Series struggles continue for Brave Blossoms despite gutsy effort

Japan continued their struggles against the big boys of world rugby but put on a brave fight in losing 28-7 to Scotland in the quarter-finals of the Bowl competition on Sunday morning.

The Japanese sevens team qualified as one of the elite 15 core teams last season and are in the midst of a steep learning curve, arriving in Hong Kong in 15th place at the bottom of the Sevens World Series standings.

Kazuhiro Goya scored Japan’s sole try to briefly give his team parity with the Scots at 7-7 after James Johnstone had opened the scoring 75 seconds into the match.

Second-half tries for Mark Robertson, Scott Riddell and Chris Dean ensured victory for Scotland, who relegated the Japanese to the Shield competition where they are to play Belgium in the semi-final.

In the Bowl semi-finals, Scotland will face Wales (38-7 winners over Belgium), while France (26-14 winners over Portugal) will meet Canada, who downed Kenya 21-10. Kenya will face Portugal in the other Shield semi-final.