My, how they missed Olave as the Whitecaps set upon their oppone

BURNABY, B.C. -- Japan rugby coach Eddie Jones might want to bottle whatever he told his team at halftime on Saturday night. Down 25-9 at the break, Japan stormed out of the gate and outscored Canada 25-0 over the final 40 minutes to stun the hosts 34-25 in the first game of the Pacific Nations Cup tournament for both countries. Jones is back coaching after suffering a stroke in October, but that didnt stop him from letting loose on his players after a disappointing first half. "Ill tell you what, it wasnt good for my blood pressure," said the 54-year-old. "We thought we were fitter than them. We thought if we could just hang in there ... we were just like a boxer on the ropes hanging on there. And if you get a chance to throw a jab, you throw it, and thats what we were able to do. "It takes a bit of courage to do that, so Im really pleased with that from the boys." Japan ran ragged in the second half, busting through the line for a pair of tries that left Canadian head coach Kieran Crowley shaking his head. "We really played well in that first half. We put pressure on them, we scored a couple really good tries," he said. "Second half, we had a couple bad defensive errors from set plays, which you cant afford to do. They were pretty soft tries, really. "Japan just took it to us and they deserved to win with that second-half performance." Yoshikazu Fujita, Yu Tamura and Hendrik Tui had the tries for the visitors, who won their eighth straight overall, while Ayumu Goromaru kicked five penalties and added two converts. John Moonlight, Ciaran Hearn and Taylor Paris had the tries for Canada, while James Pritchard added two penalties and two converts. Japan started to claw its way back after halftime with a try in the 42nd minute as Fujita dove over the line, and after Goromaru missed the conversion, the score stood at 25-14. Goromaru then kicked his fourth penalty of the night in the 56th minute to make it 25-17 before Tamura broke through the Canadian midfield untouched in the 63rd, with Goromanus conversion cutting the deficit to just one. Clearly rattled, Canada could barely hold onto the ball and Tui completed the comeback by again busting through the line to make it 31-25 after Goromarus conversion. Goromaru added to his point total by booting another penalty on the last kick of the game for the 34-25 final. "We always knew wed have to cope with the physical onslaught of Canada at home for the first 40," said Jones. "If we wouldnt have given away that try away (before) halftime we would have been pretty happy, but 25-9 at halftime, youre battling to stay in the game." Despite watching his team get bossed around in the second half, Tyler Ardron -- a 22-year-old from Lakefield, Ont., who plays for Ospreys in Wales and captained Canada for the first time -- saw some positives. "Tons of things to work on still," said Ardron, who made just his 14th appearance for the national team. "But we executed a lot things that we wanted to and I think if you look at that first half, a lot of things went our way and in the second half a couple bounces maybe went their way." The six-team Pacific Nations Cup tournament also includes Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and the United States. Canada will play world No. 10 Scotland at Torontos BMO Field next Saturday before travelling to Sacramento, Calif., to face the U.S. on June 21 in another Pacific Nations Cup match. The tournament consists of two groups of three teams, with each country taking on the other two in its conference. The top teams from each meet in Novembers final. Before his teams dominating second half, the turning point appeared to come in the 34th minute when Japans Shota Horie was sent to the sin bin for a foul, leaving his team down a man. Pritchard made the ensuing penalty from close range and Canada opened the floodgates with two impressive tries to close out the half. Moonlight finished off a good move for a try in the 37th minute before Paris broke through the Japanese line moments later, with Pritchard converting both for a 25-9 lead. "(We) definitely didnt think it was over," said Ardron. "I think we felt that if we played our game over the next 40 minutes we would be comfortable, but that clearly wasnt the case. "Credit to Japan -- they came out and played their game and we didnt turn it around." Japan, ranked No. 12 in the world, has been a pain for 15th-ranked Canada over the last several years. The Japanese tied Canada at the last two Rugby World Cups, with the 23-23 draw in 2011 helping to push the Canadians to fourth in their pool to miss out on automatic qualification for the 2015 tournament. Japan then beat Canada 16-13 in last years Pacific Nations Cup, a result that handed the championship trophy to Fiji. Crowley said earlier in the week that a win over Japan on home soil would help propel his side up the International Rugby Boards rankings and his players started brightly in front of a partisan crowd at Swangard Stadium. Canada had sustained pressure early in the match, with Hearn going over the line for the opening try in the seventh minute, but Pritchard missed the conversion for a 5-0 lead. Goromaru got Japan on the board with a penalty kick in the 12th minute, and he connected again three minutes later to give his team a 6-5 advantage. Pritchard then added a penalty in the 18th minute to restore the Canadian lead at 8-6, but Goromaru kicked his third penalty of the half in the 29th to make it 9-8 Japan. "Rugbys on a bit of a high at the moment in Canada," said Crowley. "Weve just got to get some of these tight games across the line. Japan have had our number a little bit the last few times weve played them, which is unfortunate." Notes: Scotland beat the U.S. 24-6 on Saturday night in Houston. ... Saturday marked the first time Canadas mens team wore its new uniforms designed by Under Armour. ... Japan meets the U.S. in Carson, Calif., next weekend. ... Attendance was 6,382. Chase Winovich Jersey . This week, they discuss the NCAAs revenue sharing, Don Zimmer, soccer language and Super Bowl 50. Wholesale Patriots Jerseys Authentic . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth. http://www.cheappatriotsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-tedy-bruschi-jersey . Messis 75th-minute goal answered some of the criticism the clubs all-time leading scorer had received for his lacklustre performances in the teams recent losses in the league, Champions League and Copa del Rey final. Kevin Faulk Jersey .com Tours season-opening Colombia Championship on Sunday, breaking the course record with an 8-under 63 in the completion of the third round before rain washed out play. Jarrett Stidham Jersey . Finlands Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves to lead Dallas over the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 Saturday night. He received plenty of help from the Stars defence and got goals from Ray Whitney and Russias Valeri Nichushkin.This time last week, Montreal was awash with nostalgia for their Expos as Olympic Stadium formed the backdrop to Major League Baseballs weekend residency in la belle ville. On Saturday afternoon, the Impact reclaim the building when they face the New York Red Bulls for the second of three fixtures scheduled at the venue this season. MLSs 19th franchise kicked off their eve of game preparations very early Friday morning with news that 2012s first overall SuperDraft pick Andrew Wenger had been traded to the Union. In return, the Impact picking up from the city of brotherly love Jack McInerney. A raw talent, who just like the Impact, got off to a flyer in 2013. McInerneys Midas touch in front of goal through spring 2013 got such rave reviews it got the attention of Americas favourite German, Jürgen Klinsman - who named the Tennessee native to last summers US Gold Cup squad. Living in this era of instant gratification, the Twitter jury needed no time to deliberate on which club got the better of the deal. It still baffles why in 2012s Super Draft Jesse Marsch took Wenger when the considered opinion was Darren Mattocks. Not meant as a slight to Wenger, its just that Mattocks ticked much more of the better prospect boxes going forward. In a chat I had with Mattocks on the eve of that draft, the young Jamaican said he modeled his game on Liverpools Fernando Torres. Having watched Wenger up close over this time Im still not sure he himself is fully convinced he can fulfill whats required of an out and out striker in MLS. However moving to his home club provides Wenger with perfect opportunity to fulfill his potential and prove all his naysayers wrong. As for the Impact, the diminutive McInerney - whose goal production dramatically dried up as the 2013 season wore on – working in tandem with Di Vaio is a mouth-watering prospect. Learn at the Italians shoulder he most certainly must. Thats for the future. As is which club ultimately reap the greatest rewards for the deal. Saturdays match brings together a pair of teams still in search of their first three-point outing of the season. For those who state the Impacts poor start is merely a continuation of their shambolic under- performing selfs from the end of 2013, how then to quantify the Red Bulls poor start? This was a club which marched quite resplendently to a Supporters Shield title on the back of a sole defeat in their last 10 matches. This season has been a mirror of 2013s 0-2-2 start for the Red Bulls thanks to a 95th minute goal from defender Péguy Luyindula during last Sunday afternoons 1-1 draw at home against Chivas. Nobody needs reminding how the Impact salvaged the late tie against McInerney et al in Chester, PA. Guilty as charged. Hands up. Not only did I think Di Vaio would take at least a few games to get in the groove and find his scoring boots afterr serving his 3 match suspension I also wondered without his school child friend Alessandro Nesta no longer in tow how that would affect.dddddddddddd Apparently not in the slightest. Whether or not the 38-year-old gets to take the same Olympic Stadium pitch with a certain 36-year-old Frenchman stepping out for the Red Bulls is quite literally up in the air. Henry trained with his team this morning at their multi-million dollar training facility in Hannover, NJ where following lunch they were due to board a late afternoon flight to Montreal. Thierry Henrys aversion to so termed plastic pitches is well established in his time in the league. He, along with 2010 MLS defender of the year Jamison Olave, stayed home when the Red Bulls opened their season in Vancouver. My, how they missed Olave as the Whitecaps set upon their opponent with a level and intensity any club will do well to match through the season! Which begs the question - what happens if the Whitecaps host the Red Bulls in the MLS Cup? Having arrived stateside following South Africa 2010, Henry is out of contract at the end of the season. Although not ever one to have the likes of Ellen DeGeneres have him suit up as a store clerk (Henrys more inclined to take the subway to work) there is no denying the additional magic the ex-Arsenal and Barca man has provided MLS. Im told Henry has quite the goal scoring record against the Impact. Goals have been in the shortest of supplies for the Impact so far this season - whilst conversely they are still conceding the softest of goals. As they did through the course of the pre-season. Elementary defensive errors are supposed to be the easiest to iron out as a season progresses. Four of the Impacts next five games are at home – including, as they see it, their real home opener at Saputo Stadium on April 26 against McInerneys old flame the Philadelphia Union. There can be no more excuses. Unless a fully 90-minute focused team shows up and even without the services of one of the most feared strike forces at their disposal you can be sure the Red Bulls will exploit a team low in confidence and likely at its most vulnerable since Davy Arnaud led them out in Vancouver back in March of 2012. An expected crowd of 25,000 plus will be hoping that team which started 2013 so magnificently rediscover that form. As does the Impacts new recruit who will take the Olympic Stadium action in from his suburban Philadelphia home. Dont be surprised after last Saturdays unprecedented show of emotion and walk down Expos memory way if the aroma of peanuts and crackerjack is still in the air. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Montreal Impact vs. New York Red Bulls live on TSN Radio 690 (TSN690.ca) Saturday 4pm et - Rick Moffat [@RickMoffat] and Grant Needham [@GrantNeedham] with your call. 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