al Campbell, 19 Poutasi Luafutu, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Tyrone Smith, 22 Sam Norton-Knight.

Referee:  Willie Roos (South Africa)