Japan have beaten Fiji 20-15 on Saturday to claim the Pacific Nations Cup for the first time since 2019.
The Brave Blossoms had lost to the Flying Fijians in both the 2024 and 2025 finals in Hanazono and Salt Lake City, respectively, but they now have their revenge, coming through in the final 10 minutes in Tokyo to snatch victory in an edge-of-your-seat match.
Japan started confidently, knocking over a penalty through full-back Sam Greene in the sixth minute, but their lead was quickly snatched away when former French international Virimi Vakatawa showed individual class to score a converted Fijian try just four minutes later.
As would be the trend of the day, Japan soon struck back. Following a Mesake Doge yellow card for Fiji, Mamoru Harada powered over to allow his team retake the lead.
Fiji struck back just four minutes later, though, through Tevita Ikanivere when a clever lineout move allowed the hooker to power over in the corner. The try was not converted and the teams went into half-time with the score 12-10 to the defending champions.
Only behind by two points, Japan knew they title was still up for grabs and they came out firing in the second half. Fiji had to withstand a heavy barrage, defending scrum after scrum on their own five-metre line before flanker Ben Gunter finally broke their resolve.
The 28-year-old dove over from close range to score his seventh international try, and certainly his most important. The conversion went wide, leaving the score 15-12 to the Japanese.
A poor passage of play from Jones side, littered with mistakes in their own half, led to Fiji’s Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula striking the ball between the posts to level the game with a quarter of the game remaining.
However, with just 10 minutes left, Tongan-born Samisoni Tua displayed some incredible footwork to crash over from 10 metres out for what would prove to be the winning score.
This victory is huge for Jones’ men, as they look ahead to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, the coach’s first in charge of Japan since their excellent campaign in 2015. They exceeded expectation again in 2019 and while they fell well short in 2023, Jones will hope Saturday’s victory will now springboard his squad to new heights.
