Fine Margins for Invicta Seniors in Japan Medal Matches

Dan Dyer won bronze by a single try with the England men’s 45s in the Asia Pacific Seniors Touch Cup on Saturday but three other Invicta representatives were on the wrong side of similarly close scorelines in their third-place deciders.

Nine of the ten finals in Utsunomiya were contested by the traditional international touch powers Australia and New Zealand, with the exception being the one division in which New Zealand did not enter a team. The rest of the nations were left to battle for bronze medals. England’s six teams claimed four of the bronzes on offer, matching the total won by hosts Japan.

Invicta’s Eddie French was in Japan as assistant coach for the England men’s 50s. After a last-second intercept had seen them lose 9-8 to Japan in the pool stage on day 1, wins over Malaysia and Singapore earned them a rematch with the home team in the bronze final on day 4. However, the outcome was the same as England again lost by a single score (7-6), to finish fourth.

Eddie was also providing coaching support for the men’s 45s. Few England men’s teams have looked more competitive against the Antipodean giants than the 45s did at the Tochigi Sports Park. England, with Invicta’s Dan Dyer on the wing, led or were level with New Zealand for significant portions of their two pool games before eventually losing 6-3 and 8-4. The first game against Australia was similarly close with just one score in it at half-time before the Aussies converted their lead into a 6-2 win.

With Australia and New Zealand looking nailed on for the final from early on, third place always looked likely to be a battle between England and Japan. So it proved as the two nations played out an epic trilogy over four days. In the very first match of the tournament England overcame a slow start to prevail 8-7. The hosts had their revenge in a similarly close match the following day, winning 6-5. The bronze medal match was equally tight, but England led early and held on to take the win 6-5.

In the men’s 55s Martin Reynard and Adrian Riggs were unable to add another medal to the gold they won at the Euros in July. As in other divisions, England and Japan were well matched, with a 4-3 win to the hosts and a 2-2 draw setting up a play-off for the bronze medal. The two sides could not be separated in normal time but it was Japan who eventually took the 3-2 win after a drop-off.