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Rugby: Building up to Japan


ljkeane

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That was a great victory for Japan and very well deserved from the way they played. Ireland seemed to struggle to know what to do about their opponents.

7 hours ago, polishgenius said:

When I turned that on I'll be honest I didn't expect to end up seeing Ireland undergo the indignity of lashing the ball into the sidelines after the clock went red in order to preserve a losing bonus point.

It could be a very important bonus point if Japan end up losing to Scotland, I think Japan should probably be considered favourites for that match now but it's definitely one that can go either way. Ireland taking bonus points from the first two games does give them the advantage if the three teams end up with the same number of victories.

It would be particularly cruel if Japan won three pool games and lost out on the quarter finals due to bonus points for the second World Cup in a row. Of course, to get into that scenario all three teams need to beat Samoa as well, I think that's likely but the Samoans can't be taken lightly.

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Ireland were awful. So many sloppy penalties given away and they looked dead on their feet for the whole second half.  They'll still progress but need a favour from Scotland to avoid the Kiwis

 

Impossible to pick between Australia and Wales. Bookies have Wales as slight favourites but I'll always lean towards the southern hemisphere team when it's so close.

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5 hours ago, dooog said:

Impossible to pick between Australia and Wales. Bookies have Wales as slight favourites but I'll always lean towards the southern hemisphere team when it's so close.

Yeah, hard to pick. Australia have a good tournament history and it should be a good match.

Missed the Ireland vs Japan game but sounds like it was a classic. Japan really are becoming quite a respectable rugby side.

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Wales vs Australia quite entertaining so far. Both sides very happy to run the ball and build up phases. Wales with the better of the match so far but the gap is only 2 points so it could still go anywhere.

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2 hours ago, The Marquis de Leech said:

Not quite as earth-shattering as Japan beating South Africa four years ago (to my mind, that was one of the greatest upsets in sport, never mind rugby union), but a massive surprise nonetheless. 

It's tough to pick.

4 years ago, South Africa weren't particularly close to topping the rankings, and were no-one's bet to win the RWC. Japan had taken scalps within the previous 4 years.

This year, Ireland arrived at the Tourney as #1 team, and plenty of people were backing them to lift Big Bill. Japan haven't really taken any scalps since SA; but they ARE playing at home, and I think with a higher starting ranking than 2015...

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Huge amount of pressure exerted by the Wallabies in the last 10 minutes - they had to score a try there. If Wales had gotten out of jail, Aussies would have been deflated.

Back on with Wales ahead 26-22.

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tight. tight game. Australia piled on all the pressure in that second half but the Welsh held on. Well done Wales! I don't mind them winning though I was by default cheering for Aussie since I've been living & working in Sydney for the last few months.

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Well that match was close and lived up to the billing.

Some legitimate gripes about the refereeing - notwithstanding the decisions just before halftime, that "forward"pass by Beale looked pretty good.  I think Australia had a few things go against them in those line-ball calls.

Australia will probably now have to play England in the quarterfinal so this match has some pretty big consequences.

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Japan has one upset in them each world cup it seems. The pessimist in me thinks they will lose to Scotland. But damn Japan needs to make it into the quarters. So I am really rooting for Japan to win it, and I think they definitely have it in them to do so.

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1 hour ago, Which Tyler said:

It's tough to pick.

4 years ago, South Africa weren't particularly close to topping the rankings, and were no-one's bet to win the RWC. Japan had taken scalps within the previous 4 years.

This year, Ireland arrived at the Tourney as #1 team, and plenty of people were backing them to lift Big Bill. Japan haven't really taken any scalps since SA; but they ARE playing at home, and I think with a higher starting ranking than 2015...

Fair point. I was thinking more in terms of history - as a New Zealander, South Africa are the ancestral rival, and I still associate Japan with the 145-17 match in 1995 (which I did watch at the time. Going to the toilet meant missing three tries). I objectively know that South Africa, Ireland, and Japan are different beasts from the past... but force of habit is hard to break.

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Good game between Wales and Australia. Ferocious start from Wales and they deservedly built a solid lead. They're not a side who tend to lose from those sort of positions anymore but Australia did well to fight their way back into the game, ultimately they've lost to that pretty soft intercept try at the end of the first half.

I do think you have to ask questions of Cheika's management though, a lot of the selections just look wrong to me. Foley hasn't been  playing well for some time and the introduction of Toomua was clearly a significant improvement. I don't really see the point of the Hooper Pocock combination in the back row if you're not going to be dominating the breakdown. I get that they're two of Australia's best players but they're both opensides, Cheika has to make a tough call and just pick one. It was less obvious pre-match starting Genia over White also looks like the wrong call in retrospect.  

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3 hours ago, Which Tyler said:

It's tough to pick.

4 years ago, South Africa weren't particularly close to topping the rankings, and were no-one's bet to win the RWC. Japan had taken scalps within the previous 4 years.

This year, Ireland arrived at the Tourney as #1 team, and plenty of people were backing them to lift Big Bill. Japan haven't really taken any scalps since SA; but they ARE playing at home, and I think with a higher starting ranking than 2015...


Also if I recall correctly that one was a bit more of a smash-and-grab, no? Whereas here Japan simply outplayed Ireland for a good 60 minutes of the 80.

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3 minutes ago, polishgenius said:


Also if I recall correctly that one was a bit more of a smash-and-grab, no? Whereas here Japan simply outplayed Ireland for a good 60 minutes of the 80.

Also fair. SA too confident and turning down points all match, and Japan just about hanging on in there, everyone expecting them to tire in the last 20, but clinging on and stealing it with a try at the death.

Ireland were just outplayed all match and had no answer to Japan's speed and accuracy.

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Very scrappy game between Scotland and Samoa today. Both sides looked to be really struggling with their ball handling in the humid conditions. Scotland managed the game well though and kept the game played mostly in Samoa territory. Ultimately they've done the important thing and got the win and the bonus point which keeps them in the mix to progress.

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