Brave Blossoms Power Past USA to Reach PNC Final
The Brave Blossoms booked their place in the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 Final with an impressive 63-14 victory over the USA at Hanazono Stadium in Higashiosaka on Saturday night.
In a dominant performance, Japan ran in nine tries to record their biggest-ever victory over the USA and set up a meeting with defending champions Fiji in next Saturday’s Final at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo.
Japan made a blistering start to the match, scoring four tries inside the opening 15 minutes to race out to a 28-0 lead.
Centre Yuya Hirose opened the scoring in just the second minute with a sensational display of midfield power. Receiving the ball 15 metres out, the young centre, playing in just his ninth test, threw a deft dummy to breach the first line of the Eagles’ defence before powering through two defenders and carrying three more over the line for Japan’s opening try.
The opening 20 minutes set the scene for a Brave Blossoms masterclass in which they continued to attack at pace, while shutting down the American attack through their dominant and well drilled defence.
In a Player of the Match performance, hooker Mamoru Harada was among Japan’s scorers as the hosts repeatedly found their way through the USA defence. With Japan dominant at the set piece and moving the ball quickly across the field, the visitors struggled to contain the home side during a frantic opening quarter.
The USA eventually worked their way back into the match, capitalising on Japanese errors to score two tries before half-time. In particular, the visitors found some success contesting high balls, with Japan’s back-three struggling to deal with the aerial pressure.
Despite the American fightback, Japan crossed for a fifth try before the break to take a commanding 35-14 lead into half-time.
The Brave Blossoms once again took control in the second stanza and continued to apply pressure through both their forwards and their fast-moving attack. With the Japanese scrum providing a strong platform, the home side added another four tries during the second half while keeping the USA scoreless.
The 63-14 victory follows Japan’s 57-12 win over Canada in Niigata the previous weekend. Despite two convincing scorelines in as many weeks, Head Coach Eddie Jones will have some areas to address ahead of the Final.
Commenting after the match, when asked about his focus for next
week, a clearly delighted Jones said:
“At times we lost a bit of concentration, made some silly errors that then
compounded. After the USA’s first try, we gave away three penalties in a row,
giving away possession. Its all about building consistency. Good players and
good teams have that consistency, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
Japan will now return to Tokyo to face Fiji in the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 Final at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Saturday, September 19.
The Flying Fijians secured their place in the Final with a 45-29 victory over Canada in the first match of Saturday’s semi-final double-header in Osaka.
The Final kicks off at 19:05 JST, following the third-place play-off between the USA and Canada from 16:00.
Fans looking to catch the double-header action live can pick up tickets via the JRFU’s English-language ticketing website at: https://quick.pia.jp/japan-rugby_en/.