TOKYO, July 18 (Reuters) - France ran in six tries against a ragged Japan at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday with hooker Maxime Lamothe grabbing a brace as Les Bleus rounded off their first leg of the inaugural Nations Championship with a 42-15 win.
The Six Nations holders took advantage of the high-tempo, unstructured match with fullback Matthieu Jalibert, lock Alexandre Roumat, scrumhalf Maxime Lucu and flyhalf Romain Ntamack all dotting down, and Lucu converting all the scores.
While Japan showed flashes of attacking brilliance, it was a disappointing end to a strong run of matches which included an emphatic 27-10 win over Italy and a dogged 20-36 loss to Ireland in Newcastle, Australia.
France got off to a flier with Lamothe powering over from a lineout maul two minutes after kickoff, an area that Japan coach Eddie Jones said cost his team.
The Brave Blossoms looked shell-shocked in the opening exchanges but they showed some mettle and inched into a slim lead with a penalty from fullback Takuro Matsunaga and a silky piece of counterattacking play finished off by winger Kippei Ishida.
But that score on the 15-minute mark would be the only time they were ahead and minutes later Jalibert, who missed training in the build-up to the game with an adductor problem, found himself in acres of space as a ragged Japan backpedaled towards their line.
Japan lost a man to the sin bin in the lead-up to Jalibert’s try and France took full advantage. Lock Alexandre Roumat rolled over from another driving lineout before scrumhalf Maxime Lucu grabbed the bonus-point try.
The Brave Blossoms rallied before the break with prop Sojiro Otsuka bulldozing through several French defenders from a close-range tap penalty to bring the scores to 15-28 at halftime.
Like the first period, France struck within minutes when play resumed: Lucu flipped a switch pass to his halfback partner Ntamack, who juggled the ball before jinking over the whitewash. Soon after, Lamothe muscled through for his second try.
France lost two players to the sin bin in the final quarter of the match but still Japan could not add to their tally with the hot and humid conditions taking their toll on both sides.
Replacement Tiennan Costley looked to have scored moments after coming on but it was ruled out for a double movement.
“We’re only going to get better from here,” Japan coach Jones told the 53,000 crowd in a post-match interview on the sidelines.
The new Nations Championship, in which 12 sides from both Northern and Southern Hemispheres compete, will return for another three matches in November before a finals weekend to be held in London.
(Reporting by John Geddie and Irene Wang in Tokyo; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
