The view from Japan: Maestros and madmen in momentous quarter-finals

England put Australia to the sword in Oita on Saturday. Owen Farrell was the conductor of a sophisticated orchestra while the Wallabies resembled a frantic late-night drum circle. England punished Australia at every opportunity, leaving Eddie Jones with a smile bigger than the Sea of Japan.

Australia played at a ferocious tempo with a heart-pumping mix of skill and improvisation. England simply kept their composure and after every Wallaby onslaught, a swift and precise response was delivered. The swashbuckling approach from Michael Hooper’s men soon turned to desperate gambling with the chips falling overwhelmingly in England’s favour.

In what was billed as the contest of the weekend, unfortunately only one team seemed adequately prepared. Ireland proved that their tag as world beaters has been greatly exaggerated, putting up almost zero resistance against a good, but not scintillating, All Blacks.

Ireland were abysmal and if needed, the All Blacks had plenty left to give on the day. Ireland may have made the scoreboard less embarrassing but by then it was over as a contest. Sadly, Rory Best’s interview after the game gave the impression that the Irish were happy to play the role of romantic losers.

You can lead a horse to water but you can not make him drink. How Sebastien Vahaamahina can look at his teammates after the final whistle is beyond comprehension. Vahaamahina’s criminal actions sum up how France contrived to butcher their chances at a World Cup semi-final despite having every opportunity to emerge victors.

The game swung from end to end in pulsating fashion. The French were explosive and the Welsh were just clinging to their World Cup lives. Enter Vahaamahina and his poorly disguised guillotine. He gifted the game to Wales, who admittedly made hard work of getting over the line. France’s 14 men were almost good enough and one thinks that without that red card the result would have been far different.

By far the least inspiring tussle of the weekend was the Springboks incremental dismantling of Japan. The Springboks hypnotised Japan, and possibly the audience, into submission with a barrage of box-kicks. Japan were thrust into every play on a wave of home support but were dominated in the scrums and at the line-outs throughout the eighty minutes.

A few late flurries added some gloss to the score and took the focus off several handling errors and general poor execution by the Springboks. Japan’s inspiring run through the tournament is over, but Japan and the rugby world are better for it. To Japan, the Brave Blossoms and their fans, we say, “Domo arigato”.