Japan scores 25 unanswered points in second half to stun Canada in men’s rugby

BURNABY, B.C. – Japan scored 25 unanswered points in the second half Saturday to stun Canada 34-25 in the first game of the Pacific Nations Cup rugby tournament.

Canada looked to be on its way to victory after scoring 17 points late in the first half to take a 25-9 lead at the break, but Japan came out with renewed energy to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and outscore the hosts 25-0 over the final 40 minutes.

Yoshikazu Fujita, Yu Tamura and Hendrik Tui had the tries for Japan, which won its eighth straight, while Ayumu Goromaru kicked five penalties and two converts.

John Moonlight, Ciaran Hearn and Taylor Paris had the tries for Canada, while James Pritchard added two penalties and two converts.

Down 16 points at halftime, Japan started to claw its way back with a try early in the 42nd minute as Fujita dove over the line to make it 25-14 after Goromaru missed the conversion.

Goromaru then kicked his fourth penalty of the night in the 56th minute to make it 25-17 and Tamura broke through the Canadian midfield untouched in the 63rd, with Goromanu’s conversion cutting the deficit to just one at 25-24.

Canada could not muster any offence and Tui completed the comeback by again busting through the line to make it 31-25 after Goromaru’s conversion.

Goromaru added to his point total by booting another penalty on the last kick of the game for the 34-25 final.

The six-team Pacific Nations Cup tournament also includes Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and the United States. Canada will play No. 10 Scotland at Toronto’s BMO Field next Saturday before travelling to Sacramento, Calif., to face the U.S. on June 21 in another Pacific Nations match.

The Pacific Nations Cup consists of two groups of three teams, with each country taking on the other two in its conference. The top teams from each division will meet in November’s final.

Before his team’s dominating second half, the turning point appeared to come in the 34th minute when Japan’s Shota Horie was sent to the sin bin for a foul, leaving his team down a man.

Pritchard made the ensuing penalty from close range before Canada opened the floodgates with two impressive tries to close out the half.

Moonlight finished off a good move for a try in the 37th minute and Paris broke through the Japanese line moments later, with Pritchard converting both for a 25-9 lead.

Japan, ranked No. 12 in the world, has been a pain for 15th-ranked Canada over the last several years. The Japanese tied Canada at the last two Rugby World Cups, with the 23-23 draw in 2011 helping to push the Canadians to fourth in their pool to miss out on automatic qualification for the 2015 tournament.

Japan then beat Canada 16-13 in last year’s Pacific Nations Cup, a result that handed the championship trophy to Fiji.

Canadian head coach Kieran Crowley said earlier in the week that a win over Japan on home soil would help propel his side up the International Ruby Board’s rankings and his players started brightly in front of a partisan crowd at Swangard Stadium.

Canada had sustained pressure early in the match, with Hearn going over the line for the opening try in the seventh minute, but Pritchard missed the conversion for a 5-0 lead.

Goromaru got Japan on the board with a penalty kick in the 12th minute, and he connected again three minutes later to give his team a 6-5 advantage.

Pritchard then added a penalty in the 18th minute to restore the Canadian lead again at 8-6 before Goromaru kicked his third penalty of the half in the 29th to make it 9-8 Japan.

Notes: Tyler Ardron — a 22-year-old from Lakefield, Ont., who plays for Ospreys in Wales — captained Canada for the first time in just his 14th game overall for the national team. … Saturday marked the first time Canada wore its new uniforms designed by Under Armour. The kit features a lightweight shirt with ‘no grab’ panels, intended to make them harder to grab hold of. There also is a ‘grip technology’ on the stomach and back which aides in catching and securing a ball. … Japan meets the U.S. in Carson, Calif., next weekend. … Canada has a long history against Japan. Rugby was introduced to Japan in 1899 and the country’s first international match was against a Canadian team in 1932. Canada had a 8-12-2 record against Japan heading into Saturday.