Japan Rugby Sevens Team Falls to Defeats Against South Africa, Samoa; Faces Uruguay in 11th Place Match on Saturday (UPDATE 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:34 JST, July 26, 2024

PARIS – Japan rugby sevens lost to South Africa 49-5 and then fell to Samoa 42-7 at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

After losing its two opening matches to New Zealand and Ireland, Japan is looking for its first victory in its fifth and final game against Uruguay on Saturday.

The defeat to South Africa was Japan’s third straight and consigned it to last place in Pool A.

Rugby sevens matches are played in seven-minute halves, and South Africa managed to score seven tries. Japan could only respond with one of its own after Kazuma Ueda reduced the deficit to 35-5 early in the second half.

“If we don’t attack, nothing happens. We need to come together as a team and spend more time on the attack,” Ueda said after the match.

To determine ninth to 12th place, the four teams that failed to progress beyond the pool stage are required to play two further games. In Japan’s first such match, it lost to Samoa 42-7.

Japan scored and converted a try at the end of the first half to keep itself in contention, but Samoa pulled away in the second half.

Japan’s final match against Uruguay will determine which team finishes in 11th place.