In the absence of this year’s chief try scorer Israel Folau, who is sitting out the tour, blockbusting centres Tevita Kuridrani and Samu Kerevi stepped into the breach and scored five tries between them. Kuridrani helped himself to a hat-trick.
Reece Hodge ensured that first-choice outside half Bernard Foley wasn’t missed, either, as he converted all nine tries in his role as an emergency No 10. If Foley isn’t fit to face Wales then head coach Michael Cheika will have no hesitation in asking Hodge to step in again.
The Aussies were 35-3 ahead at the break and were never troubled, although skipper Michael Hooper wasn’t happy with the fact his side didn’t add to their score in the final 15 minutes. The Japanese ended with a flourish, scoring two tries of their own in that period.
“We were really happy with about 60 minutes of our game but we conceded those points late on and we’ve got to be better than that. It was a great experience playing here and well played to Japan,” said Hooper.
“It was a really hard, fast game and it was hot out there early on. The fans were loud and you can feel how big it’s going to be here in two years time for the World Cup.”
The win extended the Wallabies unbeaten run to five games and will have given them a notable boost ahead of the European leg of their Spring Tour.
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