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Tokyo Calling - Rugby 2019

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    Someone needs to tell the radio commentator that his listeners cannot see what's going on, he needs to describe it to us. There's a scrum -- great, but whereabouts on the pitch are we?

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      Fuck! A victory for dull grunt rugby, that try. More of a conga line than a fucking maul.

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        Ah, thanks Ray, it was a maul. I'm giving up on this pisspoor radio commentary.

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          Predictable, though. Japan couldn't sustain that level for two halves. South Africa are not Scotland.

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            Japan's line out has been shocking today, a real weakness.

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              9am kick offs next weekend for both semis. Let's see what happens but I'll be boring and predict a southern hemisphere final.

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                Ah well, the best team overall won but the tournament loses so much without Japan in it.

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                  I might venture that Japan have been the 4th best side here and might indeed be in a semi had they been in the Wales/France quarter.

                  I can't see beyond a southern hemisphere final, although an England v South Africa SF would have been a tough one to call (perhaps England marginally?).

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                    I've thought for weeks (and probably said on here) that Japan would beat us in a knockout game.

                    Clearly the likely winners in order of probability are NZ, England, South Africa then us, though the order of the middle two could be interchangeable if you factor in the relative difficulty of their respective semi-finals.

                    We've reached the minimum objective for the tournament in making the semis but our lack of depth in key areas may be our undoing. I can't see us beating SA without Jonathan Davies (we're underdogs even with him) and Navidi is a massive loss, presuming it is a hamstring injury and he's out of the rest of World Cup.

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                      Yeah, feel sad for Japan. Definitely exciting to watch though.

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                        I hate to be one of those “I’ve watched a few minutes of your sport and now have extensive notes on how to fix it” people, but it seems like red cards that compel a team to play with fewer people are a bad idea. I feel the same way in football. It makes it possible for the whole game to be determined by one officiating decision and/or one moment of high emotion. And it often makes the rest of the game less interesting.

                        Perhaps instead of forcing a team to play with 14, they could just compel the team to sub that guy out - and if they’re out of subs then maybe make them play with 14 - and then give the other team an easy penalty kick like 10 meters out straight in front and the ball back after that. Like a tech foul in basketball. That would be better than changing the rest of the game.

                        Having said that, that was a brutal elbow to the face. If anything deserves a straight red, that would be it.



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                          I feel relaxed now that we have made it to the semis and are the underdogs (massively so after today's performance and the injuries). We could hope for SA to be lulled into a false sense of security but their match today - if any - would've been the time for that. Coaching staff scrutinise possible tournament opponents well in advance of the actual tournament nowadays.

                          It's interesting to see where Japan go from here. I have heard of them being invited to other tournaments but they have only won the Pacific Nations twice (and a half) since they joined. They aren't quite a big fish in a small pond by any margin yet and wouldn't gain anything from being even more perennial whipping boys than Argentina and Italy.

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                            Who else is in the Pacific Nations? I assume not the South Pacific countries.

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                              No mention of the Welsh team's Japanese mascot singing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau?

                              TBF it could have been a Redwoodesque mime.

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                                Japan, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Canada and the US

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                                  Originally posted by Nocturnal Submission View Post
                                  No mention of the Welsh team's Japanese mascot singing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau?

                                  TBF it could have been a Redwoodesque mime.
                                  I spotted that prior to the Fiji game but not today, possibly too early in the morning.

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                                    Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                                    Japan, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Canada and the US
                                    I see.

                                    Korea doesn’t have a team?

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                                      Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post

                                      I see.

                                      Korea doesn’t have a team?
                                      Not in that tournament HP.

                                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_...up?wprov=sfla1
                                      Last edited by Antepli Ejderha; 20-10-2019, 18:37.

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                                        Korea were at their peak in the 1980s, where they won 3 consecutive Asian championships (defeating full-strength Japan squads), and even managed to play a test against the Wallabies. Korea reached the repechage round of qualification for the 1999, 2003, and 2007 Rugby World Cups, being eliminated by Tonga each time. They also failed to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

                                        Korea participated in the 2008 Asian Five Nations, the inaugural Asian Five Nations.
                                        From Wikipedia. They've got close to qualifying but been beaten in the repechage or by Hong Kong the round before.

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                                          I see. Maybe Japan’s success will help them. Or not.


                                          Another basic question. If a team is given the chance at a penalty kick, do they have to take it or is there some way they can keep the ball. Like if it’s late in the game and a team is down by five and is driving for a try and then is awarded a penalty, is there a way they can keep going for five/seven instead of taking the three which isn’t going to be enough?

                                          I guess I don’t know what happens after a PK. Is there another kick off?

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                                            Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
                                            I see. Maybe Japan’s success will help them. Or not.


                                            Another basic question. If a team is given the chance at a penalty kick, do they have to take it or is there some way they can keep the ball. Like if it’s late in the game and a team is down by five and is driving for a try and then is awarded a penalty, is there a way they can keep going for five/seven instead of taking the three which isn’t going to be enough?

                                            I guess I don’t know what happens after a PK. Is there another kick off?
                                            Yes, you can take a tap penalty, where you tap it with your foot, then run with the ball. You can also kick the ball to the touchline, but when you do that from a penalty you also get the throw in to the lineout, which usually means you regain possession, but further up the pitch. You can also request a scrum, which is useful if you're close to the try line.

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                                              Ok, thanks. I saw in the highlights that Australia chose to take an easy penalty when they were only about 2 meters out and down 14-3. Seems like they should have pressed on and tried for 7.

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                                                I don't think South Africa are that much favourites to beat Wales. On their day, SA can beat anybody, but on another day, almost anybody can beat them. And if they are as butter-fingered against Wales as they were against Japan, and if Faf de Klerk keeps kicking away possession, Wales are in with a shout.

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                                                  Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
                                                  Who else is in the Pacific Nations? I assume not the South Pacific countries.
                                                  Lots of links via Google and Wiki, unsurprisingly.

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                                                    Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
                                                    Ok, thanks. I saw in the highlights that Australia chose to take an easy penalty when they were only about 2 meters out and down 14-3. Seems like they should have pressed on and tried for 7.
                                                    It depends where you are on the clock, what the score is at that time and how likely you are to score a try from a set piece. If it's early on in the game and you can chip away at a losing margin (or build up a winning one) while still (usually) getting the ball back from the restart it's often worth it. Especially if you've been bashing away at an obdurate defence for quite a few phases without breaking through.

                                                    The phrase "keep the scoreboard ticking over" is a well worn rugby cliche but, like many cliches, it has quite a lot of truth in it. Teams frequently win games while being outscored on tries (Wales did against Australia in the pool stage) too.

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