The post is a little late today as yesterday night turned into a very late one.

I don’t think Shizuoka was really ready for the Irish invasion that hit it as the visiting supporters put the result behind them and focused on enjoying themselves.

The only Irish pub in the city, Shamrock, was overrun. The manager was on his own and could barely pour the Guinness quickly enough, although I imagine the takings will more than compensate for a very busy night’s work.

The crowd was quite interesting. Apart from the many Irish, there was also a New Zealander teaching everybody the haka and a bunch of Japanese fans, one of whom was attending 23 matches this World Cup. An impressive effort, but it must be costing him a penny or two.

He’d also seen the shocking Gavin Hastings penalty miss for Scotland against England in 1991 live, which is one of my first rugby memories.

Unfortunately he worked for Softbank, the worst company I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. If you’re thinking of signing a contract with them, don’t.

The Japanese fans said they were supporting England as their second team and that they thought they would win the whole thing.

As for the Brave Blossoms, they said they’d be content with a quarter final spot.

The Irish fans praised the Japanese team’s showing, but were very disappointed with their own performance.

Aside from that, they also wanted to know if I realised what a nightmare a no-deal Brexit would mean for Ireland. I said I did.

Once I’d confirmed I was not a fan of Maggie Thatcher, I was told I must visit Westport one day. Maybe I will.

In any case, the night was excellent craic…all the way up until the police put an end to it because of noise levels.

Enough about partying. What about today’s rugby?

There was a strong performance from Georgia, who rebounded from their opening match defeat to brush Uruguay aside and a breathless, pulsating encounter between the Wallabies and Wales with the boys in red holding on for a famous victory.

Tomorrow, Samoa and Scotland will face off in a match that both sides will be desperate to win after the heroics of Japan yesterday.

Today’s Matches
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay (Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya)
Wales 29-25 Australia (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)

Tomorrow’s Match
Scotland vs Samoa (1645 JST) (Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe)

Expression of the day
楽しかったです (tanoshikatta desu)
Which means…
It was good craic.

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