Japan double up against the Eagles

Having won the first Test last week Japan made it two from two against the USA Eagles on Saturday, beating them 32-17 at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground.

The two sides have played each other eighteen times before, and this was the first ever time the Cherry Blossoms have recorded successive victories over the Eagles.

However, the game didn't start well for Japan, as Chris Wyles opened the scoring with a try after just two minutes.  But the hosts were not to be outdone and soon hit back through Kensuke Hatakeyama's drive on the back of a powerful maul.

That was the tonic Japan needed and from there their backs took control with Koji Tomioka and Shaun Webb going over for tries.

If Japan thought they could relax they were sorely mistaken, and when Yusuke Aoki and Bryce Robins were sent to the sin-bin within two minutes of each other they let the Eagles back into it.

Zimbabwean born Takudzwa Ngwenya made the advantage tell as he sprinted in for a simple try to make it 19-10 at the break.

Ryan Nicholas continued the Japan scoring after the break, slotting a simple three points, before another historic moment -- the first try in Japan to be awarded by the television match official as Van Der Giessen won the race to touch down a charged down kick.

A final try came from captain Takashi Kikutani sealed the victory, leaving coach John Kirwan delighted.

"Kiku has really stood up and taken on the leadership role.  This has been a really positive month for us," he said.

"I am very, very proud of the players.  We talked about history and beating them in consecutive games.  That was a really tough physical and mental performance."

Eagles' coach Scott Johnson said:  "It was an entertaining game.  There were some good tries.  If I was a spectator I would have enjoyed it.  But I am a coach;  so I didn't."

Scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Hatakeyama, Tomioka, Webb, Kikutani
Cons:  Nicholas 3
Pens:  Nicholas 2

For USA:
Tries:  Wyles, Ngwenya, Van Der Giessen
Con:  Hercus

The Teams:

Japan:  15 Kaoru Matsushita, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Bryce Robins, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Koji Tomioka, 10 Shaun Webb, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, 7 Takashi Kikutani (captain), 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Yusuke Aoki, 1 Hisateru Hirashima.
Replacements:  16 Naonori Mizuyama, 17 Naoki Kawamata, 18 Luke Thompson, 19 Masato Toyoda, 20 Tomoki Yoshida, 21 Masakazu Irie, 22 Piei Mafileo.

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Junior Sifa, 11 Gavin DeBartolo, 10 Mike Hercus, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Pat Quinn, 7 Todd Clever (captain), 6 Inaki Basauri, 5 Hayden Smith, 4 John VanderGiessen, 3 Brian Lemay, 2 Mark Crick, 1 Mike MacDonald.
Replacements:  16 Joe Welch, 17 Matekitonga Moeakiola, 18 Courtney Mackay, 19 JJ Gagiano, 20 Chad Erskine, 21 Thretton Palamo, 22 Valenese Malifa.

Referee:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)