Japan Defeat USA to Book Semi-Final Clash Against Tonga
The Brave Blossoms have defeated the USA 21-47 in their Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Pool B match at Heart Health Park in Sacramento, California. The victory sees them top their pool after their first-round win over Canada and sets up a huge Semi Final next weekend against Tonga.
Meanwhile Fiji, who topped Pool A following their 15-19 victory over Samoa and their first-round win over Tonga, will face Canada in the other Semi Final, while the USA and Samoa will battle it out next weekend in the Fifth Place Playoff.
Japan Head Coach Eddie Jones will be pleased with his side’s seven-tries-to-three performance, although he and his team will be under no illusion that they will need to step up their game to have any chance of taking out this year’s title.
A striking feature of the match against the USA was that six of Japan’s seven tries came from their forwards. Of these, the majority were scored out wide when their big, ranging forwards were left unmarked, with relatively clear runs to the tryline. This abundance of space is unlikely to be on offer in the coming two weeks.
Warner Dearns once again led from the front and put in a true captain’s knock, scoring two tries while being omnipresent in both defence and attack. Flyhalf Seungsin Lee also had another great match, controlling the Brave Blossom’s backline superbly, defending well and kicking six of his seven conversions. Jones will also be happy with the performance of the Japanese pack who enjoyed a solid afternoon. They showed early dominance at scrum time and delivered a sure and stable platform off the lineout.
Commenting after the match, Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones said:
“I really liked the way we played tough in the second half. We got out to a good lead in the first half then got a bit sloppy. But in the second half we played some good tough rugby against the wind so that will stand us in good stead for the Semi Final against Tonga. Tonga is a big physical team who will come through the front door, so we’ve got to be able to stop that. We’ve got to be able to take away their go-forward and so that last little bit in the second half today was really good for us.”
In his post-match interview Captain Warner Dearns said:
“In the first 20 minutes we defended well and got a lot of momentum, so we started the game really well. We want to keep that going into the two next games. We will need a lot of physicality, and our forwards will need to front up. I think we showed that in our matches against Canada and the USA so we’re really looking forward to the next two weeks.”
The PNC continues next Sunday, September 14 in Denver, Colorado with the Fifth Place Playoff and Semi-Finals. The remaining four teams will then battle it out on Saturday, September 20 in the Third Place Playoff and Final in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Brave Blossoms PNC 2025
Saturday 30 August
Japan vs Canada
57-15 (W)
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (Pool B)
Yurtec Stadium, Sendai
Saturday 6 September
USA vs Japan
21-47 (W)
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (Pool B)
Heart Health Park, Sacramento
Sunday 14 September
Japan vs Tonga
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Semi-Final
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Denver
Sunday 21 September
Japan vs TBC
Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Final Round (TBC)
America First Field, Salt Lake City
Brave Blossoms 2025 Match Schedule
Saturday 25 October
Japan vs Australia
Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025
National Stadium, Tokyo
Saturday 1 November
Japan vs South Africa
Lipovitan D Tour 2025
London
Saturday 8 November
Ireland vs Japan
Autumn Nations Series
Dublin
Saturday 15 November
Wales vs Japan
Autumn Nations Series
Cardiff
Saturday 22 November
Georgia vs Japan
Venue TBC