Wales 72 Japan 18
KEY POINTS:
CARDIFF - Wales recovered from a shaky start to beat Japan 72-18 in their World Cup Pool B clash here today.
The win leaves the Welsh needing to beat Fiji next week to book their place in the quarter-finals.
But although they outscored their opponents by 11 tries to two, this error-strewn performance was far from the clinical display head coach Gareth Jenkins was hoping for after Sunday's 32-20 defeat by Australia.
Fiji will have been encouraged to believe they can upset the odds and advance to the last eight of the tournament.
Given that they had been hammered 98-0 on their last visit, Japan could have been forgiven if they had displayed a few nerves on their return to the Millennium Stadium.
Instead, a spirited start by the Cherry Blossoms yielded an early lead through centre Shotaro Onishi's fourth-minute penalty, and there was an element of fortune about Wales's opening try.
A Shane Williams kick destined for the left touchline was partially charged down but fell kindly into the path of Stephen Jones, who sent Dafydd James off on a diagonal run that pierced the Japanese defence and allowed Alun-Wyn Jones to touch down in the opposite corner.
Stephen Jones converted for the 100th time in Test rugby but Japan responded with a superb breakaway try mid-way through the opening period to reclaim the lead.
Welsh No 8 Alix Popham was robbed of possession by Hitoshi Ono as a five-metre scrum broke down and an exhilarating five-man counter attack concluded with wing Kosuke Endo touching down to complete a score from one corner of the ground to the other.
A Stephen Jones penalty got Wales back in front and provided the cue for the Welsh to assert their superiority with two converted tries in quick succession, centre James Hook touching down in the corner before hooker Rhys Thomas charged over at a ruck.
Onishi reduced the deficit with a penalty three minutes before the interval but a Kevin Morgan try right on the stroke of half-time enabled Wales to go in with a fourth-try bonus point in the bag and a slightly flattering 29-11 lead.
Stand-in halfback Michael Phillips added a fifth touchdown within two minutes of the restart then produced a moment of magic to allow Shane Williams to celebrate his 50th cap with a try.
After collecting his own chip over the Japanese midfield, Phillips was sent sprawling to the turf but somehow managed to loop a long pass wide for Williams to go over.
Dafydd James then got on the scoresheet before Japan's efforts were rewarded with a second try which, like their first, came courtesy of a mistake by Popham, whose slack one-handed pass was intercepted by Hirotoki Onozawa before the Japan wing sprinted more than 60 yards to touch down under the posts.
A try for substitute Gareth Cooper, two from flanker Martyn Williams and Shane Williams's second of the night boosted the try count as Japan tired in the closing stages.
- AFP
