Rugby World Cup 2019: Japan deliver more fireworks to beat Samoa and close in on quarter-final berth

Japan 38-19 Samoa: A late bonus-point try has placed the host nation within reaching distance of a first-ever spot in the last eight of the Rugby World Cup

More unbending, unrelenting self-belief. More electric, swirling, heart-in-mouth rugby. More absorbing drama. Regardless of what comes next for Japan, regardless of how far they go on home soil, the host nation has thrilled in abundance, creating not one but now two sporting spectacles that have reaffirmed their status as the new kids on the block.

This particular night will live long in the memory, even with the dizzying delight of that iconic win over Ireland fresh in the mind. Against a Samoan side that dipped in and out of this match, their presence fading and then reappearing as the evening dragged on, Japan delivered a performance that has become typical of them to win 38-19 here in Toyota, securing a crucial bonus point in the process.

The usual suspects were up to their old tricks. Kotaro Matsushima and Lomano Lemeki, the lightening boys out on the flanks, punishing the Samoans with their breathless and penetrative running. Veteran Michael Leitch, his face and hands in the dirt, rummaging around for possession, a thief in the night stealing what he can. Yu Tamura, calm, collected, setting about his business with near-perfect efficiency, kicking the penalties of the first half before adding the extras on all but one of his side’s tries.

And then there was the home crowd. Riotous and raucous as ever, providing a backtrack of gasps, cheers and thunderous support that never subsided. When Kazuki Himeno grounded Japan’s second of the night – a crucial score that came 15 minutes after the break to place the hosts back on the ascendancy – you could feel the home faithful sucking in the rolling maul that had formed off Samoa’s line, willing and roaring the Brave Blossoms forward.

But for an evening that ended in such captivating fashion – Matsushima diving over with 88 minutes on the board to make sure of the bonus point – it was one that had started in tentative, steady fashion. Tamura and Samoa’s Henry Taefu exchanged a flurry of penalties, taking the score to 9-6 on 29 minutes as Japan probed but struggled to find a way through.

But then, a breakthrough at last, Timothy Lafaele bursting through the blue wall to finally bring a sense of purpose and direction to his side’s efforts.

Himeno’s second-half effort restored Japan’s growing momentum, after a period of stubborn resistance from Samoa, but it wasn’t to be the moment that settled this game. The Pacific Islanders had other ideas, with Taefu reaping the rewards of his forwards’ draining efforts in the closing 10 minutes of the match.

The crowd sensed an upset but Jamie Joseph’s men maintained their steel-like focus to immediately hit back. Off more clinical transition play, turning defence to attack, Japan found their third try as Kenki Fukuoka rounded a scrambled wall of Samoans to dot down.

Then, the thrilling denouement to the evening. Samoa’s decision to scrum again on their own line, with the clock on 86 minutes, may well be the moment that decides the fate of either Ireland or Scotland at this World Cup.

With the prospect of a fourth try in reaching distance, the Japanese clinched the penalty, overwhelming their opponents with a thumping forward shunt. What followed was inevitable. After the put-in, the ball was fizzed left for Matsushima to spark hysteria and, more importantly, place one foot firmly in the quarter-finals.