Japan exit the Rugby World Cup at the pool stage

After reaching the quarter-finals on home soil in 2019, this represents a blow to the Brave Blossoms. So, what went wrong? Let’s take a look.

Japan’s pool stage results in focus

A glance at the Rugby World Cup fixtures shows that Japan opened their campaign with a comprehensive victory over Chile. Although the Brave Blossoms were widely expected to win this game, they did so comprehensively and ran in six tries against their South American opponents.

Then, Japan faced England in their next game. Although many pundits felt that Japan could spring a surprise or two against an England side that had been lackluster against Argentina, Japan failed to fire. While the Brave Blossoms kept the first half close, England pulled away in the second half and ultimately won 34-12.

This made Japan’s next two fixtures hugely important. Again though, they failed to fire and fell to a 28-22 defeat against a physical Samoan side who showed too much aggression and fight.

This meant that, in order to stand any chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, Japan had to beat Argentina. Although they started well and only trailed by a single point at half time, a hat-trick from Mateo Carreras ultimately carried Argentina into a World Cup quarter-final against Wales at the expense of the Brave Blossoms.

This meant that Japan ultimately finished Pool D in third place, behind England and Argentina but ahead of Samoa and Chile. Although this finishing position wasn’t enough to qualify for the quarter-finals, it does mean that they automatically qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027.

What went wrong?

Ultimately, Japan fought valiantly throughout their Rugby World Cup campaign and they were only one positive result away from qualification. Although a quarter-final spot was technically in their hands against Argentina, many fans will point to the defeat against Samoa as a crushing blow for their chances.

However, there were many positives for Japan to take away from the tournament. The team put in several solid defensive displays and they actually made the most tackles in the pool stage (166.8 per game). Michael Leitch made the most of these with 62.

On top of this, their discipline was outstanding and they conceded the fewest penalties per game (8.0) across the tournament, with an average of only 2.5 of those conceded in attack. Plus, the side’s set pieces were strong. The stats show they had the second-best scrum success (95%) and won the most scrums per game on average (9.0).

Speaking about their shortcomings, Japan captain Kazuki Himeno said “This time, we couldn’t get to the top of Mount Everest to bloom the cherry blossoms, but our legacy, culture, goals and dreams will be carried on to the next. I believe that Japan rugby will continue to grow.”

This seems like a positive mind set after a strong yet ultimately disappointing campaign. Now it’s time to turn attention towards 2027.