[RWC2019][Quarter-Final 4] Japan vs. South Africa (20/10/2019)

[Jer1cho]

Yeah I suppose that at least in Wales we all support Wales... just everyone else hates us! Saying that we do have a helluva lot of plastic Welsh (retired English) around our coast and I'm sure they'd 'Etsabeth' us if they had half the chance. In fact I'm sure I read a story only last week where some retired English OAP had her deckchair nicked by someone suspiciously resembling Alun Wyn Jones .

No one here hates Wales. That goes to Australia and England. Me personally, it's NZ. Make no mistake I completely acknowledge their pedigree, and a lot stems from envy, but hot damn I'm tired of seeing a New Zealander lift a trophy we are involved in.

 

[bushytop]

No one here hates Wales.

Oh my god... no one here hates the Boks!
Edit. gif problem but you get the idea

 

[TRF_heineken]

Oh my god... no one here hates the Boks!
Edit. gif problem but you get the idea

yeah, I also don't get that many people hate us. Sure that was the case when he had the bullies like Bakkies Botha and Schalk Burger, but since then we've been well received.

I think the hatred is more towards us as posters/fans. We tend to be in your face. And ***** a lot about the referees (myself included).

 

[User1245]

I agree that the Boks viewed this match as a 12 round fight and took the Japs into the "deep water" rounds where they ultimately finished them off. Yes we left a lot of points out there but did it matter in the end? No.
This match was always going to be a prickly pear and the boys know where they need to improve, ie catching the bloody ball and kicking accuracy.

Like @Jer1cho mentioned, Rassie has only had 18 months with the team (March 2018) with 19 matches under his belt before the RWC kicked off, saddled with the political rot on every level of rugby in the country, which a severe handicap to carry. Comparatively Steve Hansen had 101 games under his belt and the full support of the whole country and the national union in every way possible. Every part of NZ's structure is set up to make the ABs the best they possibly can. It's amazing that we have even beaten them and taken them so close recently.

Got to give Japan credit for playing without fear, they've been a joy to watch. It's also fair to say that a lot of 50/50 calls which has made matches against them... Frustrating. They were obstruction running our kick chasers all night and often weren't in contestable positions when they were taking our guys in the air.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Congrats to Japan for topping their pool and making the QF. I think most wouldn't have predicted Japan toppling both Ireland AND Scotland before the tournament began. I also think it could've been a lot closer had Japan managed to get a lucky bounce in the first half or if Beast got a red. But I felt yellow was justified as the player didn't land on his head or neck. Matsushima taking Mapimpi by the neck in the air and the player tackling Kolbe by the face/helm also didn't get pinged so I felt the referee was at least consistent there.

That said while it wasn't always pretty it certainly was effective. Am maybe had a mistake or two on attack but in defense he was a ***an. DDA also had a stand out game. There was a lot of inaccuracy, mainly on attack from Le Roux and Faf's kicking remains hit and miss but its good that our centers, the positions where I felt we were most light in, are imposing themselves. I think its hard on DDA not to have allowed his try. Sure he slipped in getting up but he wasn't held and was a full meter beyond his tackler.

Our pack continues to be immense. If we are going to have to accept that we are going to rely on giving possession away and feed off of turn overs our players are going to have to be sharper in transitioning and not panic when the opportunities do come. Kicking at goal also needs to be spot on if we aren't going to pro-actively score tries.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Congrats to Japan for topping their pool and making the QF. I think most wouldn't have predicted Japan toppling both Ireland AND Scotland before the tournament began. I also think it could've been a lot closer had Japan managed to get a lucky bounce in the first half or if Beast got a red. But I felt yellow was justified as the player didn't land on his head or neck. Matsushima taking Mapimpi by the neck in the air and the player tackling Kolbe by the face/helm also didn't get pinged so I felt the referee was at least consistent there.

That said while it wasn't always pretty it certainly was effective. Am maybe had a mistake or two on attack but in defense he was a ***an. DDA also had a stand out game. There was a lot of inaccuracy, mainly on attack from Le Roux and Faf's kicking remains hit and miss but its good that our centers, the positions where I felt we were most light in, are imposing themselves. I think its hard on DDA not to have allowed his try. Sure he slipped in getting up but he wasn't held and was a full meter beyond his tackler.

Our pack continues to be immense. If we are going to have to accept that we are going to rely on giving possession away and feed off of turn overs our players are going to have to be sharper in transitioning and not panic when the opportunities do come. Kicking at goal also needs to be spot on if we aren't going to pro-actively score tries.

Yeah, DDA is improving with every game he's playing, and he's starting to show why Rassie has so much faith in him. I also agree with his disallowed try. Many other referees would've given that.

Faf's kicking didn't bother me so much as it bothered others. I see social media is having a field day with him and memes about his kicking. But his kicking was the main reason we managed to drive them back and let them tire themselves out. And had it not been for those pesky Japanese players changing lanes to prevent our chasers from contesting, I think we would've had more possession and tries. Let's not kid ourselves, Barnes helped the Japanese a lot by not penalising them for those changing lanes incidents or the several forward passes.

 

[Hydraulxx]

Willie had a shocking 1st half but he played better in the 2nd half. DDA had his best game in many years. Marx also had one of his better games this WC. Faf needs to empower Pollard more, he needs to give Pollard more ball to take control of the game as I think our balance between 9 and 10 is not where it should be.

IMO Barnes allowed Japan to get away with a lot, I spotted at least 6(there were probably more) forward passes missed. Entering the ruck from the sides although they weren't as bad as they were against Scotland. The Mapimpi neck tackle in the air, Japan changing lines blocking our chasers. DDA disallowed try which was actually legit as he wasn't held. Beasts yellow card was a good call, he went beyond the horizontal and landed on his arm/shoulder.

 

[TheOvalBall]

I agree that the Boks viewed this match as a 12 round fight and took the Japs into the "deep water" rounds where they ultimately finished them off. Yes we left a lot of points out there but did it matter in the end? No.
This match was always going to be a prickly pear and the boys know where they need to improve, ie catching the bloody ball and kicking accuracy.

Like @Jer1cho mentioned, Rassie has only had 18 months with the team (March 2018) with 19 matches under his belt before the RWC kicked off, saddled with the political rot on every level of rugby in the country, which a severe handicap to carry. Comparatively Steve Hansen had 101 games under his belt and the full support of the whole country and the national union in every way possible. Every part of NZ's structure is set up to make the ABs the best they possibly can. It's amazing that we have even beaten them and taken them so close recently.

Got to give Japan credit for playing without fear, they've been a joy to watch. It's also fair to say that a lot of 50/50 calls which has made matches against them... Frustrating. They were obstruction running our kick chasers all night and often weren't in contestable positions when they were taking our guys in the air.

It's absolutely amazing what the Boks have been able to achieve at stages with all the political garbage all these years.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Interestingly enough, a mate of mine who has been living in Japan for the last ~6 years says in general the Japanese look to be getting behind the Springboks for the rest of the tournament. So, no hard feelings about us ending their run- they are in fact elated at how the tournament has gone for them and are quite pragmatic about their exit. On top of that there is our interesting RWC history and teh fact that there are quite a few players in the team with the SA connection.

 

[TheOvalBall]

Anyone see the post match conference ?



Rassie's last comment at the end, was pure class!

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Anyone see the post match conference ?


Rassie's last comment at the end, was pure class!

Rassie and Siya are great ambassadors for us. I know people make a lot of Siya's apparent 'lack of leadership' but I see him as a leader in the Juan Smith mold where he leads by example and the impact he makes as a player rather than necessarily being in the ref's ear or whatever which I think for us is a good thing.

These two for me are a breath of fresh air when you think back on some of the.. characters who've represented the green and gold in the past.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Rassie and Siya are great ambassadors for us. I know people make a lot of Siya's apparent 'lack of leadership' but I see him as a leader in the Juan Smith mold where he leads by example and the impact he makes as a player rather than necessarily being in the ref's ear or whatever which I think for us is a good thing.

These two for me are a breath of fresh air when you think back on some of the.. characters who've represented the green and gold in the past.

Definitely. But you can clearly see that Siya's doing a great job as captain, everyone should go and watch the clips that Supersport is posting on social media while in Japan. Whenever a new arrival came to the group, Siya is one of the first guys greeting him at the hotel. When they go on a trip Siya is one of the first guys to try something.

But the Senior players as a group are all pulling their weight in keeping the cohesion, spirit and motivation going.

That was a great press conference by the way.

 

[Gena_ZA]

Had one awesome day yesterday with friends, champagne brunch, swimming, too much to drink and lots of activity.
Some stressed faces at half time, have to admit.

Here my take:
Rassie had a game plan that was executed and bared fruit in the second half.
First half was tense with Japan throwing everything they had at us.
Yes Willie dropped some balls and Faf still can't execute a proper kick and Mapimpi can chase it down (if allowed and the side line referees is not half blind)

Yet, we beat the world darlings with more than 20 points, giant killers in the pool stages and one of the best coached teams in rugby.
All this blah blah blah that if we do this against Wales or repeat this against the All Blacks we will lose dismally.
Well, try to take it one game at a time, maybe then you will raise your thinking up to a level were you can see what Rassie is trying to do

 

[Bada-Bing!]

 

[mdaclarke]

I think this quote sums up the difference between South Africa and Japan (and Ireland and Scotland)

'South Africa were just too physical – this is what finals footy is about. They just bashed the **** out of us. They're all about seven-foot-five. Besides the halfback, everyone else was a giant. They demolished our lineout and scrums at times. What can you do? You can't ask to be bigger.' – Japan wing Lomano Lemeki offers a very frank appraisal of the Springboks' victory.

 

[Jer1cho]

Watch from about 14min. Everything I was saying about Barnes in that first half were echoed. It really was an abysmal display by him in that first 40. Though I do think the De Allende descision was the right one. This World Cup's officiating really has been poor, and we have copped 120 minutes of it in this tournament so far.

 

[ThebigARena]

No mate, you would have lost and lost badly.

prove it?

 

[TheOvalBall]

Just watching this again: Actor Ken Watanabe was in the crowd with his Japan jersey. That's amazing! He was really good in Godzilla: King of Monsters.

 

[KK Brown]

Yip. Willie and his 3 knock-ons, and Pollard with his missed kicks cost SA about 12 points.

Seriously, are the Boks really Semi-final material?

.

Are you embarrassed now, Johnny ?