Japan U20 Defeat USA at Junior World Championship
Japan U20 defeated the USA 71-21 in their 13th Place Semi Final at the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia on Sunday. Their emphatic victory was a fitting reward for a team that had fought valiantly across their three pool matches yet were unable to taste victory despite their commitment and effort.
They will now face Spain in their final match, the 13th Place Play-Off following the Spaniard’s 57-6 win over Uruguay in the other 13th place semi. The match kicks off at 20:30 local time on Friday, July 17 in Kutaisi (01:30 JST on Saturday, July 18).
While the 50-point margin pointed to a strong showing by Japan, it was arguably their most disjointed match of the tournament. This was particularly evident in attack where Japan made more than a handful of uncharacteristic, unforced errors. Had this not been the case, the score might have blown out even further than it did.
In their earlier pool matches, Japan had come undone through their faltering lineout which saw them turn over possession at key moments. Against the USA, they enjoyed 100% success on their own throw, while also stealing four defensive lineouts. This improvement gave them a solid platform from which to mount their attack and was a major factor in securing such a commanding victory.
The other big point of difference was the dominance of the Japanese scrum. While it has been solid throughout the tournament, it became a weapon against the USA. The cohesion and technique from the Japan U20 pack saw them constantly push their opponents back, resulting in numerous scrum penalties and disrupting the USA’s attack at virtually every defensive scrum. While Japan were happy to take the penalties and kick for touch, a more belligerent approach in opting to pack more scrums, particularly when inside their opponent’s 22, would have likely seen a complete scrum demolition.
With the Japanese pack laying the foundation through their set piece dominance, the backline played their part with a typically ‘chosoku’ approach to their attack. Outside centre Rio Iwakura was a constant menace in the midfield and finished the day with a hattrick of tries.
Shinnosuke Uchida was another standout on the right wing. He scored a brace of tries including a remarkable solo effort where acting has halfback, he broke off down the blindside from a Japanese scrum, chipped over the defence, regathered and dotted down in the corner. He scored a similar try against Scotland four days earlier, with both scores likely to feature among the tournament highlights.
Commenting after the match, Japan U20 Head Coach Naoya Okubo said:
“The players took the initiative to improve our lineout which was an area where we had struggled in our previous three matches. Our success at the lineout and in the scrum laid the foundation for today’s victory so I am delighted with how the team responded. With one match remaining, we want to grow even further and return to Japan as winners.”
Japan U20 Captain Akihiro Tsubone added:
“Although we ultimately achieved a positive result with the win today, we made too many errors, so in a way it was a frustrating match. We want to secure a more definitive victory in our final match before returning to Japan.”
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.