New Zealand come out on top against Japan

Marion Clouds, Media365, Posted on Sat Oct 29 2022 12:30pm

On Saturday morning in Tokyo, New Zealand barely dominated Japan (38-31), despite Brodie Retalik’s red card at the end of the match. The All Blacks have been struggling with reassurance this year.

Just under a year after the 2023 World Cup in France, the All Blacks are still looking for themselves. A few weeks after narrowly winning the 2022 edition of the Rugby Championship, New Zealand started their fall tour with a slow-motion victory over Japan (38-31).This Saturday morning. However, in Tokyo, things started off very well for them with a very good start and scoring largely in their favor after just over 30 minutes of action in the Brave Blossoms’ lair. In fact, Brody Retalik (11), Braydon Ennor (25) and Sifu Reis (32) went flat for the Japanese goal, while Richie Muunga improved it all in the foot (21-3, 34). That’s when Japan woke up and rebounded before the break. After a penalty from Takuya Yamasawa (19), Panasonic Wild Knights scored their first try (36), before Yutaka Nagare did the same before the siren. Thus, returning to the locker room, the All Blacks only held a four-unit lead (21-17).

The All Blacks now have a date in Europe

In the second half, if Caleb Clark (42) and Hoskins Sototo (60) fell off Japan’s line, the locals never gave up and made life difficult for the New Zealanders. After a try by Warner Derns (56th), The team, led by Jimmy Joseph, tried to take advantage of Retalik’s dismissal just after the hour mark (66).After scraping his head on Kazuki Himeno. In the last minutes, the latter scored the fourth attempt of the Japanese, who were behind by four points (31-35, 78th place). In the end, Mo’unga’s final penalty after the siren allowed New Zealand to win by a slightly larger margin, as Richie McCaw and Dan Carter looked on. but, This score is the smallest gap in the various encounters between the All Blacks and Brave Blossoms. Which should not reassure Ian Foster and his family before he joined Europe to face Wales, Scotland and England.