Articles with rwc2019

FIJI’S FALTERING FEET

Uruguay shocked everybody with a performance full of heart to take their encounter with Fiji 30-27, but the islanders were the architects of their own downfall as their kicking badly let them down.

They outscored Los Teros by five tries to three (which would normally be enough to win a game), but their conversion and penalty kicking was woeful, leaving them facing up to the likelihood of an early exit from the competition.

Kicking a rugby ball is not easy. If you get the chance, try to placekick through the posts of your nearest rugby field. The technique needs to be perfect and on top of that you need an enormous amount of power in your legs.

Dropkicking is even harder, as the ball can bounce in all manners of directions off an uneven field. That’s why having a master of the art is so important to any side harbouring ambitions of progressing to the latter stages of an international tournament.

Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking technique was key to England’s 2003 World Cup victory and his methodical, controlled build-up routine revolutionised the art. Exceptional kicking has now become the rule rather than the exception, which is why Fiji were punished so harshly for their waywardness.

In Japan, what you do with your feet is also important. I once heard a story of a teacher who was dismissed from a kindergarten for using their feet to move heavy boxes around, which I learnt is a big faux pas. Doing so is considered both disrespectful and rude.

However, that faux pas is nowhere near as big as wearing shoes in the house, a custom which Japan shares with many other Asian countries. Japan goes even further by having special bathroom shoes, which you should change into when using the facilities.

I’m fully on board with the no shoes indoors concept and now it seems positively weird to me when I see Western shows in which people wear their shoes indoors. Leaving aside the debatable health benefits, it’s simply more comfortable.

So why not go barefoot for today’s matches? Italy vs Canada is the antipasto, which Italy should take comfortably, assuming they’re not too tired. The main dish is England vs USA and there’s always a lot riding on this historic rivalry, whatever the sport.

Will North America shock Europe today as the USA and Canada make their tournament bows? I wouldn’t bet on it.

Yesterday’s Match
Uruguay 30-27 Fiji (Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium, Kamaishi)

Today’s Matches
Italy vs Canada (1645 JST) (Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium (Fukuoka)
England vs USA (1945 JST) (Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe)

Expression of the day
靴を脱いで下さい (kutsu wo nuide kudasai)
Which means…
Please take your shoes off.

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REFEREES TAKE THE RAP

World Rugby have taken the unusual step of criticising their own officials as a whole for their performance in the opening week of the World Cup.

A number of dangerously high tackles marred the Samoa Russia game, which Samoa took 34-9, yet no red cards were issued.

This follows on from an Australian high tackle that went unpunished against Fiji and a poor offside decision that went against Argentina in their narrow loss to France.

Russia performed well in the match itself, before running out of steam due to the four-day turnaround from the Japan game (see yesterday).

Fiji will fall victim to the same scheduling failure today, as will England and Italy tomorrow. This is something the powers that be should have addressed before this tournament, but didn’t.

On a lighter note, I’ve learnt a new ‘Japanese’ word. When a caption appeared next to a prop saying “スローフォワード” in the Japanese katakana alphabet (one of the three used simultaneously in Japanese), I read it as ‘Slow Forward’.

I thought that was rather harsh. Props are generally not the quickest (I was one myself at school), but to point out their lack of pace rather than their strength seemed unnecessary. I also wondered if flankers would be “fast forwards”.

It actually turned out to mean ‘knock-on’, as the ‘sl’ and ‘th’ sound are rendered in the same way in katakana due to its phonic paucity. A ‘knock-on’ is therefore a ‘throw forward’.

Uruguay will be aided by Fiji’s quick turnaround in the first match to be played in the Tohoku (North East) region of Japan today, but I think the islanders will have enough to see them off.

CORRECTION: Thank you to Yuka, who pointed out that a “throw forward” is actually a forward pass and not a knock-on. A knock-on is just called a knock-on in Japanese.

Yesterday’s Match
Samoa 34-9 Russia (Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya)

Today’s Match
Fiji vs Uruguay (1415 JST) (Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium, Kamaishi)

Expression of the day
スローフォワード (suro fowado)
Which means…
Forward pass!

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FATIALOFA FOREVER

Today will hopefully be the last horribly humid day of the year. However, I did say that last week…and the week before that. The Japanese summer takes no prisoners; just stepping outside or sitting at home will leave you dripping in sweat. The temperature hasn’t dropped below 20 in months. But now it’s over…hopefully.

In the rugby yesterday, Wales delivered a sensational first half performance, running in four tries to put the match to bed early. Georgia managed to tie the second half thanks to a couple of tries of their own, but it proved to be little more than a consolation.

Today, Russia are back in action, just four days after they opened the World Cup against Japan. This kind of scheduling is disappointing, as you are only really supposed to play rugby once a week on medical grounds.

Aside from the health considerations, it’s also a big disadvantage to the team forced into this schedule and Japan were the most obvious victims of this at the last World Cup.

After their legendary victory over South Africa, they only had four days to recover before their other crunch game against Scotland, which unsurprisingly ended in a heavy defeat.

England will also be affected on Thursday and they have already announced that they will be making 10 changes to their starting 15.

Hopefully, more thought will go into the scheduling of the next tournament.

Russia would be unlikely to beat Samoa in any case, however. Samoa, or Western Samoa as they were called back in 1991, were a big reason I got into rugby during the first World Cup I watched.

One of the most enduring memories I have of the tournament is of their surprise victory over Wales that qualified them for the last eight.

Peter Fatialofa (Fats) was the captain of the team back then and, quite fantastically, specialised in moving pianos when he wasn’t on the pitch. With his enormous frame it wasn’t hard to see why.

On searching what he was up to today, I was saddened to discover that he had passed away at the age of 54 in 2013. Happily, he had been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the Queen prior to that in 1996.

This year, he was posthumously inducted into World Rugby’s Hall of Fame, a fitting tribute to the man.

RIP Papali’itele Peter Momoe Fatialofa.

Yesterday’s Matches
Wales 43-14 Georgia (Toyota Stadium, Toyota)

Today’s Match
Russia vs Samoa (1915 JST) (Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya)

Expression of the day
蒸し暑いですね (mushi atsui desu ne)
Which means…
It’s rather humid, wouldn’t you say?

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TYPHOON TAPAH

Typhoon Tapah (no 17 of the season) has bisected Japan and South Korea, passing along the Korea/Tsushima Strait and into the East Sea/Sea of Japan. There’s not space to get into the naming dispute here, but you should use the former names if you’re in South Korea and the latter when in Japan.

As is the norm, the cyclone has caused a great deal of transport disruption, although it seems not to have been a particularly damaging one as typhoons go. If you live in Japan, you can expect twenty or so a year, but only a handful will probably hit closely enough to affect you personally and it normally is just a matter of staying indoors.

That’s why I found comments made by Eddie Jones (England head coach) about how England were prepared to deal with the effects of the previous typhoon puzzling. He lived in Japan, so he should have known that the chances of them seriously affecting his team’s preparation were small to non-existent. It just seemed alarmist for the sake of it.

Having said that, the big ones can do a lot of damage: overturning vehicles, ripping off roofs, causing landslides and flooding that all can lead to the loss of life.

I’m into my fifth typhoon season here but it was not until the fourth, when Shizuoka took a couple of direct hits, that they were truly alarming on a personal level. It’s a rather unpleasant feeling when your apartment block is swaying like a ship and you’re watching your washing rock back and forth in the middle of your room…and your room is on the eighth floor.

Returning to rugby, there was a dearth of close contests yesterday. Italy got over an early scare before asserting themselves in a high scoring clash with Namibia. After that, Ireland and England comprehensively shut out Scotland and Tonga respectively. Both winners can feel they’ve put down a marker for the rest of the tournament. Italy might need to shore up their defence.

Today’s match is the first in Toyota as the land of my fathers, Wales, take on Georgia, a team I watched twice while I was living there. I’m expecting a very physical battle between two countries renowned for power and strength, although it’s hard to look beyond Wales for the win.

Yesterday’s Matches
Italy 47-22 Namibia (Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka)
Ireland 27-3 Scotland (International Stadium, Yokohama)
England 35-3 Tonga (Sapporo Dome, Sapporo)

Today’s Match
Wales vs Georgia (1915 JST) (Toyota Stadium, Toyota)

Expression of the day
風が強いですね (kaze ga tsuyoi desu ne)
Which means…
It’s fairly windy, isn’t it!

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HOPES HIGH IN HOKKAIDO

Every team to have featured in the competition so far has been trailing at some stage. Japan, Australia and New Zealand all managed to hold onto their advantage after fighting back from behind, but the Pumas let it slip.

In a gripping evening encounter which both sides attacked with vigour, the All Blacks and Springboks upped the quality and intensity of RWC 2019, but in the end New Zealand were able to keep South Africa at arm’s length to record a deserved victory.

Today, Italy will be expected to see off Namibia before Ireland and Scotland do battle in a crunch clash in Yokohama. The night game sees England open their campaign against Tonga in Sapporo.

England will be quietly confident about their tournament prospects, as only Wales have managed to defeat them this year (winning 2 out of 3 encounters). They also matched up well against the All Blacks in their friendly last year, going down by a single point.

Sapporo is the capital city of Hokkaido and renowned for its Snow Festival in winter when massive sculptures are carved out of ice. Skiing/snowboarding is also available with slopes located very close to the city centre.

In terms of food, Sapporo ramen and the quirkily named Genghis Khan enjoy the most fame, although as a vegetarian I won’t be partaking.

Beer is fine for me, though; the Sapporo brewery is located centrally and worth a visit. Get the three drink sample set to warm up for the game.

Sapporo Kuro (Black) Label is my go-to for non-craft beer in Japan. I actually prefer Sapporo Classic, but that is normally only available in Hokkaido.

If you’re looking for a day trip, Otaru is a short train ride and well worth a visit.

Enjoy the games today!

Yesterday’s Matches
Australia 39-21 Fiji (Sapporo Dome, Sapporo)
France 23-21 Argentina (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
New Zealand 23-13 South Africa (International Stadium, Yokohama)

Today’s Matches
Italy vs Namibia (1415 JST) (Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka)
Ireland vs Scotland (1645 JST) (International Stadium, Yokohama)
England vs Tonga (1915 BST) (Sapporo Dome, Sapporo)

Expression of the day
生を一つ・二つお願いします (nama wo hitotsu/futatsu onegaishimasu)
Which means…
One/Two draught beer(s), please!

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BLOSSOMS BLOOM

Despite some early jitters and confusion at their disallowed try, Japan ran out comfortable winners in the the opening match of the tournament, 30-10, picking up a bonus point for making it over the line on four occasions.

The fan zone in Shizuoka had a north and south section and I reckon about 1,000 people turned out; not bad considering it was the first night and the threat of rain was very much in the air.

Happily, entry was free and there was a covered area, although it wasn’t very large. That might need to be rethought if the weather goes south and they want people to attend in numbers. The fans were also pretty into it albeit fairly reserved, which will presumably change later on in the competition as the stakes rise.

‘Themed’ food was on the menu with the theme being World Cup participants. The UK was represented by fish and chips (in the vaguest possible sense), while there was also a pizza section (Italy) and a “samovar” area (Russia) that seemed to be serving liquor (not tea). As is common in Japan, vegetarian options were thin on the ground and vegan non-existent.

Although the Netherlands didn’t make it to the World Cup, the fan zone was restricted beer-wise to Heineken. With so many craft breweries operating in Shizuoka and Japan as a whole, this was a disappointment, but massive sponsors will be massive sponsors. I bit the bullet and got a 500ml beer for 800 yen (6 quid/8 dollars). As it was half foam, I asked for a top-up, which was granted with just the hint of a dirty look.

Bags were cursorily checked before entering the fan zone for drinks/prohibited items, but a fair number of people opted to stay on the benches just outside drinking their own supplies with a perfectly good view of the big screen. That may well be my plan of action tomorrow for England.

In today’s early match, Fiji were on top well into the second half, before Australia switched on the afterburners and ran in four late tries to take the match 39-21 (with bonus point).

I got back home from work just in time for the second half of the second match, the closest of the tournament so far. Argentina mounted a stirring comeback from 20-3 down to 21-20 up, only for a French drop goal to squeeze them back into the lead.

Argentina got their chance to snatch it at the death; the long distance penalty had the legs, but hooked round to the left and wide of the posts, leaving the final score 23-21.

France receive 4 points for the win and Argentina must settle for a consolation bonus point for finishing within seven.

I’m going to switch my full attention to the Springboks All Blacks encounter now. Over and out.

Yesterday’s Match
Japan 30-10 Russia (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)

Today’s Matches
Australia 39-21 Fiji (Sapporo Dome, Sapporo)
France 23-21 Argentina (Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo)
New Zealand vs South Africa (1845 JST) (International Stadium, Yokohama)

Expression of the day
泡がちょっと多すぎるんですが (awa ga chotto oosugirun desu ga)
Which means…
The head on my beer is a little excessive.

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RWC 2019 IS GO

The Rugby World Cup kicks off in Japan today with the hosts taking on Russia in Tokyo at 1945 local time. I will be posting daily on the action and throwing in a bit of culture and language for good measure to try and give you a clearer picture of modern Japan.

12 fan zones have been set up in the 12 host cities (Sapporo, Iwate, Saitama, Tokyo, Yokohama, Shizuoka, Toyota, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Oita) for fans to follow the action on big screens.

The Ecopa stadium, which will host four matches (Japan vs Ireland, South Africa vs Italy, Scotland vs Russia and Australia vs Georgia), is actually an hour’s train journey from the city of Shizuoka itself, but the connected fan zone is located in Shizuoka city proper.

That’s where I’ll be following the action this evening once I get off work. I’m tipping the Brave Blossoms to win fairly comfortably, hopefully on their way to a quarter-final berth. Who will you be supporting?

Today’s Match:
Japan vs Russia (1945 JST) Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo

Expression of the day:
日本へようこそ (nihon e youkoso)
Which means…
Welcome to Japan!

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