RESULT: UAE 3 Pen: Ham Japan 93 Tries: Imamura 4, Kikutani 3, Fujita 2, Asahara, Nakamura, Yasui, Tatekawa, Onozawa, Hiwasa Cons: Tamura 2, Nakamura 2, Tatekawa 5
The UAE came into their Asian 5 Nations game against Japan on Friday night looking to get some points on the board and preferably limit the vastly more experienced visitors to less than 100 points.
In that context, the UAE put in a successful turn despite succumbing to a heavy 93-5 reverse at the Sevens ground, Dubai.
It took 50 minutes for the home side to get points on the board with James Ham kicking a 35 yard penalty. Although the UAE were 48-0 down at the time, the points were rightly celebrated as a significant achievement against a one of the top 15 sides in the world.
As expected, the UAE were severely under-matched against the professional Japanese but they more than made their mark, showing off extreme defensive intensity and holding Japan to just seven points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Japanese attacked relentlessly in waves that spread from one side of the pitch to the other. The speed and fitness of the away side were evident throughout, with the UAE only able to encounter through organisation and determination.
In one respect it was testament to the UAE that Japan mainly found their joy in the corners, with four of their seven first half tries coming by the flags.
The UAE overloaded the central areas of the field, trying to cut off passes out wide at the source.
It showed what kind of attitude the UAE were coming into the game with when Yuta Imamuura ran in Japan’s second try on the 20th minute. Despite giving away a try, the UAE celebrated the bone crunching tackle Jono Bester pulled on a Japanese centre during the visitors’ successful move.
The try was irrelevant, just as long as the players did their best to let the Japanese know they wouldn’t be making the game easy.
After a titanic defensive affort in the opening exchanges, Japan would eventually get their way, going into the half with a 41-0 lead with Imamuura scoring a hat-trick while Yoshikazu Fujita ran in a late pair of tries.
The onslaught continued into the second half with Takashi Kikutani running under the posts.
Understandably the UAE began to falter as the fatigue of relentlessly defending such an athletic team began to take its toll. They began to give up tries under the posts allowing Japan to rack up the score with successful conversions while any forays forward would end in basic turnovers.
Ham did at least put some points on the board with a penalty but the UAE were never able to trouble the Japanese 22.
The constant movement of the Japanese and their creative passing arrangements consistently put the UAE on their heels while the pace of the professionals from Japan left them reeling.
READ MORE:
– Ex-Wallabies coach has his say on the state of UAE rugby
* For breaking news, follow us on @Sport_360 or find us on Facebook.
