Japan at the Rugby World Cup

The Japan national team have competed in every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987. They are so far the only team to reach the Rugby World Cup through Asian regional qualifying. In 2019, they progressed to the quarterfinals for the first time in their participation[1], making them the first Asian team to do so in the tournament.

Japan playing Australia at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully participated in qualifying tournaments

Their best performance was in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Japan beat South Africa 34–32 in their first match of pool play, in what was described as the "greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever".[2][3] They went on to beat Samoa and the United States in pool play. They won three games out of four in pool play, the same as Scotland and South Africa, but unlike the other two, Japan did not get any bonus points, so the other two qualified for the quarter-finals.

Japan's first victory was a 52–8 win over Zimbabwe at the 1991 tournament under coach Hiroaki Shukuzawa. Their worst defeat came at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, when they lost to New Zealand by 145–17, in a defeat blamed for setting the development of rugby union in Japan back by several years. Since then, in the 2003 World Cup, held in Australia, Japan coached by Shogo Mukai was hailed as the best of the so-called 'minnow' nations, gaining many new Japanese and overseas fans in the process, though the team still failed to win any games. In the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Japan managed a last-minute conversion to draw with Canada, and avoided coming last in Pool B. They did not win any games however, and did not reach the knockout stage of the tournament.

Japan host the tournament for the first time at the 2019 Rugby World Cup,reaching the quarter-finals

By position
Rugby World Cup Qualification
Year Round Pld W D L PF PA Squad Pos Pld W D L PF PA
1987 Pool Stage 3 0 0 3 48 123 Squad Invited
1991 Pool Stage 3 1 0 2 77 87 Squad 2nd 3 2 0 1 65 63
1995 Pool Stage 3 0 0 3 55 252 Squad 1st 4 4 0 0 252 28
1999 Pool Stage 3 0 0 3 36 140 Squad 1st 3 3 0 0 221 25
2003 Pool Stage 4 0 0 4 79 163 Squad 1st 4 4 0 0 420 47
2007 Pool Stage 4 0 1 3 64 210 Squad 1st 6 6 0 0 379 60
2011 Pool Stage 4 0 1 3 69 184 Squad 1st 4 4 0 0 326 30
2015 Pool Stage 4 3 0 1 98 100 Squad 1st 4 4 0 0 316 8
2019 Quarter-finals 5 4 0 1 118 88 Squad Automatically qualified
2023 Automatically qualified
Total Quarter-finals 33 8 2 23 644 1347 28 27 0 1 1979 261
     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place Home venue

By match

1987
Main article: 1987 Rugby World Cup
Team
 Pld W D L PF PA Tries Pts
 Australia 330010841186
 England 320110032154
 United States 3102399952
 Japan 30034812370
1987-05-24
Japan  18 – 21  United States
Tries: Taumoefolau (2)
Yoshinaga
Pen: Yoshinaga
Kutsuki		 Tries: Nelson
Purcell
Lambert
Con: Nelson (3)
Pen: Nelson
Ballymore, Brisbane
Referee: Guy Maurette (France)
1987-05-30
England  60 – 7  Japan
Tries: Harrison (3)
Underwood (2)
Salmon
Richards
Redman
Rees
Simms
Con: Webb (7)
Pen: Webb (2)		 Try: Miyamoto
Pen: Matsuo
Concord Oval, Sydney
Referee: Rene Hourquet (France)
1987-06-03
Australia  42 – 23  Japan
Tries: Slack (2)
Burke (2)
Tuynman
Grigg
Hartill
Campese
Con: Lynagh (5)		 Tries: Kutsuki (2)
Fujita
Con: Okidoi
Pen: Okidoi (2)
Drop: Okidoi
Concord Oval, Sydney
Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

1991
Main article: 1991 Rugby World Cup
Team
 P W D L PF PA Pts
 Scotland 3300122366
 Ireland 3201102514
 Japan 310277872
 Zimbabwe 3003311580
1991-10-05
Scotland  47 – 9  Japan
Tries: S. Hastings, Stanger, Chalmers, White, Penalty Try, Tukalo, G. Hastings
Con: G. Hastings (5)
Pen: G. Hastings (2), Chalmers		 Tries: Hosokawa
Con: Hosokawa
Drop: Hosokawa
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: Ed Morrison (England)
1991-10-09
Ireland  32 – 16  Japan
Tries: Mannion (2), O’Hara, Staples
Con: Keyes (2)
Pen: Keyes (4)		 Tries: Hayashi, Kajihara, Yoshida
Con: Hosokawa (2)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Laikini Colati (Fiji)
1991-10-14
Japan  52 – 8  Zimbabwe
Tries: Yoshida (2), Mashuho (2), Kutsuki (2), Horikoshi, Luaiufi, Matsuo
Con: Hosokawa (2)
Pen: Hosokawa (4)		 Tries: Tsimba, Nguruve
Ravenhill, Belfast
Referee: Rene Hourquet (France)

1995
Main article: 1995 Rugby World Cup
Team
 P W D L PF PA Pts
 New Zealand 3300222459
 Ireland 320193947
 Wales 310289685
 Japan 3003552523
1995-05-27
Japan  10 – 57  Wales
Tries: Osamu Ota (2) Tries: Gareth Thomas (3), Ieuan Evans (2), Andrew Moore, Hemi Taylor
Con: Neil Jenkins (5)
Pen: Neil Jenkins (4)
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Attendance: 12 000
Referee: Efrahim Sklar (Argentina)
1995-05-31
Ireland  50 – 28  Japan
Tries: Neil Franis, Simon Geoghegan, David Corkery, Eddie Halvey, Niall Hogan
Con: Paul Burke (6)
Pen: Paul Burke		 Tries: Sinali Latu, Ko Izawa, Seiji Hirao, Masanori Takura
Con: Yoshihito Yoshida (4)
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Attendance: 15 000
Referee: Stef Neethling (South Africa)
1995-06-04
Japan  17 – 145  New Zealand
Tries: Hiroyuki Kajihara (2)
Con: Keiji Hirose (2)
Pen: Keiji Hirose		 Tries: Marc Ellis (6), Eric Rush (3), Jeff Wilson (3), Robin Brooke (2), Glen Osborne (2), Richard Loe, Simon Culhane, Paul Henderson, Craig Dowd, Alama Ieremia
Con: Simon Culhane (20)
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Attendance: 17 000
Referee: George Gadjovic (Canada)

1999
Main article: 1999 Rugby World Cup
Team
 P W D L PF PA Pts
 Wales 3201118717
 Samoa 320197727
 Argentina 320183517
 Japan 3003361403
1999-10-03
Samoa  43 – 9  Japan
Tries: Brian Lima (2), Steven So'oialo (2), Silao Leaega
Con: Silao Leaega (3)
Pen: Silao Leaega (4)		 Pen: Keiji Hirose (3)
Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
Referee: Andrew Cole (Australia)
1999-10-09
Wales  64 – 15  Japan
Tries: Mark Taylor, (2) Robert Howley, Scott Gibbs, David Llewellyn, Gareth Thomas, Allan Bateman, Shane Howarth
Con: Neil Jenkins (8)
Con: Neil Jenkins		 Tries: Patiliai Tuidraki, Daisuke Ohata
Con: Keiji Hirose
Pen: Keiji Hirose
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Joel Dume (France)
1999-10-16
Argentina  33 – 12  Japan
Tries: Diego Albanese, Agustín Pichot
Con: Felipe Contepomi
Pen: Gonzalo Quesada (7)		 Pen: Keiji Hirose (4)
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

2003
Main article: 2003 Rugby World Cup
Team
 Pld W D L PF PA BP Pts
 France 440020470420
 Scotland 430110297214
 Fiji 420298114210
 United States 41038612526
 Japan 40047916300
2003-10-11
Scotland  32–11  Japan
Tries: Paterson (2), Grimes, Taylor, Danielli
Con: Paterson, Townsend
Pen: Paterson		 Tries: Onozawa
Pen: Hirose (2)
Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Attendance: 19,170
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
2003-10-18
France  51 – 29  Japan
Tries: Michalak, Rougerie (2), Pelous, Dominici, Crenca
Con: Michalak (5), Merceron
Pen: Michalak (3)		 Tries: Konia, Ohata
Con: Kurihara (2)
Pen: Kurihara (5)
Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Attendance: 21,309
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
2003-10-23
Fiji  41 – 13  Japan
Tries: Tuilevu (2), Ligairi (2), Vunibaka
Con: Little (2)
Pen: Little (4)		 Tries: Miller
Con: Miller
Pen: Miller
Drop: Miller
Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Attendance: 17,269
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
2003-10-27
Japan  26 – 39  United States
Tries: Kurihara, Ohata
Con: Kurihara (2)
Pen: Kurihara (4)		 Tries: Hercus, Eloff, Schubert, van Zyl, Khasigian
Con: Hercus (4)
Pen: Hercus (2)
Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 19,653
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

2007
Main articles: 2007 Rugby World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cup – Pool B
Team
 Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
 Australia 44003021541+174420
 Fiji 430114114136−22315
 Wales 420223168105+63412
 Japan 4013764210−14613
 Canada 4013651120−6902
8 September 2007
15:45
Australia  91–3  Japan
Tries: Sharpe 18' m
Elsom (3) 24' c, 34' m, 41' c
Ashley-Cooper 46' c
Latham (2) 53' c, 72' c
Barnes (2) 57' c, 75' c
Mitchell (2) 59' c, 66' c
Smith 62' m
Freier 80+' c
Con: Mortlock (7/10)
Giteau (3/3)
Pen: Mortlock (2/2) 10', 16'		 Report Pen: K. Ono (1/1) 38'
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 40,043
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
12 September 2007
18:00
Japan  31–35  Fiji
Tries: Thompson (2) 51' c, 78' c
Soma 62' m
Con: Onishi (2/3)
Pen: Onishi (4/4) 18', 30', 40+', 43'		 Report Tries: Qera (2) 36' c, 49' c
Rabeni 56' m
Leawere 71' c
Con: Little (3/4)
Pen: Little (3/3) 4', 55', 74'
20 September 2007
21:00
Wales  72–18  Japan
Tries: A. W. Jones 11' c
Hook 24' c
T. R. Thomas 31' c
Morgan 40+' m
Phillips 42' c
S. Williams (2) 48' m, 80' m
D. James 52' c
Cooper 59' c
M. Williams (2) 64' c, 74' c
Con: S. Jones (5/7)
Sweeney (2/4)
Pen: S. Jones (1/1) 23'		 Report Tries: Endo 19' m
Onozawa 57' c
Con: Robins (1/1)
Pen: Onishi (2/2) 4', 37'
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 35,245
Referee: Joël Jutge (France)
25 September 2007
18:00
Canada  12–12  Japan
Tries: Riordan 48' m
van der Merwe 65' c
Con: Pritchard (1/1)		 Report Tries: Endo 12' m
Taira 80+' c
Con: Onishi (1/2)
Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Attendance: 33,810
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

2011
Main articles: 2011 Rugby World Cup and 2011 Rugby World Cup – Pool A

Japan lost to New Zealand, Tonga and France, but managed to draw with Canada.

Team
 Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
 New Zealand 44003624049+191420
 France 42021312496+28311
 Tonga 420278098−1819
 Canada 4112982168−8606
 Japan 4013869184−11502
10 September 2011
France  47–21  Japan
Tries: Pierre 4' c
Trinh-Duc 11' c
Clerc 33' m
Naller 70' c
Pape 76' c
Parra 81' m
Con: Yachvili (4/6)
Pen: Yachvili (3/3) 21', 28', 66'		 Report Tries: Arlidge (2) 30' m, 48' c
Con: Arlidge (1/2)
Pen: Arlidge (3/4) 17', 39', 57'
16 September 2011
New Zealand  83–7  Japan
Tries: Smith 3' c
Kahui (2) 15' m, 44' c
Kaino 21' m
Mealamu 29' c
Ellis 33' c
Slade 35' c
Williams (2) 50' c, 78' c
Toeava 55' c
Hore 59' m
Nonu 61' m
Thomson 76' c
Con: Slade (9/13)		 Report Tries: Onozawa 57' c
Con: Williams (1/1)
21 September 2011
Tonga  31–18  Japan
Tries: Ma'afu 6' m
Lokotui 14' c
Vainikolo 53' c
Con: Morath (2/3)
Pen: Morath (4/4) 29', 31', 49', 67'		 Report Tries: Hatakeyama 13' m
Leitch 25' m
Tupuailai 62' m
Con: Arlidge (0/3)
Pen: Webb (1/1) 39'
27 September 2011
Canada  23–23  Japan
Tries: Van Der Merwe 6' c
Mackenzie 43' m
Monro 74' m
Con: Pritchard (1/1)
Monro (0/2)
Pen: Monro (2/3) 63', 78'		 Report Tries: Horie 9' c
Endo 39' c
Tupuailai 62' m
Con: Arlidge (2/2)
Pen: Arlidge (3/3) 23', 65', 72'

2015
See also: 2015 Rugby World Cup §  Pool B
Team
 Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
 South Africa 43012317656+120416
 Scotland 43011413693+43214
 Japan 4301998100–2012
 Samoa 4103769124–5526
 United States 4004550156–10600
    19 September 2015
    16:45
    South Africa  32–34  Japan
    Try: Louw 18' c
    B. Du Plessis 33' m
    De Jager 44' c
    Strauss 62' c
    Con: Lambie (2/3) 19', 45'
    Pollard (1/1) 63'
    Pen: Lambie (1/1) 57'
    Pollard (1/1) 73'
    		 Report Try: Leitch 30' c
    Goromaru 69' c
    Hesketh 80' m
    Con: Goromaru (2/3) 31', 70'
    Pen: Goromaru (5/6) 8', 43', 49', 53', 60'
    23 September 2015
    14:30
    Scotland  45–10  Japan
    Try: Hardie 48' m
    Bennett (2) 56' c, 69 c
    Seymour 64' c
    Russell 74' c
    Con: Laidlaw (4/5) 57', 65', 70', 75'
    Pen: Laidlaw (4/5) 3', 12', 18', 20'
    		 Report Try: Mafi 15' c
    Con: Goromaru (1/1) 16'
    Pen: Goromaru (1/3) 46'
    Kingsholm, Gloucester
    Attendance: 14,354
    Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
    3 October 2015
    14:30
    Samoa  5–26  Japan
    Try: Perez 64' m
    Con: T. Pisi (0/1)
    		 Report Try: Penalty try 24' c
    Yamada 40' c
    Con: Goromaru (2/2) 24', 40'
    Pen: Goromaru (4/6) 8', 34', 48', 59'
    Stadium mk, Milton Keynes
    Attendance: 29,019
    Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
    11 October 2015
    20:00
    United States  18–28  Japan
    Try: Ngwenya 24' m
    Wyles 71' c
    Con: MacGinty (1/2) 72'
    Pen: MacGinty (2/2) 5', 55'
    		 Report Try: Matsushima 7' c
    Fujita 28' c
    Mafi 62' m
    Con: Goromaru (2/3) 9', 29'
    Pen: Goromaru (3/3) 33', 44', 77'
    Kingsholm, Gloucester
    Attendance: 14,517
    Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

    2019

    See also: 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A

    Team
    		 Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
     Japan 44001311562+53319
     Ireland 43011812127+94416
     Scotland 42021611955+64311
     Samoa 4103858128–7015
     Russia 4004119160–14100
    20 September 2019
    19:45 JST (UTC+09)
    (1 BP) Japan  30–10  Russia
    Try: Matsushima (3) 12' m, 39' c, 69' c
    Labuschagné 47' m
    Con: Tamura (1/3) 40'
    Matsuda (1/1) 71'
    Pen: Tamura (2/2) 44', 64'
    		 Report Try: Golosnitski 5' c
    Con: Kushnarev (1/1) 6'
    Pen: Kushnarev (1/1) 61'
    Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu
    Attendance: 45,745
    Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
    28 September 2019
    16:15 JST (UTC+09)
    Japan  19–12  Ireland (1 BP)
    Try: Fukuoka 59' c
    Con: Tamura (1/1) 61'
    Pen: Tamura (4/6) 18', 34', 40', 72'
    		 Report Try: Ringrose 14' m
    Kearney 21' c
    Con: Carty (1/2) 22'
    5 October 2019
    19:30 JST (UTC+09)
    (1 BP) Japan  38–19  Samoa
    Try: Lafaele 28' c
    Himeno 53' c
    Fukuoka 76' m
    Matsushima 80+5' c
    Con: Tamura (3/4) 29', 55', 80+7'
    Pen: Tamura (4/5) 3', 8', 24', 51'
    		 Report Try: Taefu 73' c
    Con: Taefu (1/1) 74'
    Pen: Taefu (4/5) 10', 15', 34', 45'
    13 October 2019
    19:45 JST (UTC+09)
    (1 BP) Japan  28–21  Scotland (1 BP)
    Try: Matsushima 18' c
    Inagaki 26' c
    Fukuoka (2) 40' c, 43' c
    Con: Tamura (4/4) 20', 27', 40+2', 44'
    		 Report Try: Russell 7' c
    Nel 50' c
    Fagerson 55' c
    Con: Laidlaw (2/2) 8', 51'
    Russell (1/1) 56'
    Quarter-final
    20 October 2019
    19:15 JST (UTC+09)
    Japan  3–26  South Africa
    Pen: Tamura (1/1) 20'
    		 Report Try: Mapimpi (2) 4' m, 70' m
    de Klerk 66' c
    Con: Pollard (1/3) 66'
    Pen: Pollard (3/4) 44', 49', 64'
    Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu
    Attendance: 48,831
    Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

    Hosting

    At a special IRB meeting held in Dublin on 28 July 2009, Japan was announced as the host for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[4]

    List of planned stadia

    In addition to the nine venues located in Japan, one venue each from Singapore and Hong Kong have also been proposed to host five matches respectively.[5]

    References
    • Davies, Gerald (2004) The History of the Rugby World Cup (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, (ISBN 1860746020)
    • Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup, Australian Post Corporation, (ISBN 0-642-36811-2)
    1. rugbybworldcup.com. "Joyous scenes as Japan win thriller to make quarter-finals". www.worldrugby.org. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
    2. Kitson, Robert (September 19, 2015). "Japan beat South Africa in greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever". The Guardian. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
    3. "South Africa 32 Japan 34, match report: Outstanding Japan pull off the greatest upset in World Cup history". Daily Telegraph. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
    4. "England will host 2015 World Cup". BBC. 2009-07-28. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
    5. RWC 2015 /2019: 15 Main Topics & Venues of the Bid of Japan , Japan Rugby Football Union
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