Six of the eight tries came from the pack
Six. That is how many of Australia’s eight tries were scored by forwards on Saturday in Townsville, where the Wallabies buried Japan 56-17 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium and sealed the two-Test series 2-0.
Taniela Tupou got two of them. The tighthead prop drove over in the 17th minute, then shrugged off a queue of tacklers to do it again before half-time. Hooker Josh Nasser had opened the scoring in the 7th after slick handling from the backs. Angus Bell and replacement Brandon Paenga-Amosa finished the forwards’ collection. Ryan Lonergan and Ben Donaldson shared the eight conversions.
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Japan led, then the second half happened
The visitors were ahead at one stage. Harry Hockings replied to Nasser by charging down a Lonergan clearance. Naoto Saito trimmed the gap with a quickly taken penalty. Dylan Riley then finished a sharp move to put Japan in front.
Australia clawed the lead back before the interval, 21-17. After that, Japan did not add a single point. A yellow card for replacement hooker Mamoru Harada ended any hope of a comeback. Charlie Cale went over in the 73rd from a dominant scrum, then captain Harry Wilson and Paenga-Amosa turned the screw.
“Against a side like Japan, if you are off it, they punish you,” Wilson said. “I was really proud of the group in the second half. We lifted the intensity and brought a lot more intent.”
Cap number 1000 and a record Japan cannot shake
Massimo De Lutiis became the 1000th player to wear a Wallabies jersey. The prop scored on debut, off a break from fly-half Carter Gordon. Wing Max Jorgensen and flanker Carlo Tizzano were among the better performers around him.
Three wins in a row now for Australia, their best run since 2024. Les Kiss’s side had already scraped past Japan 35-32 in Osaka last week, a far closer night. Eddie Jones’s Japan have still never beaten the Wallabies, nine meetings since 1975 and nine defeats.
Japan captain Warner Dearns did not dress it up. “We focused on making them move and playing our quick rugby. I think we did that well in the first half, but we couldn’t sustain it in the second.”
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