Winners and Losers: Japan vs Samoa

The host nation, Japan, kept their winning streak alive on Saturday as they swept aside Samoa 38-19 at the City of Toyota Stadium. The Asian nation currently lead Pool A with 14 points and are on track to qualify for their first every quarter-final at a World Cup. 

The Japanese have one more game in the pool and that's against Scotland next Sunday, which will see them only require a point to head through to the knockout phase. 

Here are our winners and losers from today’s encounter: 

Winner: Kotaro Matsushima (Japan)

The South African born winger has a match winning performance today and made sure he kept the Samoans on their toes. The 26-year-old made a 110 metres in the match, beat eight defenders with ball in hand and produced four clean breaks. The winger also scored his fourth try of the tournament today and leading that chart all on his own. 

Winner: Kazuki Himeno (Japan)

The versatile loose forward played No. 8 today and really put in a busy shift for his country. The 25-year-old played a full 80 minutes and even scored a try off a driving maul. Himeno made 11 tackles in the match, carried the ball on seven occasions and also made two crucial steals. 

Winner: Lomano Lemeki (Japan)

The 30-year-old was named Man of the Match even though he did not get on the score sheet today. The winger put his body on the line for his teammates today and looked for work where he didn't have too. Lemeki made 96 metres with the ball, beat five defenders, had one clean break and got a try assist. 

Loser: Samoa

It has been a disappointing campaign for Samoa although showed some promise against Russia in their first game. The Pacific Nation struggled with their discipline in this tournament and the accumulation of yellow cards really hurt them in all the matches