Japan opened the scoring late in the first half, but the SAR’s Matteo Avitabile responded soon afterwards with a try, followed by a successful conversion that gave the home team a slim lead at the break.
The local side extended the advantage in the second half with tries from Rory Stewart-Cox and Avitable, bringing the raucous crowd at Kai Tak Stadium to their feet.
Japan’s Naoya Ogita scored one more try in the final minute of the match, but it was not enough.
Avitabile told RTHK after the match that the win was the result of team effort.
“It’s a special feeling, scoring in this stadium, but it was a huge team effort today,” he said.
“There were highs, there were lows in that game – two yellow cards unfortunately, one of them mine… we really [stuck it out].
“I’m really grateful for this team we have and this opportunity. I was excited, I was happy but I knew there was still a long way to go and we had to get the win so the focus was on the next opportunity.”
Co-captain James Christie said the team regrouped and revisited their game plan after a loss to Japan in a pool match the day before.
“We just reviewed it pretty well yesterday, we [didn’t give them too many opportunities]. Obviously we didn’t make it too easy for ourselves with two yellow cards, but I think our team is underpinned by hard work.”
He acknowledged that the Japanese squad was a formidable opponent, and was over the moon that his side managed to defend the Melrose Claymore title.
Meanwhile, co-captain Seb Brien said the SAR squad will work hard to maintain their momentum going into the Asian Games in September, where they hope to defend their title.
“There’s always pressure. The next tournament is obviously the biggest one we have every four years, which is the Asian Games. We thrive in the pressure, we really enjoy it and yeah, we want to keep being the top team in Asia.”
In the women’s Melrose Claymore final, Denmark beat Thailand 17-14.
The Hong Kong, China women’s team finished the tournament with a draw and a loss.
