{"id":587595,"date":"2025-11-22T22:38:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T22:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/587595\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T22:38:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T22:38:23","slug":"eddie-jones-japan-raid-fortress-for-vital-win-fiji-survive-scare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/587595\/","title":{"rendered":"Eddie Jones’ Japan raid fortress for vital win, Fiji survive scare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What a closing weekend for Emerging Nations fans, as Spain, Portugal, Canada, Romania, Uruguay<\/a> and Georgia<\/a> put out massive performances to finish in style.<\/p>\n

Brave Blossoms have the last laugh <\/strong>
Lee Seung-Sin completely froze over the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, as the fly half triumphantly converted a last-minute penalty kick to give Japan<\/a> a 25-23 win over Georgia, allowing the Brave Blossoms to climb to 12th place in the rankings ladder.<\/p>\n

Despite clawing the win in the game\u2019s final play, Japan started the game trailing by three points, following a punt from Tedo Abzhandadze. The visiting side retaliated in quick succession, as Seung-Sin added eleven points from the tee while centre Dylan Riley<\/a> crashed in the corner to score his team\u2019s first try.<\/p>\n

Georgia\u2019s inconsistency when holding the ball pushed them back from the Blossoms\u2019 in-goal area, and only through another Abzhandadze penalty kick did they add three more points to their tally before the break.<\/p>\n

Although Seung-Sin banked another three points right after the rest, Japan started to stumble in the set-piece, allowing the Lelos to get back on their feet.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Georgia <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Japan <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Feeling more in control, Ricard Cockerill\u2019s side piledrove the Japanese pack, giving Abzhandadze a chance to slot in three more points. The experienced utility back didn\u2019t miss his mark.<\/p>\n

The Lelos, to the delight of their fans, kept hammering and proceeded to materialise two five-pointers in the final quarter. Demur Tapladze<\/a> and Tornike Kakhoidze<\/a> finished two well-sought team plays, with Georgia taking the lead for the first time with two minutes to go.<\/p>\n

Japan regained possession of the ball and, from a lineout, pierced through the Georgian defence, forcing the Lelos to concede a penalty just 25 metres from the posts. Lee Seung-Sin successfully converted, giving Eddie Jones a reason to smile ahead of the World Cup draw.<\/p>\n

Teros overpower Stejarii<\/strong>
Uruguay clawed a 31-21 win in their November tour closer, overcoming Romania<\/a> after a brutal physical encounter played out at Stadionul Arcul de Triumf. After a scoreless opening ten minutes, Germ\u00e1n Kessler got Uruguay\u2019s first. The hooker crossed the whitewash following a superb line break from number-eight Manuel Diana<\/a>, giving Santiago \u00c1lvarez an easy kick to convert.<\/p>\n

At the 18-minute mark, the Teros added a second, this time around from Bautista Basso<\/a>, with the rapid wing gathering a deep kick to dot it down. In the meanwhile, Alexandru Savin<\/a> was sent to the sin bin after an illegal clear-out. With the game slowly heading towards halftime, Hinckley Vaovasa<\/a> went in to give his team a reason to celebrate, but the try was chalked off due to a deliberate knock-on from Jason Tomane. Nonetheless, Romania did get their first before the short rest, as prop Gheorge Gajion<\/a> cashed in after a superb maul drive. Alin Conache<\/a> didn\u2019t miss the conversion from the corner.<\/p>\n

However, Uruguay immediately struck back four minutes into the second half, as Manuel Diana<\/a> wrestled his way to the try-line with no Romanian player able to stop the back rower.<\/p>\n

The locals still managed to score a second, but it wasn\u2019t ever going to be enough to take the game from Uruguay, as the visitors extended their lead thrice. Replacement hooker Joaquin Myszka<\/a> went down to score his team\u2019s fourth, and \u00c1lvarez bagged two penalties, with Uruguay holding a 17-point lead.<\/p>\n

The Stejarii valiantly fought until the end, earning a third five-pointer from prop Thomas Cretu.<\/p>\n

Regarding the World Cup draw, Uruguay will be in pot 3, while Romania will be in pot 4, meaning the two nations could clash in 2027.<\/p>\n

Flying Fijians and Leones with an all-time classic <\/strong>
Spain<\/a> and Fiji<\/a> put on an enjoyable show for those in attendance at the Estadio Ciudad de M\u00e1laga, with the visiting side taking a 41-33 win.<\/p>\n

For the opening twenty minutes, both sides were unable to find a way in, with Fiji missing several key passes and getting caught napping in the breakdown, giving Spain a lifeline.<\/p>\n

The home team finally managed to settle in, and from a 5-meter lineout scored their first, as scrum half Estanislao Bay<\/a> cunningly stretched his arms to put his team on the lead. From kick off, Fiji immediately riposted, with Elia Canakaivata<\/a> gathering a cross kick thrown by Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, to dive into the corner, levelling the game. Gonzalo L\u00f3pez Bontempo punted over a penalty kick, but Spain\u2019s advantage was short-lived as Simione Kuruvoli<\/a> claimed Fiji\u2019s second, following an astonishing run from Jiuta Wainiqolo. With one minute to spare until halftime, Bay found Alejandro Laforga<\/a> out wide, setting up the wing for his first Test Match try, with Spain taking a one-point lead.<\/p>\n

The tense contest carried on to the second string of 40 minutes, as Bontempo converted another penalty kick moments before Kuruvoli got his brace.<\/p>\n

Spain matched Fiji\u2019s tempo and enjoyed their best period of the game, finding the try-area twice and adding a total of 15 points before it all came crumbling down.<\/p>\n

Feeling that the game was slipping through the cracks, the Flying Fijians retook control of the set-piece and territory and, in under 15 minutes, mounted a spectacular comeback, starting with a finish from Mesake Doge. Joji Nasova<\/a> was the next in line, with Armstrong-Ravula converting both, before clinching in a final penalty kick to expand his side\u2019s lead to 41-33 with no time left to play.<\/p>\n

Fiji, in pot 2, and Spain, in pot 3, are now eagerly anticipating the World Cup draw set to take place in December.<\/p>\n

Lobos ironclad defence fends off ambitious Canada<\/strong>
Portugal<\/a> claimed their second November success, after surviving a last attempt from Canada, with Simon Mannix\u2019s side coming out on top of a 33-27 affair.<\/p>\n

Both contestants were tightly entangled in a penalty kick duel for most of the first half, as Manuel Vareiro<\/a> and Robbie Povey<\/a> exchanged pleasantries with Portugal holding a 9-6 lead. Ten minutes to the break, Mason Flesch<\/a> scored the visitors first, with Povey adding the extras and a third penalty.<\/p>\n

\"EddieCredit: Portugal Rugby Union.<\/p>\n

With a few seconds left, the Lobos finally were able to stitch a few passes before Nicol\u00e1s Martins put his body over the finishing line to level the scoreboard to 16 points.<\/p>\n

The home side stepped into the second half looking more menacing, and quickly got their second following another incisive team play finished by centre Guilherme Vasconcelos.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s set-piece put Portugal under immense pressure, and after a few attempts, it was Morgan Di Nardo<\/a> rushing in to score his side\u2019s second five-pointer. Vareiro and Povey secured one penalty each before Rodrigo Marta<\/a> managed to break through the Maple Leaf defence to earn a brace, setting the score to 33-24 with 10 minutes to go.<\/p>\n

Despite Canada<\/a> taking control of the ball possession and territory, they came up short, failing to tear apart the Lobos defence, who managed to clinch 25 successful tackle attempts in the last 5 minutes.<\/p>\n

While the win was a positive outcome, it didn\u2019t change Portugal\u2019s fate, as they, like Canada, are sorted in pot 4 of the World Cup draw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What a closing weekend for Emerging Nations fans, as Spain, Portugal, Canada, Romania, Uruguay and Georgia put out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[4151,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-587595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115595755245199440","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}