Japan stun Samoa 33-14 in World Cup dress rehearsal

Asian champions Japan shocked Samoa 33-14 on Friday, registering a record seventh straight test win to strike a psychological blow before they face the Pacific islanders at next year’s World Cup.

Winger Yoshikazu Fujita scored two explosive first-half tries and full-back Ayumu Goromaru kicked 18 points in Tokyo as the Brave Blossoms beat Samoa for only the third time in 13 meetings.

“We’ve broken the record with seven wins in a row,” said Japan coach Eddie Jones.

“That’s a fantastic achievement. Our target next week is to make it eight,” added the Australian before his team’s tour of North America.

“We made hard work of it but the great thing is we created a lot of opportunities. I really liked the attitude of the players today and obviously we can improve.”

Both drawn in Pool B at the World Cup in England, alongside South Africa, Scotland and the United States, Samoa burst from the blocks with a breakaway try from Fautua Otto in the seventh minute.