Japan vs Australia

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

1500hrs GMT today apparently. Wallabies should walk this but there should be entertainment from both sides.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I'll wager you right now that Aus will win 63-30 Bruce.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I'll wager you right now that Aus will win 63-30 Bruce.

Haha. So my kickoff time information might have been a bit off. I thought that was late for an Asian match. Posting a thread on a match after it has finished has to be a new low!

 

[sigesige00]

How do you evaluate Japan's performance? Are Japan a serious threat to Ireland and Scotland?

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

How do you evaluate Japan's performance? Are Japan a serious threat to Ireland and Scotland?

On that showing, hell no. The Wallabies had Hodge at fly half, and he hasn't played there at least all year apparently yet they put up 60 points.

Joseph is a great coach but his selections are a bit weird. He doesn't appear to rate Tamura at fly half (I really rate him) and keeps moving players into different positions. He has publicly stated he is purely interested in performance and results at the RWC and will sacrifice results and performance in the next two years if he thinks it'll make the RWC performance better.

To be honest I think there is a far greater chance Romania will spoil the party in the opening match than there is of Japan qualifying for the QFs (now that Scotland appear to have a half decent back flyhalf). Unless something dramatic changes soon of course.

 

[Brigantine]

1500hrs GMT today apparently. Wallabies should walk this but there should be entertainment from both sides.

More like 0640h, I presume 1500h was a replay somewhere.

From what I heard the aussie pundits were impressed by the host fans & organizers, ITO atmosphere etc.

Apparently there was something of a record crowd for japan rugby, and they're not used to fans drinking so much beer - I don't know how they ever hosted sevens tournaments!

 

[sigesige00]

On that showing, hell no. The Wallabies had Hodge at fly half, and he hasn't played there at least all year apparently yet they put up 60 points.

Joseph is a great coach but his selections are a bit weird. He doesn't appear to rate Tamura at fly half (I really rate him) and keeps moving players into different positions. He has publicly stated he is purely interested in performance and results at the RWC and will sacrifice results and performance in the next two years if he thinks it'll make the RWC performance better.

To be honest I think there is a far greater chance Romania will spoil the party in the opening match than there is of Japan qualifying for the QFs (now that Scotland appear to have a half decent back flyhalf). Unless something dramatic changes soon of course.

It is very likely that the opening game is Japan v România. If Japan failed to beat România (or other European team), the World Cup could be forgotten in Japan only after 1 game!

Tamura moved from NEC to Canon. What do you think about SH Tanaka (Sunwolves and Panasonic)?

 

[AM_Bokke]

I was very wrong about this game. I thought that it would be a contest like Wales vs. Japan last year.

Credit to Australia, but man, what is wrong with Japan? They have played very poorly against Ireland, World XV and Australia. Pretty disappointing. They really need to beat Tonga now.

 

[AM_Bokke]

Just re-watched the game again.

Japan needs to tackle better and play crisper, error free rugby, but I also gotta say that the Wallabies got into Japan's 22 3 or 4 times on pretty marginal referee decisions. The low tackle before the first try was pretty weak I thought. Very poor for the TMO to call a penalty on that play. It would be one thing if the ref called it in real time but to have the TMO call that was lame. As an American, the low tackle rule is one that I really don't understand. There is no low tackle in American football and I have never seen a low tackle result in an injury. Sometimes I see how a low tackle in rugby can be dangerous but I feel like I see a lot of tackles where the defender is in control of their body penalized.

There were also a few early engage scrum penalties against Japan that I thought were absolutely nothing. This is where the ref needs to take some responsibility for the product. This is the kind of stuff that really turns new fans off. Why the hell would anyone be a fan of a Tier 2 team? I never saw the ref talk to either team about what he wanted to see in a scrum. He just needed to not want a blowout for marginal reasons. Talk to the players and let them adjust.

If this game ended 42-30 instead of 63-30 I think that pretty much everyone would be happier - Australia fans, Japan fans, new fans and neutrals.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

It is very likely that the opening game is Japan v România. If Japan failed to beat România (or other European team), the World Cup could be forgotten in Japan only after 1 game!

Tamura moved from NEC to Canon. What do you think about SH Tanaka (Sunwolves and Panasonic)?

Personally I prefer Shigeno at scrum half but he has fallen to third or fourth choice under Joseph. Romania outplayed Japan in the second half when they played in June. The only hope is that both Super Rugby and the Japanese union seem to be prioritising the Sunwolves for next season. Those changes need to work or as you say this may be a very underwhelming RWC in terms of fan participation.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Just re-watched the game again.

Japan needs to tackle better and play crisper, error free rugby, but I also gotta say that the Wallabies got into Japan's 22 3 or 4 times on pretty marginal referee decisions. The low tackle before the first try was pretty weak I thought. Very poor for the TMO to call a penalty on that play. It would be one thing if the ref called it in real time but to have the TMO call that was lame. As an American, the low tackle rule is one that I really don't understand. There is no low tackle in American football and I have never seen a low tackle result in an injury. Sometimes I see how a low tackle in rugby can be dangerous but I feel like I see a lot of tackles where the defender is in control of their body penalized.

Low tackle? You can't be penalised for going too low, are you sure he didn't just do an ankle chopper with no arms? That happens quite often.