Rugby World Cup 2019

HAGIBIS HOVERS

Yesterday the Japanese expression of the day was that you can never tell what the future will bring and that has proved true with the imminent arrival of Typhoon Hagibis, which has thrown up a whole new set of conundrums.

The typhoon, which is expected to be the most powerful of this year’s season, is set to make landfall during the day on Saturday and will undoubtedly cause considerable damage to property, as well as massive disruption to public transport.

As a result, the New Zealand Italy match in Toyota and the England France match in Yokohama have both been cancelled. That means elimination for the Italians, a guaranteed first place for New Zealand and England and a second place finish for France. The Ireland Samoa game is being played far away in Kyushu and will remain unaffected.

There has been no announcement on the crucial Sunday encounter between Japan and Scotland as of yet, but I can assure you that the Japanese will do everything they possibly can to make sure it happens. They want to fight it out, not qualify through the back door. That is not the Japanese way.

If their efforts do prove in vain, however, and the match is cancelled, Japan would be guaranteed first place in the group due to their victory over Ireland, who would finish second with a win over Samoa. In this worst case scenario, the Scottish would be relying on the Samoans to upset the Irish to continue in the competition.

That would be a real pity, as they put in by far their most impressive performance of their World Cup so far in Shizuoka yesterday, brushing aside the Russians 61-0 with nine unanswered tries, including a George Horne hat-trick. That came after a comfortable farewell win for Argentina against the USA.

The late game very much summed up Fiji’s World Cup. There was a lot of early promise, with three early tries run in. There was also poor kicking, which meant they trailed Wales even when they were three tries to two up. Finally they ran out of steam, and Wales capitalised with a couple more tries to take an unnecessary but welcome bonus point.

For the Islanders it is very much a case of what could have been, but for the Welsh, it’s a quarter-final against France.

Please do not plan to travel anywhere in or near the area that will be affected by the typhoon on Saturday. Just stay inside. Most casualties happen when people are hit by flying debris, fall into the sea or have their vehicles overturned. Remaining indoors will allow you to avoid all such scenarios.

Typhoons are also highly unpredictable. Check the latest movements in the forecasted path here so it doesn’t take you be surprise.

Yesterday’s Matches
Argentina 47-17 USA (Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya)
Scotland 61-0 Russia (Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka)
Wales 29-17 Fiji (Oita Stadium, Oita)

Tomorrow’s Match
Australia vs Georgia (1915 JST) (Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka)

Expression of the day
家にいた方がいいでしょう (ie ni ita houga ii deshou)
Which means…
(You’d best stay at home.)

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QUARTER QUALIFICATION

With just five days remaining before the group stage ends, it’s worth looking ahead to what the probable quarter final match-ups will be.

Pool A is definitely the most interesting of the groups. Assuming Ireland defeat Samoa, they are guaranteed qualification. Whether that be in first or second place depends on if Scotland beat Japan in their final match.

In order to advance themselves, Scotland need to pull off a minor miracle by first securing a bonus point win against Russia, then four days later defeat Japan either by more than seven points or whilst scoring four tries or more. If the bonus point is not secured against Russia, they would have to do both of the above.

Japan will top the group with a win, but finish second with a narrow defeat to Scotland. With a partisan crowd and tired Scottish legs, I predict a Japan win, meaning the group will finish with Japan in first and Ireland second.

Pool B is far more straightforward. Considering the minimal resistance put up by Italy against South Africa, it is hard to see them getting anything from their game against the All Blacks. That would leave New Zealand first and South Africa second.

In Pool C, England and France are already both guaranteed a place in the last eight, and the winner of their game on the weekend will determine who is first and who second. England have barely broken sweat so far, whereas France have been pushed close twice by Tonga and Argentina. An England win looks probable.

In Pool D, Fiji have a chance to throw a spanner in the Wales’ works today, but if they fail to do so Wales are looking likely pool winners. Even if Fiji do pull off a shock, they would be unlikely to qualify due to their loss against Uruguay. Wales would have to lose to Uruguay and/or Australia would have to lose to Georgia to let them back into the picture. Therefore, I’m going with Wales first and Australia second.

If those are the results, the quarter finals would be:

Saturday
England vs Australia
New Zealand vs Ireland

Sunday
Wales vs France
Japan vs South Africa

Tasty.

Yesterday’s Match
South Africa 66-7 Canada (Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe)

Today’s Matches
Argentina vs USA (1345 JST) (Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya)
Scotland vs Russia (1615 JST) (Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka)
Wales vs Fiji (1845 JST) (Oita Stadium, Oita)

Expression of the day
先の事など誰にも予想できない ? (saki no koto nado dare ni mo yosou dekinai)
Which means…
(You can never tell what will happen.)

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HEAVENLY HIMEJI

After a rest day at the World Cup yesterday, the action returned on Tuesday in Kobe for an encounter that was both a mismatch and a dead rubber. As expected, the Springboks crushed the Canadians with the minimum of fuss, running in ten tries to take the game 66-7. However, the Canadians did do well to restrict the South Africans to three tries in the second half and to score one themselves with a man disadvantage.

We had a look at Kobe itself last week, but Himeji, home of Japan’s largest and most famous castle, is just a little ways down the train track. I visited the city myself in my first summer in Japan, and I think it’s fair to say I was a little taken with it reading back the blog I wrote then. I wonder how I’d feel now after seeing so many other castles.

The Japanese themselves have nicknamed the castle either ‘White Egret Castle’ or ‘White Heron Castle’ due to the brilliant white that the castle regained after renovation in 2015. But it seems there’s no pleasing some, as it is now perhaps most famously known as ‘Too White Castle’.

A quick word to the wise on my experience of Japanese castles in general. With few exceptions, the exterior is far more impressive than the interior. If you want to just walk around the grounds, it is most often free, as they normally serve a double function as a park for local residents.

The Japanese love numbering and ranking their attractions. Himeji is one of Japan’s “three great castles”, alongside Kumamoto (mentioned yesterday) and Matsumoto. There are also “three great gardens”, which are located in Kanazawa, Okayama and Mito. I’ve been to all three of the castles and one of the gardens. They were all worth it.

Tomorrow is a day of reckoning for Scotland. They need to beat Russia, and they need to secure a bonus point. Even if they do manage that, it’s going to be a tall order facing the tournament hosts just four days later. Wales will also have the chance to all but secure first place in their pool against Fiji in the late game.

Today’s Match
South Africa 66-7 Canada (Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe)

Tomorrow’s Matches
Argentina vs USA (1345 JST) (Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya)
Scotland vs Russia (1615 JST) (Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka)
Wales vs Fiji (1845 JST) (Oita Stadium, Oita)

Expression of the day
白すぎ城へ行ったことがありますか ? (shiro sugi jou e itta koto ga arimasu ka)
Which means…
(Have you been to “Too White Castle”?)

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KUMAMON’S KUMAMOTO

Namibia held their own for much longer than anybody expected against the All Blacks yesterday, trailing by just a point with five minutes left in the first half and with a temporary one man advantage after a sin binning.

But even down to 14 men, New Zealand are a force to be reckoned with, and six tries in the subsequent twenty minutes blew the Africans away as normal service was resumed.

The late game was a thriller, as France proved themselves experts at winning 23-21, exactly the same score that saw them triumph over Argentina in their first match.

The Tongans left their comeback just a little too late, meaning the French join England in the last eight with nothing but bragging rights on the line in the final group game between the old rivals.

The venue of the encounter was Kumamoto, which is the home of the rather wonderful Kumamon, who was voted best city mascot in a recent nationwide survey, despite being created fewer than ten years ago.

The rosy-cheeked black bear is ubiquitous in the city and his popularity has spread far beyond Japan’s borders, helped by a feature in a BTS video.

Kumamoto is also well-known for its enormous castle, which dominates the city. Unfortunately, it was badly damaged in the 2016 earthquake, but it has now partially re-opened to visitors.

Kumamon has played a large part in collections for the relief effort, which have been held for the region across Japan. With natural disasters occurring so often, this follows a well-established pattern of the rest of the country helping out the region impacted.

I found it a very welcoming city when I visited in late 2015, and I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you’re in the area.

Yesterday’s Matches
New Zealand 71-9 Namibia (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
France 23-21 Tonga (Kumamoto Stadium, Kumamoto)

Tomorrow’s Match
South Africa vs Canada (1915 JST) (Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe)

Expression of the day
くまモンは可愛いですね ! (kumamon wa kawaii desu ne)
Which means…
(Kumamon’s so cute!)

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TOYOTA TRIUMPH

Last night, Japan ran away with the match in the last ten minutes to take a bonus point win over Samoa. That made it three wins from three for the Brave Blossoms, although qualification for the knockout stages is not yet in the bag.

Unless Ireland or Scotland slip up in their next games, which seems unlikely, it will all be on the Japan vs Scotland game next Sunday, the last of the group stages, to determine who qualifies.

The match took place in Toyota, the home of the car of the same name. My mother always opted for this make when I was a child, so I’ve travelled many a mile in Corollas, her model of choice.

If you’re a fan of Toyota yourself, its headquarters are located here and factory tours of three different manufacturing plants are available in English and Japanese.

The closest major city to Toyota is the metropolis of Nagoya, positioned halfway between Tokyo and Osaka. It has a very big city feel, which I am personally not so into, but the castle is beautiful, especially in cherry blossom season.

It’s also conveniently located if you want to make trips into Mie, Gifu, Shiga, Nagano or Shizuoka. Kyoto is not too far away either.

The other two matches yesterday saw an expected win for Australia over Uruguay and a victory for England against an Argentina side that had to play nearly the whole match with fourteen men following an early red card.

That effectively ended the match as a contest before it had even begun and England are now guaranteed a quarter final spot. The South American neighbours did both manage a try towards the end of their encounters, but it was little more than consolation.

Today, the All Blacks are in action against Namibia, which could well lead to a cricket score. Following that, France will take on Tonga. A win for the French would see them qualify for the quarters and definitively knock Argentina out.

Today’s picture is from the Magome Tsumago hike in Gifu prefecture, which is a short train journey from Nagoya.

Yesterday’s Matches
Australia 45-10 Uruguay (Oita Stadium, Oita)
England 39-10 Argentina (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
Japan 38-19 Samoa (1930 JST) (Toyota Stadium, Toyota)

Today’s Matches
New Zealand vs Namibia (1345 JST) (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
France vs Tonga (1645 JST) (Kumamoto Stadium, Kumamoto)

Expression of the day
運転免許を取りましたけど、ペーパードライバーです。(unten menkyo wo torimashita kedo, pe-pa- doraiba desu)
Which means…
I’ve passed my test, but I’m a “paper driver” (somebody who never actually drives)!

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WORKING WEEKENDS

This is going to be a fairly brief blog today, as time does not really permit anything else. The reason why? I’ll be working all the way up until the rugby games start. Working on weekends is a fact of life for pretty much everybody employed at an “eikaiwa” (language school), and I’m one of the lucky ones. I have Sundays off.

As visitors to Japan will have realised, not all Japanese can speak English. Even if they can speak English, they may lack the confidence to actually use it. Part of the reason is down to shyness, but it should also be taken into account that Japanese as a language is a bit like English back to front. For the Japanese, English is Japanese back to front.

Not only does the alien sentence structure of the two languages mean that it’s really hard to get going at the beginning, there is also the added issue of katakana, which throws up a lot of words that sound like English to Japanese, but are often intelligible to foreigners. Can you imagine the frustration if you think you are saying a correct English word, but the native speaker can’t understand it?

In truth, you can probably guess the easy ones like ‘baby car’ or ‘game centre’. However, it’s highly unlikely you would have any idea what “konsento”, “hochikisu”, “virgin road”, “NG” or “CM” mean. They mean advertisement, church aisle, not OK, socket and stapler, but not in that order. I’ll let you try and work out which is which.

So if you’re watching the game with Japanese people of limited English ability today, remember to speak clearly and grade your language. Oh, and please don’t say their English is much better than your Japanese. Of course it is. It’s the very definition of a backhanded compliment.

Today’s Matches
Australia vs Uruguay (1415 JST) (Oita Stadium, Oita)
England vs Argentina (1700 JST) (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
Japan vs Samoa (1930 JST) (Toyota Stadium, Toyota)

Tomorrow’s Matches
New Zealand vs Namibia (1345 JST) (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
France vs Tonga (1645 JST) (Kumamoto Stadium, Kumamoto)

Expression of the day
英語が上手ですね ! (eigo ga jouzu desu ne)
Which means…
Your English is really good!

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SPEAR SHAME IN SHIZUOKA

Yesterday I was talking about how Fiji were lucky to escape a red card. Today, there was absolutely no escaping that fate for Italy. In fact, there should really have been two red cards issued for the same foul, as two Italians were both culpable in the assault.

Andrea Lovotti and Nicola Quaglio picked up Duane Vermeulen, turned him upside down and dropped him headfirst into the ground in a horrific spear tackle that will hopefully see both serving lengthy bans. It was more like WWE than rugby, but this was for real.

The Springboks were already comfortably ahead at the time of the “tackle”, which effectively ended the game as a contest, and cantered off to an easy 49-3 win after the dust had settled on it. They will now be watching Japan’s group closely to see who their quarter final opponent will be.

This was the second match in Shizuoka, the place I’ve called home for the past five years. The prefecture is the leading producer in Japan of both green tea and wasabi, so a multitude of wasabi and green tea flavoured products are on offer everywhere. The wasabi ice-cream in particular is well worth a try.

Historically, Shizuoka is synonymous with Tokugawa Ieyasu, who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate that brought to an end the warring of the Sengoku Jidai. Watch a great explanatory video series about that period in history here.

To put it briefly, Ieyasu was held hostage in Sumpu castle as a child. After many wars and much intrigue, he became shogun of a united Japan. Upon retirement, he chose to spend his final years in the same castle he was previously held hostage, handing over the reins to his heir Hidetada.

Numerous statues can be found of Ieyasu around town, including one just outside the train station and one in the centre of the castle park. The park, outer walls, moat and a couple of towers is all that remains of Sumpu castle, however, as it was dismantled during the Meiji Restoration by political opponents.

The fan zone in the castle park is far from being dismantled yet, however. I’ll be heading there for the third time tomorrow to catch the beginning in earnest of England’s World Cup against Argentina and the hopefully ongoing fairy tale of the Brave Blossoms.

Today’s Match
South Africa 49-3 Italy (Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka)

Tomorrow’s Matches
Australia vs Uruguay (1415 JST) (Oita Stadium, Oita)
England vs Argentina (1700 JST) (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
Japan vs Samoa (1930 JST) (Toyota Stadium, Toyota)

Expression of the day
このアイスがバカうまいです! (kono aisu ga baka umai desu)
Which means…
This ice-cream is really tasty! (in the Shizuoka dialect)

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LELO LELO SAQARTVELO

I don’t know what the referees are thinking as regards high tackles at this World Cup. Getting clotheslined when running at pace by a solid tree trunk of an arm is incredibly dangerous and could easily cause a very serious head injury.

Yet players are still getting away with it nearly scot-free. The only player to suffer a meaningful penalty so far because of a high tackle was the Australian Reece Hodge for his reckless foul on the team that dished one out today, Fiji.

If Fiji had been down to 14 men, that might have compensated for the fact that Georgia had the nightmare four-day turnaround to contend with, which was a large part of why Fiji lost to Uruguay. In the end, though, the cards stayed in the referee’s pocket.

With both high tackles and lack of rest days, it’s been a case of swings and roundabouts for the Islanders. However, their spectacular late show of running, which yielded four tries, does deserve much credit, regardless of the earlier misdemeanour and tired Georgian legs.

I had actually seen this match-up before, in the country where I, strangely enough, have seen more international rugby than anywhere else, Georgia. It only cost a few lari to get into the stadium and nobody was checking tickets, so I got to see both Japan vs Georgia and Fiji vs Georgia in 2012 for peanuts.

The Lelos (“lelo” is a Georgian form of rugby with a long history) beat Japan back then, but lost to the Fijians. I can’t help but think it may have had something to do with the rather ill-advised decision by the crowd to start booing the “Cibi” (the Fijian haka) before kick-off. The visitors were, understandably, pretty riled up after that and flew into their tackles with that extra bit of vigour, shooting into an insurmountable early lead.

Georgia is the home of wine as well as the best comfort food I have ever come across, “adjaruli chaczapuri”. After eating the melted cheese, butter and egg swimming in deliciously baked bread, your heart will be singing but you’ll barely be able to move. Whenever I had one during my time there, it had to be my only meal of the day.

Osaka, where today’s game took place, is also no slouch when it comes to comfort food, being the home of both takoyaki (octopus balls) and okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake). If you’re looking for some hearty fare before the rugby and/or a night out, you cannot go far wrong with either option.

In the other game of the day, Ireland got over their Japan hangover to take a comfortable bonus point win over Russia. The Russians did not give in easily, though, making an incredible 182 tackles over the 80 minute encounter.

The action returns to Shizuoka tomorrow, where Italy will take on South Africa. The winner of the game is pretty much guaranteed a quarter-final berth at the expense of the loser, so there’s a lot riding on it.

That quarter-final place may well be in a match against the hosts, which means a repeat of the Brighton game four years ago is a distinct possibility. Japan vs South Africa 2? Yes please.

(Today’s image is of Georgia vs Scotland in Dinamo Tbilisi’s Boris Paichadze Stadium. Thank you to Irakli Giorgadze for his kind permission to use the photo).

Today’s Matches
Fiji 45-10 Georgia (Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka)
Ireland 35-0 Russia (Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe)

Tomorrow’s Match
South Africa vs Italy (1845 JST) (Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka)

Expression of the day
大阪弁が話せますか? (oosaka ben ga hanasemasu ka)
Which means…
Can you speak the Osaka dialect?

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BLACK BALLET

The USA kept the French honest for much of their match today, trailing by only three points with 15 minutes left to play, but three late tries put a gloss on a score line that didn’t really reflect how close the encounter was.

In the late game, the All Blacks returned to the fray with a nine-try 63-0 demolition of Canada, with Richie Mo’unga registering a perfect record on conversions. They look likely to sail into the quarter finals barely breaking a sweat.

The New Zealand team are best known for their world famous Haka, but it should not be forgotten that all Pacific Island nations also have their own versions. In fact, some Maori claim that New Zealand doing the Haka is tantamount to cultural appropriation.

It’s not just traditions that are being appropriated though, as all Tier 1 rugby nations, most notably New Zealand, do their best to lure promising Pacific Islanders to play for their national sides. This has led to a huge drain in talent from the islands of Tonga, Fiji and Samoa, who provide around 20% of all rugby players in the world.

World Rugby has come in for a lot of criticism over this issue and the lack of resources and support to the countries that contribute so much to the game should be a source of embarrassment. At the very least, nationality regulations need to be tightened to prevent the best young talent being coaxed overseas for money.

If a sudden desire to perform the haka outside grabs you in Japan, you can now do so within the confines of the law, as Japan lifted its ban on dancing in public spaces in 2015. Prior to that, the only places you could dance were commercial spaces that had to pay for a dancing licence.

Even in these licensed places, however, you could only dance until midnight as your fairy godmother’s spell would wear off and your carriage would turn into a pumpkin. Well, that’s the only sensible explanation I can think of anyway.

Georgia are back in action tomorrow for a must-win showdown with Fiji, and they know a thing or two about dancing as well. I’ve yet to see anything more impressive than the leaping, bounding and spinning that natives of Saqartvelo can produce. I’d love to see the All Blacks facing off against these guys, also dressed in black.

Today’s Matches
France 33-9 USA (Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium, Fukuoka)
New Zealand 63-0 Canada (Oita Stadium, Oita)

Tomorrow’s Matches
Georgia vs Fiji (1415 JST) (Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka)
Ireland vs Russia (1915 JST) (Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe)

Expression of the day
踊るのが好きですか？ (odoru no ga suki desu ka)
Which means…
Do you like dancing?

Previous Day Next Day

Mark – Developing rugby in Poland

Today we take a look at the world of rugby and how it is continuing to grow outside its traditional heartlands. Our guest is the evergreen Mark Bryan, who I once had the pleasure of playing footie and making music with during my time in Poland.

Back in the day he played scrum-half, but now he’s in more of an ambassadorial role. That doesn’t mean he’s taking things easy. He still attends a training session with the rugby team, shores up the defence of my old football team and gives his drums a pounding once a week.

TM: How did you get into rugby in the first place?

MB: I started playing rugby at 12 years old. My school only offered rugby, cricket and tennis. I played all of them but mainly rugby.

TM: What are you doing rugby related now?

MB: I work with Krakow’s pro Ekstraliga team, Juvenia Krakow RFC, in the role of Ambassador for International Relations. I also organise the Krakow Rugby Festival. 2020 will mark the fifth Men’s 10s and the third Women’s 7s competition.

TM: That’s great. Any links with your hometown, Plymouth?

MB: This year Plymouth Albion RFC (National League 1) sent a delegation to open up relations with Juvenia. Two young Juvenia players went to Albion for training and even got a game! There will be more exchanges in the future.

TM: How do you see the future of rugby in Poland?

MB: Polish rugby has a bright future, especially in Krakow. The Ekstraliga has 9 teams and we get attendances of up to 500 people for our home matches. Polsat TV are now broadcasting Ekstraliga matches live and Juvenia’s grassroots program is well developed, with over a 100 youngsters participating.

TM: Who are you supporting at the RWC?

MB: Naturally I’m supporting England, who will do well to get past the group stage. The rest is, as we say, on the day!

TM: Do you have a second team?

MB: Of course. My second team is Japan because of that memorable try to beat South Africa in 2015

TM: What are their prospects for the tournament in your opinion?

MB: Japan has a sporting chance of qualifying. This group will be decided on who makes the fewest mistakes. Scotland look beatable and Ireland formidable. The game with Samoa will be interesting.
(This interview was conducted before the Ireland vs Japan game, which Japan won 19-12. They were eventually eliminated by South Africa in the quarter-finals).

TM: Cheers, Mark.

MB: Cheers!

FIND OUT MORE
Polish Ekstraliga
Juvenia Krakow
Krakow Rugby Festival
Plymouth Albion RFC

Where next?
Byeongnan’s battle to become a national artist in South Korea.
Steve’s mission to support local bands in Poznan and Teesside.