Japan U20 Fall to New Zealand in Junior World Championship Opener
Japan U20 kicked off their Junior World Championship campaign in Kutaisi, Georgia on Saturday with a solid, all-round performance against New Zealand. While they remained competitive throughout the match, it was New Zealand who recorded a 38-21 win after play was abandoned at the 68-minute mark when both sides were forced from the pitch due to lightening.
In a match played in driving rain and swirling winds, both teams showed incredible skill with their ball handling and slick, running rugby that made for a highly entertaining contest. New Zealand opened their account first with a converted try, before Japan scored a seven pointer of their own. The Kiwis then ran out to a 21 – 7 lead early in the first half before Japan added two more tries to tie the scores at 21-21 at the halftime break. The second half saw New Zealand dominate possession, adding three more unanswered tries before play was stopped with 12 minutes left on the clock.
Japan’s first try on the 16-minute mark was one for the ages. Receiving a short-arm free kick when New Zealand pushed too early in a scrum close to their line, hooker Sota Miura took a quick tap before sending a looping throw to a three man, in-field lineout. The rare, unorthodox play caught their opposition by surprise, leaving the corresponding maul under-defended, allowing openside flanker Kise Sin to barge over the line and score the try. Japan’s next two scores were similarly opportunistic and inventive.
An aspect of Japan’s game which would have no doubt pleased the coaching team was their dominance at scrum time. Despite an obvious size advantage across the Kiwi pack, Japan enjoyed 100% success off their own scrum feeds, while also disrupting their opposition’s scrum on several occasions. What Japan gained with their scrum, they unfortunately gave away at the lineout. They lost five of their 17 throws, surrendering possession at key moments of the match.
The other key takeaway for Japan which they will carry into their next fixture was the strength and quality of their defence. Of the 105 tackles they made, they had a success rate of 83% compared to New Zealand’s 76 tackles with a 78% success rate. While the Kiwi’s boasted some big, hard running players throughout their pack and scattered across their backline, Japan’s well drilled rush defence kept them contained for the majority of the afternoon.
Commenting following the match, Japan U20 Head Coach Naoya Okubo said:
“While it was a shame that we were unable to play the final 12 minutes of the match, as far as the team’s performance is concerned, I was very happy with what I saw. Throughout the match we were able to compete against the formidable challenge posed by New Zealand. As a team, we intend to take a positive view of this, learn from the experience, and step up a gear as we prepare for Italy.”
Japan U20 Game Captain Tsunehidemichi Fukuda added:
“In spite of the tough match conditions, the forwards gained the upper hand from our set pieces in the first half, which gave the team momentum and allowed us to create some good opportunities. However, in the second half, our discipline faltered and we conceded consecutive tries. There are plenty of areas we can improve upon, so we will use the four-day break to make the necessary adjustments and aim to secure four points in our next match against Italy.”
Japan face Italy on Thursday, July 2 with a 20:30 kick-off local time (01:30 JST Friday, July 3). Their final Pool B match against Scotland kicks off at 20:30 Japan time on Tuesday, July 7. Following their pool fixtures, they will play an additional two matches as part of the semi-finals and play offs to decide their final placing in the 16-team competition.
Running from June 27 to July 19, the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championships brings together the world’s best U20 national teams to fight it out for the right to be crowned 2026 Junior World Champions.