Japan RWC 2019

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

It was Heaslip and can you blame him? Easiest possible group in terms of getting through with the fewest possible injuries. I'd probably rate our chances of topping the group at 85-90% and elimination at 2%, we're dealing with a side who have beaten us in 4 competitive games since the turn of the millennium and Japan who have won at best a handful of games against tier 1 opposition. It'll be the best squad we bring to an RWC and potentially the best starting XV too, failing to reach a semi here would be worse than 1999 and 2007 imo.

I'm not knocking Heaslip as he will have been glad to avoid Group C. But I think it's a bit of a smelly draw for Ireland and Scotland to get to a semi as:

i) a group is only as tough as the Band 3 side. Group A has the second toughest Band 3 side and they have home advantage.

ii) Group B is so painfully routine that SA and NZ can rest and have no stress for three of their pool games. They will be outrageously fresh in the QFs. Unless Italy undergo an amazing transformation in the next 18 months ago.

I'd much rather have been in Oz or NZ's positions if I was Ireland. Only England came off worse as a Band 1 the way I see it, given that the ambition of a Band 1 must be semis minimum.

 

[profitius]

I'm not knocking Heaslip as he will have been glad to avoid Group C. But I think it's a bit of a smelly draw for Ireland and Scotland to get to a semi as:

i) a group is only as tough as the Band 3 side. Group A has the second toughest Band 3 side and they have home advantage.

ii) Group B is so painfully routine that SA and NZ can rest and have no stress for three of their pool games. They will be outrageously fresh in the QFs. Unless Italy undergo an amazing transformation in the next 18 months ago.

I'd much rather have been in Oz or NZ's positions if I was Ireland. Only England came off worse as a Band 1 the way I see it, given that the ambition of a Band 1 must be semis minimum.

Yeah some good points there. Another big thing people overlook is the timing of matches. I was worried in the last world cup because our last 2 matches were our toughest while Argentina played their tough match first and was always going to be fresh coming into it. Still, I think Italy will improve in the next 2 years.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I'm not knocking Heaslip as he will have been glad to avoid Group C. But I think it's a bit of a smelly draw for Ireland and Scotland to get to a semi as:

i) a group is only as tough as the Band 3 side. Group A has the second toughest Band 3 side and they have home advantage.

ii) Group B is so painfully routine that SA and NZ can rest and have no stress for three of their pool games. They will be outrageously fresh in the QFs. Unless Italy undergo an amazing transformation in the next 18 months ago.

I'd much rather have been in Oz or NZ's positions if I was Ireland. Only England came off worse as a Band 1 the way I see it, given that the ambition of a Band 1 must be semis minimum.

Are Japan better than Italy? I'm not too sure, are they good enough to beat a competent and focused Tier 1 side? Definitely not. You've also neglected to mention band 4 and 5 teams, pool A will likely get Romania and Tonga from what I've read, they're routine wins with second string sides, D is likely to get Fiji and Canada, there's another team to take seriously. C likely get Samoa and USA to complete a really rotten group and NZ definitely have it the easiest with the two weakest teams in Namibia and the repechage winner, Italy will cause no problems and South Africa have loads to do to get anywhere near them.
So from easiest to hardest for the band 1 and 2 sides I rank it B-A-D-C.

Add to this the fact that games against Scotland and Japan will not be huge physical contests and our front liners should get through the group relatively unscathed in comparison to a sound Italian side and a brutal French side last time out. If a cup winner comes out of C I'd be hugely impressed because there's four physical sides there, D's qualifiers should be good enough to take it easy against Georgia and have two tough games, while if Ireland and Scotland continue their current trajectory it should be a breeze similar to what the runner up in pool B gets (ie one tough game v NZ), I think its just as likely that Italy can pull another win over on SA than is is for Japan to beat Scotland and I see all band 1 teams topping their groups unbeaten, C and D could get fun below that, A and B need big upsets.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

It was Heaslip and can you blame him? Easiest possible group in terms of getting through with the fewest possible injuries. I'd probably rate our chances of topping the group at 85-90% and elimination at 2%, we're dealing with a side who have beaten us in 4 competitive games since the turn of the millennium and Japan who have won at best a handful of games against tier 1 opposition. It'll be the best squad we bring to an RWC and potentially the best starting XV too, failing to reach a semi here would be worse than 1999 and 2007 imo.

Thing is, you'll be playing either NZ or SA in the QF, so there's a good chance you won't make the semis, although you probably should.

 

[Dung_ThienHa]

I'm not knocking Heaslip as he will have been glad to avoid Group C. But I think it's a bit of a smelly draw for Ireland and Scotland

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Tonga defeated Italy in Italy in November with what was apparently a fairly experimental new side under a new coach. I think, like Japan, Tonga are on an upward trajectory and in two years time won't be a team that the Irish and particularly Scots reserves would be nailed on to beat.

For me Group A is by far the most interesting as every fixture has the potential to be genuinely competitive if Ireland and Scotland rest a lot of their starters at some point.

 

[biggles29a]

Any thoughts on match schedule as released today?

 

[FrenchFan]

I don't know why they call it the Pool of death. France will be packing their bags after their last pool game v England.
England and Argentina should go thru.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Happy with Ireland's schedule. I reckon Japan might throw their game against us if we beat Scotland, so we'll be nice and fresh for our first QF win in history.

 

[FNS]

I don't know why they call it the Pool of death. France will be packing their bags after their last pool game v England.
England and Argentina should go thru.

Mmmm Dont know. Right now France is one step ahead of Arg.

 

[Brigantine]

Pool B will be all decided on the first Saturday.

Happy with Ireland's schedule. I reckon Japan might throw their game against us if we beat Scotland, so we'll be nice and fresh for our first QF win in history.

Rest their players for the big game vs Samoa? Dream on, they're a proud bunch and not gonna give up that easily on the only QF they think they can win.
(Unless South Africa beats New Zealand, in which case... just maybe)

 

[TRF_heineken]

So the opening game of Pool B is the All Blacks vs. the Springboks

Damn!

 

[Durbanite]

So the opening game of Pool B is the All Blacks vs. the Springboks

Damn!

Been pondering it and it's a real blessing imo, guarantees we don't see NZ until the final if we manage to place second in the group and manage to advance.

Would much rather we meet the toughest competition in the final then QF or SF, maybe we can beat em during pool stages and rattle them a bit. Also our chances of another team doing our dirty work and eliminating NZ during playoffs increases which is nice

We have a really nice pool. I'm ****** off we didn't get drawn with Japan though (even thou when I bring it up my mates all roll their eyes), we have a record to fix now that Japan is the only other team to beat SA more then they've lost to us besides NZ AFAIK?. We deserve our chance to give em a spanking and claw back some dignity after the Brighton flop, and I suspect any game we play against the Blossoms will be with a heightened sense of purpose because of the loss, would be awesome if they beat us twice and a fierce rivalry is born, but hopefully that doesn't happen

 

[SomeOke]

So the opening game of Pool B is the All Blacks vs. the Springboks

Damn!

Best outcome IMO.

We have NZ, then Africa 1, then Italy, then repecharge 1 (Samoa or Uruguay or something).
So in theory we have plenty of time to rest or rotate our players in the pool stages.

Maybe we'll be undercooked vs NZ but there is no reason why they shouldn't be just as undercooked.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Pool B will be all decided on the first Saturday.


Rest their players for the big game vs Samoa? Dream on, they're a proud bunch and not gonna give up that easily on the only QF they think they can win.
(Unless South Africa beats New Zealand, in which case... just maybe)

Exactly, no team can play their best side for all four group games even with Japan's nice schedule so rotation will be needed. Japan know they'll need a miracle of SA proportions to beat Ireland having shipped two heavy losses to our b side this summer and considering they're fully capable of losing every game in this pool I reckon they'll punch smart and attack the games against the two weaker sides in the pool as well as Scotland on their three day turnaround. They were knocked out in the group stages last time because they couldn't rest their players for the critical group stage match against Scotland, it'd be silly of them not to use the advantage this time around and their options are rest players against Ireland in a game they're virtually certain to lose anyway or rest players against Samoa and increase the risk of losing that game and getting knocked out.

 

[FrenchFan]

Mmmm Dont know. Right now France is one step ahead of Arg.

I know you guys are not happy with the Pumas performance in the RC. But the Argentina side I watched in the RC is still better in many aspects than anything the current French team has to offer. This is the worst French team ever.

 

[FrenchFan]

Tonga defeated Italy in Italy in November with what was apparently a fairly experimental new side under a new coach. I think, like Japan, Tonga are on an upward trajectory and in two years time won't be a team that the Irish and particularly Scots reserves would be nailed on to beat.

Haven't watched Tonga in a long time but if you're right they could spring a surprise like they did in France's pool in NZ. If they did and assuming Argentina and England have won their games then France could be virtually out by the time they play England for the last pool game...

 

[biggles29a]

Hopefully they'll be finished in time for RWC 2019

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5239369/Japan-rid-squat-toilets-2020-Olympics.html

 

[biggles29a]

16 months I made my original posting in this group.
Since then the pools and fixtures are known.
I can give some tips that I've learnt in the meantime.
If you have an idea of what flights you will need to take in 2019, check the flights for pricing now using www.skyscanner.com
Make a note of the prices and check weekly.
Booking a flight immediately it becomes available and is not always the best idea.
Learn when the best time to book is.
I've seen in the last week prices have changed for the flights I need by around €200.

Consider using the Japan Rail Pass www.jrpass.com instead of hiring a car.

Make sure you're registered for tickets www.rugbyworldcup.com/tickets
Try and come up with a plan of what matches/cities you want to visit.
Book hotels (cancellable reservations, obviously) for cities where you want to see matches, way before you get tickets.
Even double book if there are two matches in a day and you can't decide which you want.
Even if you haven't got tickets yet, book hotels anyway!

19 May 2018 - Individual match ticket applications for Front Row members!

 

[JimboJapan]

Biggles29a - some great tips there. JR Rail Pass will be invaluable for RWC and depending how long you are there for, you will have to get a few. Train and the famous bullet train is definitely the best way to get about. When travelling to places such as Hokkaido/Kyushu, you might want to get domestic flights (as there are budget airlines these days) to save on time....but the Rail Pass will allow you to travel country wide.
Flight prices for then probably wont be release until a year in advance of travel date which is pretty standard. I would wait until the New Year flight sales in the first week of Jan to book flights or look out for flash sales - KLM and Air France are pretty good at that.
I would suggest staying in a traditional Ryokan guest house for a few nights, heading to an Izakaya 'traditional pub', heading to Kyoto for the temples etc and a whole lot more for those that want to get a feel for the country and culture.
I mentioned before that I work for the (Uks biggest independent) Bristol based Japan travel specialist called InsideJapan and we will be putting together non-ticket inclusive packages together and will tailor to squeeze the sights and cultural experiences to fit around match schedules. People can Nab a few ideas from the website or we can tailor to suit budgets, interests and group size etc. if people want to make the most out of their time there.
I am happy to help with a few ideas, but likewise, if people are offended about me mentioning the company name, I am happy to keep quiet. We love Japan and know it like the back of our hands and are keen for people to get a proper feel for the country that we know and love, as well as soaking up the tournament atmosphere. Whatever people do, it will be an incredible tournament and I am dead excited about it. Cheers