ARC2017 Round 1: Japan 47 – South Korea 29
Japan 47 d South Korea 29
Japan 47 – Tries: Ryoto Nakamura 2, Kazuhiko Usami 2, Ryuji Noguchi 2 and Shintaro Ishihara; Conversions: Jumpei Ogura 5 and Rikiya Matsuda d.
South Korea 29 – Tries: Han Geong Yu, Yang Dae Young, Lee Yong Seung, Shin Ki Cheol and Jang Yong Heung; Conversions: Ryu Jae Hyuk 2.
Competition: Asia Rugby Championship 2017.
Date: Saturday 22 April 2017.
Venue: Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon, South Korea.
Japan Test Number: 333.
Kick-off: 12:07 KST (03:07 UTC/GMT, 12:07 JST).
Referee: Stephen Copeman (Hong Kong).
Assistant Referees: Matthew Rodden (Hong Kong) and Dewi Rowlands (Hong Kong).
Conditions: Fine and no wind. Surface good.
Attendance: 1,000.
Halftime: South Korea 12 – Japan 35.
Yellow Card: Lee Jae Bok (South Korea No.15, 31 min 1H, repeated infringements).
Japan (WR rank 11 (74.22), at 17 April 2017)
| Pos. | Name (Test Player Number) | Club | DOB | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shintaro ISHIHARA (v-c) | Suntory Sungoliath | 17/06/1990 | 26 | 181/105 | 1 |
| 2 | Takeshi HINO (633) | Yamaha Jubilo | 20/01/1990 | 27 | 172/100 | 3 |
| 3 | Takayuki WATANABE (588) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 27/05/1994 | 22 | 180/120 | 7 |
| 4 | Yuya ODO (634TBC) | Yamaha Jubilo | 09/03/1990 | 27 | 188/104 | 1 |
| 5 | Kazuhiko USAMI (585) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 17/03/1992 | 25 | 197/111 | 10 |
| 6 | Daiki YANAGAWA (635TBC) | Ricoh Black Rams | 19/02/1989 | 28 | 191/108 | 1 |
| 7 | Naoki OZAWA (636TBC) | Suntory Sungoliath | 08/10/1988 | 28 | 182/103 | 1 |
| 8 | Yoshitaka TOKUNAGA (637TBC) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 10/04/1992 | 25 | 185/100 | 1 |
| 9 | Yutaka NAGRE (638TBC) (c) | Suntory Sungoliath | 04/09/1992 | 24 | 166/71 | 1 |
| 10 | Jumpei OGURA (639TBC) | NTT Communications | 11/07/1992 | 24 | 172/80 | 1 |
| 11 | Amanaki LOTOAHEA (623) | Ricoh Black Rams | 14/04/1990 | 27 | 191/107 | 5 |
| 12 | Ryoto NAKAMURA (573) | Suntory Sungoliath | 03/06/1991 | 25 | 178/92 | 9 |
| 13 | Ryohei YAMANAKA (541) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 22/06/1988 | 28 | 188/95 | 8 |
| 14 | Ryuji NOGUCHI (599) | Tokai University | 15/07/1995 | 21 | 177/86 | 5 |
| 15 | Seiya OZAKI (640TBC) | Teikyo University | 11/07/1995 | 21 | 174/85 | 1 |
| 16 | Atsushi SAKATE (604) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 21/06/1993 | 23 | 180/104 | 5 |
| 17 | Kohei ASAHORI (643TBC) | Toyota Verblitz | 03/02/1994 | 23 | 185/120 | 1 |
| 18 | Genki SUDO (641TBC) | Suntory Sungoliath | 28/01/1994 | 23 | 173/110 | 1 |
| 19 | Naohiro KOTAKI (601) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 13/06/1992 | 24 | 194/110 | 8 |
| 20 | Yoshiya HOSODA (613) | NEC Green Rockets | 05/08/1987 | 29 | 192/100 | 2 |
| 21 | Takahiro OGAWA (630) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 18/03/1991 | 26 | 172/73 | 2 |
| 22 | Rikiya MATSUDA (617) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 03/05/1994 | 22 | 181/92 | 4 |
| 23 | Chikara ITO (642TBC) | Yamaha Jubilo | 11/01/1990 | 27 | 173/80 | 1 |
Head Coach – Jamie Joseph. (NZL, 2016 to present. Fifth test as head coach for two wins and three losses.)
Subs
16 subbed 2, 11 min 2H.
17 subbed 1, 31 min 2H.
18 subbed 3, 15 min 2H.
19 subbed 5, 11 min 2H.
20 subbed 6, 11 min 2H.
21 subbed 9, 31 min 2H.
22 subbed 13, 15 min 2H.
23 subbed 11, 21 min 2H.
South Korea (WR rank 28 (28) (55.50), at 17 April 2017)
1- Na Kwan Young, 2- Kim Jib, 3- Kim Gwang Sik, 4- Yang Dae Young, 5- Han Geong Yu, 6- Kim Hyun Soo, 7- Kim Jeong Min (c), 8- Lee Yong Seung, 9- Shin Ki Cheol, 10- Ryu Jae Hyuk, 11- Kim Gwang Min, 12- Moon Jung Ho, 13- Kim Nam Wook, 14- Jeong Yeon Sik and 15- Lee Jae Bok. Reserves: 16- Lim Joon Hui, 17- Kim Sung Tae, 18- Gang Tae Hyun, 19- Shin Da Hyeon, 20- Jung Hyo Jin, 21- Kim Sung Hyun, 22- Jang Yong Heung and 23- Jang Jung Min.
Head Coach – John Walters (NZL).
Assistant Coach – Deon Muir (NZL).
Captain Yutaka Nagare said, “I was very honoured to make my international debut today. However, we have a lot of things to think about after our performance. Nevertheless, we look forward to playing our next test in front of our home fans at Chichibu.”
Vice-captain Shintaro Ishihara had the following to say, “Things were pretty tough out there today. After four weeks together in the National Development Squad (NDS) environment, we did not really achieve what we set out to do in this first test together. We now have to look ahead and stamp our authority on the upcoming tests.”
Eleven players made their international debuts for Japan in this test and a number of these players made comments after the match.
Lock Yuya Odo said, “I was very happy to play my first test try for Japan today. I am very grateful to everyone at my club side Yamaha for helping me to get this far. We are still a long way off the goals Jamie has set for us, but our next test is at home and so we want to work hard to improve our game.”
Flanker Daiki Yanagawa said, “I was so glad to play my first test and I would like to thank everyone who has helped me along the way. Although this was my debut test, I was not overly impressed with my performance. There are three more tests in this series and I want to give it my all to make further strides in my game.”
Five-eighth Jumpei Ogura noted, “I did not feel too nervous in my first test. I managed to put into action a lot of the things we had prepared in training, and this was very pleasing. We fell off the pace late in the game and this is something we have to iron out for the rest of the series.”
Teikyo University student and run-on fullback Seiya Ozaki said, “I was pretty nervous early on in my debut test, but settled down as the game progressed. Our attack worked reasonably well and we scored some good tries, but our communication in defence and one-on-one tackling still leaves a lot to be desired.”