Wishing for a break from all the football at Euro 2012, my friend Mostyn and I decided to head on down to Chichibunomiya to see some international rugby. The Brave Blossoms, presently ranked 16th in the world, were hosting Samoa who are actually the ninth best international rugby team according to the IRB (International Rugby Board) world rankings.

This wasn’t actually my first time to see the Japan national team in action as I saw them get thrashed 47-18 by Ireland at the same place back on the 19th of June 2005. Almost seven years on and Samoa are actually ranked just one place behind the Irish but this tie didn’t quite get me as excited as that one.

The early cloudy and light rain conditions eventually made way for a very hot and humid afternoon in this IRB Pacific Nations Cup clash which kicked off at 2:10pm.

The former Austrlian coach Eddie Jones is now in charge of Japan and his team  dominated the early part. They scored a couple of good tries down the left side but tellingly failed to convert them which would ultimately prove crucial as Samoa came back towards the end of half. Having led 16-0 at one stage, Japan’s lead was cut to just two points by half time and it got worse soon after the restart before a late rally proved too little too late.

With 79 minutes on the clock, Japan actually had the chance to kick for glory but on the back of an awful attempt from the right touchline a little earlier, the crowd wasn’t too expectant. Regular kicker Goromaru had been substituted so it was up to his replacement  to save the day. He came close but his effort fell agonisingly short and seconds later the final whistle blew. Those final moments did finally bring the 5000+ crowd to life though as the “Ni-ppon” chant went round the ground.

Final score: Japan 26 – 27 Samoa

With Japan set to host the Rugby World Cup in 2019, it was interesting to gage the interest of the locals. Apart from a small minority of die-hard fans it’s fair to say that Japan isn’t exactly gripped by rugby fever and is going to have its work cut-out to promote the game over the next seven years and let the public know that it’s actually hosting a Rugby World Cup.