Japan eyes PNC crown

Hosts Japan rugby team has set their target to beat the Flying Fijians in Saturday’s final so they could hoist the Pacific Nations Cup.

This was revealed by Japan hooker Mamoru Harada after an outstanding performance in their 63-14 thrashing of United States (US) Eagles in the semi-final at Osaka last Saturday night.

“We knew it was going to be a tough match from the beginning, but we executed well,” Harada said.

“Our target now is to beat Fiji and win the championship.”

In a dominant performance, Japan ran in nine tries to record their biggest win over the US.

The Flying Fijians have won the PNC for the last three years-in-a-row. The Tevita Ikanivere captained-side beat Canada 45-29 in the semi-final.

According to Radio NZ, openside flanker Motikiai Murray, who played for North Harbour in the National Provincial Championship (NPC) competition in New Zealand before joining the Fiji camp two weeks ago, showed why he is a person of interest with the Super Rugby Pacific champions Hurricanes with his strong all-round game.

Murray who was named Man of the Match after scoring two tries, said they still need to improve, especially facing Japan in the final.

"We did pretty well, there were a few mistakes, but our mission was to start fast and we did that," Murray said.

However, Japan head coach Eddie Jones was not carried away with the big win, indicating that they have some areas to work on before Saturday’s final.

“At times we lost a bit of concentration, made some silly errors that then compounded. After USA’s first try, we gave away three penalties in a row, giving away possession. It’s all about building consistency. Good players and good teams have that consistency, and that’s what we’re striving for,” the wily coach stressed.

Tamanivalu joins camp

Meanwhile, former All Blacks centre Seta Tamanivalu has joined the Flying Fijians camp to replace the injured Kalaveti Ravouvou. Tamanivalu is currently playing for Taranaki in the NPC.