Japan B vs Maori All Blacks

Half-time. The Maori All Blacks emerged a transformed side. Within four minutes of the restart, Bailyn Sullivan atoned for his yellow card by finishing from close range after a break by Sam Nock (48'). Rivez Reihana converted, and the deficit was suddenly 24-14.

Japan steadied when Matsunaga scored his side's fifth try in the 53rd minute, dotting down after a slick backline move, and converted his own score to push the lead back to 31-14. But that proved to be Japan's final score.

From the 62nd minute, the Maori All Blacks took control. Loose forward TK Howden crashed over after sustained pressure (62'), Kemara converted. Scrum-half Sam Nock then darted through a gap from close range after a break by Cole Forbes (66'), with Kemara again converting to make it 31-28.

With six minutes left, Taha Kemara stepped through a gap in the Japan defence to score (74'), levelling the scores at 31-31 — though his conversion attempt hit the upright.

The winning moment arrived in the 78th minute. Centre Xavi Taele picked up from the base of a ruck just metres out and forced his way over. Kemara's conversion attempt again rebounded off the upright, but the Maori held a 38-31 lead they would not relinquish.

Taha Kemara (Maori All Blacks) — The replacement fly-half was the game-changer. A try, a try assist, and two crucial conversions off the bench swung the match in the final quarter.

Sam Nock (Maori All Blacks) — The half-back sparked the revival with his running game, setting up Sullivan's try and scoring one himself.

Ryunosuke Ito (Japan XV) — The fly-half was central to Japan's first-half dominance, providing try assists for Ueda, Riley and Burua with precise kicking and passing.

TK Howden (Maori All Blacks) — The loose forward delivered a try and a key offload in Nock's score, part of a powerful second-half forward surge.

Player of the Match: Taha Kemara

Japan XV scored five tries to the Maori All Blacks' six, but the 13-point half-time lead told only part of the story. Possession in the final 10 minutes swung heavily toward the visitors (69%), who scored 10 points in that period while holding Japan scoreless. The Maori All Blacks also earned more 22m entries (9 to 7) despite trailing for much of the match, underlining their sustained second-half pressure.

Japan's discipline was a factor: the yellow cards to Barnes and Sullivan in the 30th and 31st minutes disrupted Maori momentum but also seemed to galvanise them after the break.

The victory gives the Maori All Blacks a winning start to their 2026 tour under head coach Tamati Ellison, who took over from Ross Filipo after the 2025 season. Japan XV, a development side featuring many of the country's rising talents, will take encouragement from an excellent first half but will rue their inability to score after the 53rd minute.

For the Maori All Blacks, this result builds momentum ahead of their next fixture. Japan XV will look to regroup, with a focus on converting promising periods into full 80-minute performances.

Both teams now await the announcement of their upcoming schedules in the 2026 international window.

The Maori All Blacks showed genuine composure to overturn a 17-point deficit at a hostile Paloma Mizuho Stadium. The yellow cards could have unravelled them; instead they proved a catalyst. Japan XV will wonder what might have been if they had sustained their first-half intensity — but the Maori bench impact, led by Kemara, was the decisive difference.