France finished their Nations Championship tour of the southern hemisphere in style, scoring six tries to beat Japan 42-15 in a sweltering Tokyo. Played in 28-degree heat and thick humidity in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 at MUFG Stadium, the match was scrappy at times but never in doubt once Les Bleus found their rhythm.
Maxime Lucu controlled the game from the base and finished with 15 points, adding a try to his goal-kicking haul. Maxime Lamothe and Matthieu Jalibert both crossed twice, with Alexandre Roumat completing the French tally. Japan's consolation scores came through Kippei Ishida and Sojiro Otsuka, but the result dropped Eddie Jones's side to 1-2 in the competition.
Head coach Fabien Galthie was thrilled with the response after his side's narrow tour-opening loss in New Zealand. "Everything went smoothly, and above all, the energy and commitment of the players were magnificent," Galthie said. "They were rewarded with the work they put in, and we produced a very strong performance today. You'd have to be blind not to see everyone's performances."
Far from satisfied, Galthie made clear the appetite for more remained. "We're even a bit greedy — that match in New Zealand left us wanting more," he said.
Much of the pre-match talk centred on coping with the Tokyo conditions, and wing Theo Attissogbe revealed the lengths France went to in order to acclimatise. "We switched off all the air conditioning in our hotel rooms and spent as much time as we could outside," Attissogbe said. "We also trained at the same time as the match, and there was conditioning at halftime to keep the body cool."
Captain Lucu said the tour — which took in Australia, New Zealand and Japan — had been a genuine pleasure despite the demands. "We took an enormous amount of pleasure in playing these matches, and the fact of visiting three countries, we had a constant smile on our faces," he said.
For Japan, defeat did little to dent Jones's optimism about a squad in transition. "I'm pleased with the commitment of the players today. I thought they stuck at it, played hard, played together, didn't give up," Jones said.
France close their July campaign with wins over Australia and Japan either side of that defeat to the All Blacks — a return that keeps them firmly in the hunt as the Nations Championship heads towards its finale.
