Māori All Blacks finish strong in Tokyo

The Māori All Blacks opened the Ross Filipo era with an emphatic 53-20 win over the Japan XV in Tokyo, piling on six unanswered tries in a dominant second-half display.

Down 17-15 at the break, the visitors surged ahead through lock Laghlan McWhannell early in the second spell and never looked back. Sam Greene briefly narrowed the gap for Japan with a penalty, but from there it was one-way traffic.

Zarn Sullivan, Sam Nock, Jahrome Brown, Kemara Hauiti-Parapara and Kaleb Trask added to the Māori All Blacks' first-half efforts from Cole Forbes, Gideon Wrampling and Kurt Eklund, with nine tries in total securing a statement win in their only clash with Japan this year.

Japan’s two converted tries from Kazuma Ueda and Greene’s boot gave them a halftime lead, but they faded under pressure as the Māori All Blacks pulled away in the Tokyo heat.

Filipo’s team now head home to face Scotland in Whāngarei next weekend.

Māori All Blacks 53 (Zarn Sullivan, Sam Nock, Jahrome Brown, Kemara Hauiti-Parapara, Kaleb Trask, Cole Forbes, Gideon Wrampling, Kurt Eklund tries, Rivez Reihana 4 con) Japan XV 17 (Kazuma Ueda 2 tries, Sam Greene 2 con, pen)

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