Head-to-head Encounters: Japan v Tonga
Japan v Tonga
Head-to-head Encounters
Japan and Tonga have met on 17 occasions dating back to 1990. Japan have won eight and Tonga have won nine.
Although Japan won the inaugural meeting between these two nations in 1990, Tonga then won the two tests played in Japan in 1995. Japan and Tonga met twice in the Pacific Rim Championship in 1999 and 2000 for one win apiece. Tonga won the next two encounters in Kumagaya in 2002 and the inaugural Pacific Nations Cup (Pacific Five Nations) clash in Fukuoka in 2006. However, Japan went on to win the next five tests in a row before Tonga won in Whangarei in September 2011 in their one and only Rugby World Cup meeting to date. Tonga continued the winning trend in Tokyo in 2012, Yokohama in 2013 and Burnaby in 2015. Japan finally stopped the trend with a win in Toulouse in 2017.
The highest scoring win for Japan was 44-17 in Tokyo in May 1999, while the biggest winning margin was 33 points in the 39-6 win in Toulouse in November 2017. The longest winning sequence for Japan is five wins in a row between 2007 and 2011.
The highest scoring win for Tonga was 57-16 in Fukuoka in June 2006, while the biggest winning margin was 41 points in the same test. The longest winning sequence for Tonga is four wins in a row between 2011 and 2015.
Ten of the 17 games have been played in Japan, with five of those at Chichibu in Tokyo while the other seven tests have all been played on neutral territory. Japan and Tonga have not played a test in Tonga.
Japan and Tonga have met once at the Rugby World Cup finals, at Whangarei in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Official test results for Japan against Tonga
| No. | Date | Result
(Home – Away) |
Venue | Tournament | Japan
Test No. |
W/D/L
(For Japan) |
| 18 | 03 Aug 2019 | Japan xx – Tonga xx | Hanazono, Osaka | 14th PNC | 350 | |
| 17 | 18 Nov 2017 | Japan 39 – Tonga 6 | Stade Ernest Wallon, Toulouse | 341 | Won | |
| 16 | 03 Aug 2015 | Tonga 31 – Japan 20 | Swangard Stadium, Burnaby | 10th PNC | 314 | Lost |
| 15 | 25 May 2013 | Japan 17 – Tonga 27 | Mitsuzawa Stadium, Yokohama | 8th PNC | 287 | Lost |
| 14 | 10 Jun 2012 | Japan 20 – Tonga 24 | Chichibu, Tokyo | 7th PNC | 279 | Lost |
| 13 | 21 Sep 2011 | Tonga 31 – Japan 18 | Northland Events Centre, Whangarei | 7th RWC | 272 | Lost |
| 12 | 09 Jul 2011 | Japan 28 – Tonga 27 | National Stadium, Suva | 6th PNC | 266 | Won |
| 11 | 26 Jun 2010 | Japan 26 – Tonga 23 | Apia Park, Apia | 5th PNC | 258 | Won |
| 10 | 27 Jun 2009 | Japan 21 – Tonga 19 | Churchill Park, Lautoka | 4th PNC | 248 | Won |
| 9 | 15 Jun 2008 | Japan 35 – Tonga 17 | Yurtec Stadium, Sendai | 3rd PNC | 236 | Won |
| 8 | 02 Jun 2007 | Japan 20 – Tonga 17 | Coffs Harbour | 2nd PNC | 222 | Won |
| 7 | 04 Jun 2006 | Japan 16 – Tonga 57 | Fukuoka | 1st PNC | 212 | Lost |
| 6 | 26 May 2002 | Japan 29 – Tonga 41 | Kumagaya | 176 | Lost | |
| 5 | 03 Jun 2000 | Japan 25 – Tonga 26 | Chichibu, Tokyo | 5th PRC | 164 | Lost |
| 4 | 08 May 1999 | Japan 44 – Tonga 17 | Chichibu, Tokyo | 4th PRC | 154 | Won |
| 3 | 19 Feb 1995 | Japan 16 – Tonga 24 | Chichibu, Tokyo | 124 | Lost | |
| 2 | 11 Feb 1995 | Japan 16 – Tonga 47 | Mizuho, Nagoya | 123 | Lost | |
| 1 | 08 Apr 1990 | Japan 28 – Tonga 16 | Chichibu, Tokyo | 1991 RWC qualifier | 103 | Won |
RWC = Rugby World Cup
PNC = Pacific Nations Cup (The PNC was known as the Pacific Five Nations in 2006 only)
PRC = Pacific Rim Championship (1996 to 2001)