Les Kiss starts with a win, just
For Les Kiss, his first game in charge of the Wallabies was anything but comfortable. On Saturday in Osaka, Australia edged Japan 35-32. It took a wild contest, with nine tries in all, to get there.
Australia looked set for a routine evening early on. Then it unravelled. Down to 14 men after second-rower Miles Amatosero was sent off, they were forced to scrap their way through a fired-up Japan side looking for payback.
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Japan refuse to go away
The hosts never backed off. Ryunosuke Ito sliced through the Australia defence to open the scoring. Harry Potter hit back straight away, before Tom Wright stretched the lead before the break.
After halftime, Japan cut the gap to six points. Australia eventually found another gear. Replacement prop Taniela Tupou powered over, and Max Jorgensen finished off a move started by Joseph Suaalii.
A first outing worth remembering
The result matters more than the performance. Kiss gets his reign off to a winning start, but the defensive lapses will sting.
Japan, meanwhile, will take plenty from this. Pushing Australia to the edge, even with a man advantage for part of the match, is no small feat.
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