The All Blacks beat Japan 38-31 at National Stadium, Tokyo. Japan disrupted the All Blacks lineout and attacked with class and skill to suggest New Zealand was lucky to escape the fate of South Africa, Scotland and Ireland who recently have suffered defeat at the hands of the Japan team. Japan head coach Jamie Joseph, who won 20 caps for the All Blacks in the early 1990s, said Japan went into the match “with full confidence” that they could win. “In the past, teams have come up against the All Blacks and psychologically you think they are unbeatable but now those cracks are showing,” he said. Everything else around the game in terms of how we wanted to play and what we needed to do is really really good.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 30, 2022 02:41 UTC