The View from Japan: Friday 27 September

Friday, 27 September is disappointingly the first day in a week without any rugby action. While the fans’ appetites may be insatiable, they may need to consider the immense strain these athletes put themselves through. The break affords us the opportunity to take a breather to appreciate the gift that is the Rugby World Cup.

Yesterday, Italy continued their bright start when they brushed aside a valiant Canadian effort, cruising to a 48–7 win. Canada put in the hard yards, but are sorely lacking the quality skill-set they need. A glaring example of this was replacement Matt Heaton fumbling a routine pass unchallenged, less than a metre from the try line.

Italy now has its easier fixtures out of the way and will be gearing up for the big challenges against the Springboks and the All Blacks. No points from those two games and the comfortable wins will mean nothing.

England kept the momentum from their first game going when they trounced the United States 45–7. The Roses almost earned a clean sheet but the determined Americans finally got on the score sheet in the 81st minute of play. England too have played their two easier fixtures. Next they will face a desperate Los Pumas, who will have their tournament lives on the line. Should they get through Argentina with a win, then the first objective of qualifying from the pool phase will be complete.

The weekend gives us five match-ups to salivate over. First on Saturday’s menu is a starter of Argentine spice and Tongan beef. Argentina will still be seething from that last minute heartbreak against the French. If that loss has made them more focused, they should do away with Tonga with ease. Tonga are not a team to be bullied though, and they will count bone-crunching tackles as if they were points on the scoreboard. Tonga will hope Argentina’s loss will have hurt them psychologically and if that is the case, Los Pumas could join Fiji in the departures lounge.

The main course will be the hosts, Japan, against the favourites, Ireland. Not a fixture Japan would have earmarked for success, but they will certainly test themselves against one of the best. Anything they can learn will help their ultimate goal of progressing from the pool. A losing bonus point would be just that – a bonus. Ireland will see this as the second step of seven. Seven wins guarantees them the crown and that is all they will be thinking of.

Dessert is the Springboks against our Namibian neighbours. Admittedly Namibia is a team that has struggled against South Africa’s provincial teams, so this could possibly be the highest scoring game in the tournament, albeit with a considerable number of those points going to one side. Springbok fans will be expecting a try-fest and if they don’t deliver, the meat on the braai wont sizzle either.

Sunday serves up two far more even contests. On a high after slaying Fiji, Uruguay will be out to prove it was no fluke. Georgia showed some positive signs in their first match, so this could go either way. The two have played each other five times, with Georgia winning the first three games and Uruguay the last two. These sides boast very similar attributes, so this could be one of the lightweight slug-fests that World Cups are made of.

Lastly, Wales and Australia will fight for pole position in Pool D. The Welsh have beaten the Wallabies just once at a World Cup, in a third place playoff in 1987. History will go out the window though, as neither of these sides resembles their past selves. An erratic Wallabies team may think their unpredictability is a positive, but one doubts whether their fans agree. Wales is riding a wave of assured optimism. Every win reaffirms Welsh belief that they are true contenders, but every facet of their game is becoming over-analysed. If Wales over-think this match, the direct and uninhibited Wallabies could prevail.