Match Report: Scotland U20 43-32 Japan U20
7 Jul 2026Scotland have secured a place in the fifth place semi-finals this Sunday after an entertaining 43-32 victory over Japan. They will now wait for other results to see who they will face.
17-year-old Jake Dalziel was a stand out during the match against the Japanese and sealed the victory in the last minute when he ran through the sticks for a try.
Matthew Fick, Daniel Kelly, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Joe Roberts, Jamie Stewart and Alex Bryden were also on the scoresheet.
Scotland started the match strongly and took the lead after just three minutes when Matthew Fick, Edinburgh Academy scrum half, scuttled over from yards out with Jake Dalziel slotting over the extras (7-0)
Scotland didn’t let up and after long sustained periods of pressure Scotland scored their second try after 14 minutes when Daniel Kelly ran in after a good break from Nairn Moncreiff and a pinpoint pass from Jake Dalziel. The fly-half then added the conversion to make it 14-0.
17 minutes later Dalziel was on hand again to offload to Ollie Blyth-Lafferty yards out and the strong prop was able to outmuscle his way over the line. (19-0)
Japan didn’t let up though and just four minutes later they scored a try of their own when Koshi Tsumura dotted down following a driving maul. They then added a penalty to bring the scores closer. (19-10)
With half an hour on the clock, Scotland notched a bonus point and secured their place at the fifth placed play-offs when Joe Roberts scored his third try in two games, diving over from a driving maul. (26-10)
Moments before the break, Japan continued their comeback when substitute hooker Sota Miura dotted down from a maul, two minutes after coming on. (26-15)
Just before the break Ollie Blyth-Lafferty was sent to the sin-bin after a head-on-head incident.
Half-time: Scotland U20s 26-15 Japan U20s
10 mins after the break substitute Jamie Stewart increased Scotland’s lead (31-15).
In what was a frantic second-half Shinnosuke Uchida darted down the wing to narrow the deficit after 58 minutes. (31-22)
Japan continued their momentum and narrowed the gap even further when they scored another try, going within two points of Scotland’s lead. (31-29).
Japan showed deficiencies with their line-out and they were unable to capitalise on a number of opportunities close to Scotland’s line.
Substitute scrum half Asa Stewart-Harris did well to break free and he offloaded to Alex Bryden who was able to score (36-29)
Just when you thought Scotland were in the clear, Japan kicked a penalty through the sticks and set up a nervy ending.
In the dying moments Jake Dalziel alleviated any fears when he ran under the sticks from distance before slotting the conversion to make it 43-32 to deny Japan a losing bonus point.
Final score: Scotland U20s 43-32 Japan U20s
Scotland: Rory McHaffie, Daniel Kelly, Campbell Waugh, Henry Kesterton, Nairn Moncrieff, Jake Dalziel, Matthew Fick, Oliver McKenna, Joe Roberts (Captain), Ollie Bylth-Lafferty, Christian Lindsay, Dan Halkon, Sam Byrd, Jack Utterson, Harvey Preston.
Substitutes: Jamie Stewart (on for Joe Roberts – 52 mins), Jamie McAughtrie (on for Oliver McKenna – 41 mins, Jackson Rennie (on for Jack Utterson – 42 mins), Finlay Mather (on for Christian Lindsay – 52 mins), Oliver Finlayson-Russell (on for Ollie Blyth-Lafferty 0 50 mins, Asa Stewart-Harris (on for Matthew Fick (50 mins), Alex Bryden (on for Campbell Waugh – 41 mins), Ewan Cavan (on for Nairn Moncrieff – 60 mins)
Japan: Ryuto Koga, Gentaro Sakata, Rio Iwakura, Yura Morioka, Isa Fukada, Yuki Kobayashi, Keigo Sato, Keigo Aruga, Koshi Tsumara, Kanta Kawagoe, Masato Yanase, Taiga Yamazaki, Riku Fujikubo, Kise Sin, Akihiro Tsubone
Substitutes: Sota Miura, Song Ha Ri, Keitatsu Motoyama, Masato Hyakutake, Chikara Fukada, Kohaku Suda, Takeru Niwa, Shinnosuke Uchida
