MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Jake Thiel and Anton Ngongo each scored second-half tries as Canada's men's side fell to Japan 50-12 on Saturday in the second round of the World Rugby under-20 trophy tournament.
Japan's Chang-Ho Ahn scored in the second minute of the match, setting the table for what would be a challenging afternoon for the Canadians.
Japan, who is intent on promotion to the U20 World Rugby Championship after being relegated last year, looked the part of an upper-class group, scoring eight tries en route to convincing win.
Faulua Makisi and Ahn led Japan with two tries each, while Timoki Kishioka knocked through four conversions.
After trailing 28-0 at the break, Canada's second half saw a marked improvement, as they were outscored just 22-12, but it was always going to be an uphill battle after giving up three tries in a 10-minute span in the first half.
The loss drops Canada to 0-2 in the tournament, having also suffered defeat at the hands of Namibia. With both Japan and Namibia winning their first two matches, Canada can no longer finish in the top two in pool play. The Canadians will now prepare to play Chile on Wednesday in their final match of pool play, with third place in the group on the line.
A win over Chile would put Canada into the fifth-place match.
The championship match will be played Sept. 10, along with the third, fifth and seventh place matches. Pool B features hosts Uruguay as well as Fiji, Portugal and Hong Kong.
Canada has reached the World Rugby U20 Trophy final twice in the last four years. In the 2015 final, they were beaten 49-24 by Georgia and, in 2013, they lost 45-23 against Italy. The team has yet to qualify for the Championship since it was reduced to a 12-team format in 2009.
Canada qualified for the U20 Trophy after beating the United States in a two-game qualifying series in Edmonton. Canada cruised to a 46-12 victory in Game 1 and, despite a 27-25 defeat in Game 2, Canada qualified by virtue of a 71-39 aggregate win.
Canada failed to qualify for the World Rugby U20 Trophy in 2016.
The Canadian Press
