New Zealand beat Japan in lightning-hit World Rugby Junior World Championship opener
Sunday, 28 June 2026
At Aia Arena, Kutaisi: New Zealand Under-20 38 (Dane Johnston, Bradley Tocker, Ollie Guerin, Logan Williams, Caleb Woodley, Mika Muliaina tries; Muliaina 4 con) Japan Under-20 21 (Kise Sin, Shinnosuke Uchida, Sota Miura tries; Takeru Niwa 3 con). HT: 21-21.
The New Zealand Under-20s survived a stern test from Japan, and horrible conditions , to do enough to be declared winners before their opening match of the World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia was abandoned early.
With the Baby Blacks holding a 38-21 in Saturday night’s (NZ time) clash in Kutaisi, the teams were then forced from the field in the 69th minute due to a thunderstorm and with the threat of lightning in the area.
After a break of around 20 minutes, officials decided not to resume the match, with the Kiwis therefore bagging their five competition points (having already secured their bonus point for scoring four tries).
It had been a scratchy start for Kane Jury’s outfit, who had come into the tournament on the back of losing a warm-up hit-out against Georgia, and up against a nation in Japan who hadn’t featured in the last two 12-team editions of the tournament but who had made it back under the 16-team format this year.
They started well in the driving rain, getting out to a 21-7 lead, before team ill-discipline saw first-five Mika Muliaina sent to the sin bin in the 35th minute after Japan had scored a stunning try, before they then levelled things up at 21-21 after another eye-catching effort.
New Zealand got their lead back, and their bonus point, in the 52nd minute when fullback Logan Williams finished a well-worked move, before two more tries in the space of five minutes inside the final quarter to openside flanker Caleb Woodley and Muliaina made the game safe before the conditions had the final say.
The Baby Blacks’ next match is on Friday (2am NZT) against Scotland, who overcame Italy 38-32 in their opening game.
In a tournament which has featured three different winners the last three years (South Africa in 2025, England in 2024, France in 2023), the South Africans ran up the biggest score of the opening round, annihilating Uruguay 104-7, while Australia, in one of two games that had kickoffs pushed back due to the weather, hammered Spain 90-22.
Other results saw Argentina thrash the United States 78-14, France cruise past Fiji 45-15, while things were much closer in two other fixtures, with England beating Ireland 34-27 and Wales edging Georgia 25-24.
Māori All Blacks surge late
At Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium, Nagoya: Māori All Blacks 38 (Adam Lennox, Bailyn Sullivan, Te Kamaka Howden, Sam Nock, Taha Kemara, Xavi Taele tries; Rivez Reihana 2 con, Kemara 2 con) Japan XV 31 (Kazuma Ueda, Mamoru Harada, Dylan Riley, Inoke Burua, Takuro Matsunaga tries; Matsunaga 3 con). HT: 7-24.
The Māori All Blacks produced a final-quarter surge to overcome a determined Japan XV side 38-31 in their one-off clash in Nagoya on Saturday night.
In the latest edition of their frequent recent rivalry, Tamati Ellison’s team conceded first, swiftly drew level, but then found themselves behind 24-7 at the break after leaking three tries in the final eight minutes of the first half.
That was in no small part being down to 13 men, when, on the back of a referee warning for their discipline, captain Bailyn Sullivan was yellow-carded for tackling a player without the ball, then just a couple of minutes later was joined in the sin bin by Torian Barnes after the No 8 joined a maul from the side.
The pair were able to redeem themselves early in the second stanza, with Barnes going close to the line from a scrum, before Sullivan finished, and while fullback Takuro Matsunaga responded for Japan, and they held a 31-14 lead inside the final quarter, it wasn’t enough.
Kicking into gear, the Māori All Blacks powered on four tries over the run home to overwhelm their hosts, with Te Kamaka Howden dragging two defenders over the line, reserve halfback Sam Nock finishing a good period of attack, then fellow bench man Taha Kemara made up for an earlier fumble by beating four tackles for a try that finally gave his side the lead back in the 75th minute.
While Rivez Reihana kicked a ball into touch on the full to invite the Japan XV an opportunity, they weren’t able to take it, losing the ball at the breakdown, with Barnes coming up trumps, in a frantic finish that then saw Xavi Taele swoop on a loose ball and coast over to seal the deal.