The Rugby World Cup - Japan 2019

First topic message reminder :

We're getting there folks. Less that 50 days to go til lthe big event.

Here's a place to talk about all things world cup as we lead into this most spectacular of events.

https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/

Full fixture list
https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/matches

Teams that are going
https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/teams

Pools:

Pool A

Ireland
Scotland
Japan (Hosts)
Russia
Samoa

Pool B

New Zealand (3x cup holders) Reigning champs
South Africa (2x cup holders)
Italy
Namibia
Canada

Pool C

England (1x cup holders)
France
Argentina
USA
Tonga

Pool D

Australia (2x cup holders)
Wales
Georgia
Fiji
Uruguay


Who do you think has the best chance?
Who will provide this competition's upset?
What pool will see the biggest fight for qualification?
Which of the non seeded teams are looking like they could do well?
Who has the current momentum going into the W/C?


I can't wait. If I could have swung it, I'd have gone over for it.

Fans mixing together    and top quality rugby being played over 6 weeks  

tigertattie wrote:The world cup has been great so far for everyone there but that's more to do with the japanese culture than anything else. They are a country built on respect, duty an honour. I cant even remember what we did when the world cup was here but I dont think we had entire organised groups of school children going along to matches

The timezone is a bit of a kicker for fans in Europe and the Americas but thats always going to happen.

My favourite part of the world cup currently is the boy who seems to be turning up everyday at one game with different body paint on. Magic stuff. Though I have to wonder if he still has a job!

Being from Brighton and Hove and there being a couple of games in the city there were a few things going on. Looking back, all the teams got "welcomed" by a school, with Japan being welcomed by a school in Brighton. There was the trophy tour when the trophy was on display around the city. There was also a fanzone on the beach, which one of the strip clubs in the city decided to target for a leafleting campaign that got local press attention.

I know the clubs put on a few activities, there was a beach rugby tournament (not on the pebbles) and a big rugby presence at the annual "take part" festival for youth sport.

There may have been more that I don't remember or didn't notice, but there were bits and pieces happening.

tigertattie wrote:
My favourite part of the world cup currently is the boy who seems to be turning up everyday at one game with different body paint on. Magic stuff. Though I have to wonder if he still has a job!

The equally famous man in blue behind him at the Ireland game didn't seem to share your opinion of his antics, tiger.  Head in hand, "Mother'a'Jaysus" gesture of complete embarrassment.  That man didn't get a wink of sleep that night worrying about the shame brought to his country.

LordDowlais wrote:Let me just take this chance to say, what a very good job Japan are doing with this world cup. It just goes to show how much can be done when the game is taken from the more "traditional" countries and others are given a chance.

Time zones aside, I think this could be one of the best world cups ever. I think the Japanese have embraced this world cup better than any others have in the past. All the stadiums are full, the locals are all attending and supporting the rugby, family and friends who are over there have said how welcoming, friendly and kind they have been, and not one single ounce of trouble anywhere.

They are the most enthusiastic fans on the planet, the stadiums are beautiful, all in all, a 10 out of 10 so far for me. I am thoroughly enjoying this world cup.

Also, just to add, I want to mention how safe people I know are feeling in Japan and how even the smallest of businesses have made the effort to embrace the world cup, it's everywhere over there.

Will this be the most successful world cup to date ? I know the English one last time was pretty decent, and the French one in 2007, but will this one surpass those two ?

Great post, completely agree. Having been lucky enough to be out there for 10 days I wholeheartedly agree about the Japanese fans, every single one we met was an absolute delight! Totally embracing the tournament and the travelling fans from all over the world, travelling to games and getting right behind their adopted nations. Families with little kids in their rugby shirts, creating I’m sure a whole new generation of rugby fans. To give just one small example, while waiting for them to open the gates at Kobe stadium for the Scotland v Samoa game we met a Japanese couple who had a bag full of hand made origami cranes which they were handing out to all of the travelling fans to bring them good luck and getting photos with everyone. Unbelievably lovely!

You mentioned safety, and again not once did we feel remotely unsafe or unwelcome wherever we travelled. Even to the more remote areas where they didn’t really speak English they couldn’t have been better hosts and made so much effort to welcome us. I am so glad that this World Cup went to Japan, they’re doing one hell of a job with it!

Also to confirm, it was very hot when we were there. Touching 30 degrees most days if not hotter, and very humid. It’s easy to not take it into account when you’re watching on tv. Under the closed roof in Kobe the humidity was stifling, I’m not surprised no one can catch the ball in there.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/picking-a-rugby-world-cup-xv-up-to-this-point

For those unwilling to push the link:

15 Barrett (B)
14 Kolbe
13 Lafaele
12 Kerevi
11 Radradra
10 Ford
9 Davies
8 Savea
7 Gaminara
6 Himeno
5 AWJ
4 Itoje
3 Alaalotoa
2 Montoya
1 Mtawarira

Having been to Japan I can also confirm that the Japanese are great and worthy world cup hosts. Here is the good and bad from my own experience:

Probably the most friendly possible hosts, always smiling and polite. You literally cannot fault the Japanese match day staff they high five you with a smile all the way in and out of the stadia.
Great infrastructure, transport. Shinkansen bullet trains are like stepping onto the future.
Atmosphere is great in fan zones and at games.
Food is great.
Plenty to see and do.
Very safe, clean and orderly country.
Japanese are very well organised and its a very well organised world cup.
Japan is an amazing place to visit in general.


Bad:
The stadia arent as great as I expected. Kobe is horrible and muggy inside and quite a few of the stadia have tracks around them which sets you a bit too far from the action. There is only one stadium of over 50k  capacity and the biggest is only 70k.
Weather has been too much of a feature with contrasting extremes. It can go from really wet and miserable to hot and humid quite quickly and typhoons cancelling games is potentially disastrous. If the organisers are really unlucky an earthquake or Tsunami are also possibilities as some stadia are quite close to the sea such as the one in Kobe.
Finally, Japan given it is such a big country suffers from the same issue as all big hosts. Its very possible to wander around the big cities and not know there is a world cup on at all. Games in Shuizoka are ideal as its small but has a big stadium so all fans are concentrated nearby. Games in Osaka and Kobe lack the same atmosphere. Also you have to cover large distances to go from game to game and it can be expensive.
Japan is expensive.

All in all very worthy hosts, not perfect but right up there.

Not sure if this has been posted - but well worth a watch:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-04/rugby-player-scott-fardy-returns-to-japanese-town/11574002

LordDowlais wrote:

SecretFly wrote:Ireland will in 2023.




......what?  I'm getting strange looks.

I would love Ireland to get a world cup, a beautiful country with a lot of heritage and history, if Ireland had a world cup, I would 100% support it, as it would more or less be a home one for Wales. The only reservations I would have, is the same as what happens during the 6N's, and that is all of a sudden the prices of everything goes up. Also, Ireland with the Euro is not cheap, and I worry how the everyday fans would be able to afford it.

But personally I would love an Irish world cup.

I do think Ireland would be good too (something something hard border) in terms of making it a much more intimate affair than this one for travelling supporters. Of course hotel and bar prices would step up even more than they are already in the tourist hubs, but you could always save money by bringing your own potatoes over on the ferry. 

All you need to do is get France and SA kicked out of world rugby and its on. Sadly it does look like a very long way down the line if they ever do get one. I'm sure the USA will try and get one in which will interest the accountants in the same way Japan did, and SANZAR will be owed one after France. Could well be 2035 or later till we see one back in the home nations by which time most of the stadia will be under the sea and people complaining about the heat in Belfast.

Yeah dinosaurs are going to make a big comeback in 2035. They loved the heat.

Gooseberry wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

SecretFly wrote:Ireland will in 2023.




......what?  I'm getting strange looks.

I would love Ireland to get a world cup, a beautiful country with a lot of heritage and history, if Ireland had a world cup, I would 100% support it, as it would more or less be a home one for Wales. The only reservations I would have, is the same as what happens during the 6N's, and that is all of a sudden the prices of everything goes up. Also, Ireland with the Euro is not cheap, and I worry how the everyday fans would be able to afford it.

But personally I would love an Irish world cup.

I do think Ireland would be good too (something something hard border) in terms of making it a much more intimate affair than this one for travelling supporters. Of course hotel and bar prices would step up even more than they are already in the tourist hubs, but you could always save money by bringing your own potatoes over on the ferry. 

All you need to do is get France and SA kicked out of world rugby and its on. Sadly it does look like a very long way down the line if they ever do get one. I'm sure the USA will try and get one in which will interest the accountants in the same way Japan did, and SANZAR will be owed one after France. Could well be 2035 or later till we see one back in the home nations by which time most of the stadia will be under the sea and people complaining about the heat in Belfast.

Ireland is definitely not more expensive than Japan fellows. Both places though if you are organised can be done on the cheap in relative comfort. Also flights to and from Ireland can also be cheap enough.

Potato is not the currency of Ireland, that's a common misconception, its the Euro.

The main advantage Ireland would have over Japan and lots of other places is the whole country would be one big fanzone.

Personally I think its ludicrous to offer France a RWC before Ireland even though I have been to the RWC and other rugby matches in France.

Gooseberry wrote:All you need to do is get France and SA kicked out of world rugby and its on. Sadly it does look like a very long way down the line if they ever do get one. I'm sure the USA will try and get one in which will interest the accountants in the same way Japan did, and SANZAR will be owed one after France. Could well be 2035 or later till we see one back in the home nations by which time most of the stadia will be under the sea and people complaining about the heat in Belfast.

I have been to South Africa twice in my life, once for work, I stayed in Port Elizabeth and once for the Lions in 2009, I stayed in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg and I must say, I did not enjoy it at all, I felt very uncomfortable in the country, and I was constantly told not to leave my hotel at night, and always stay on the beaten track.

Crime was everywhere, my uncle, on the same Lions tour was involved in a very nasty incident in his hotel lobby a week before me and my father met up with him. He was very shaken up about it.

I would not go back out there for a world cup, no chance. But that's just me. South Africa as a country though is a very beautiful place. The Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Pretoria is an amazing place, and I thoroughly enjoyed the uShaka Marine World in Durban. But there is a minority of people, and for a minority there is a lot of them, that let that beautiful country down.

Is it me or gas the RWC lost momentum too many none event games. Roll on the QF

TightHEAD wrote:Is it me or gas the RWC lost momentum too many none event games. Roll on the QF

Nope..!

I enjoy watching rugby whether my team are playing or not because I love the sport.

We are playing Fiji next, if that does not get your juices flowing then nothing will.

I wonder if in the disclosure documents of the RWC 2019 bid Japan mentioned that the entire country might get blown off in the middle of the group stages making the entire comp a farce.

OnE hopes Aus and Wales are given a bye from last lame duck games in their group to allow them as much rest as the seditious Frenchies and languid Angles.

Aussie will be pumped for this game!!

TightHEAD wrote:Is it me or gas the RWC lost momentum too many none event games. Roll on the QF

Probably doesn't help there's limited jeopardy on the France/England game - usually that would be a major head to head, but as they're both qualified, it lacks the intensity.

There's still Japan and Scotland, but given that most of the jeopardy is due to underperformance - Scotland and Ireland, mainly - and that NZ/SA and Wales/Oz was early on, there's not too much riding on the games. Fiji killed the competition in our group by losing to Uruguay, the other smaller teams have faded quite badly and are letting in cricket scores now - Canada looked out on their feet before the game against SA.

Should kick in to life in the QFs. I don't expect too many shocks - Ireand to top the group, and then Scotland Japan probably decided on bonus points - which means NZ have a relative walkthrough, but the other 3 games should be good, bruising encounters, with a clash of styles as well.

TightHEAD wrote:Is it me or gas the RWC lost momentum too many none event games. Roll on the QF

This pains me to say as much as hemorrhoids, small toe nail removal and watching my wife give birth......I agree.

For some reason its been a real damp squib.....too many days off, lame duck fixtures, too much Canada, Irish let downs, Scottish wobbles, French revolting, English fracking Rising Sons, Typhoons, Hooper squinting, NZ without McCaw and Carter, red cards, yellow cards, forgetting this is a contact sport and that th players have heads.

The only real highlight has ben Japan's fight to qualify and Typhoon Haggis' sidestepping.

Im afraid that cancelled games sets this world cup way behind other world cups in terms of a success. Ok its a good thing to ensure safety at all times but postpone or more the England and NZ games dont cancel them. It makes the whole thing farcical in my view and gives those teams an unfair advantage.

Unfortunately, yes. The financial impact of this RWC will probably be felt by WR as well.

2023: France
2027: Australia
2031: Ireland &/or Scotland
2035: South Africa
2039: USA + Canada

Maybe a few changes here and there, but by and large I think the experiment with moving it somewhere to grow the game is going to be set back because of this. Financially, if nothing else.

Collapse2005 wrote:Im afraid that cancelled games sets this world cup way behind other world cups in terms of a success. Ok its a good thing to ensure safety at all times but postpone or more the England and NZ games dont cancel them. It makes the whole thing farcical in my view and gives those teams an unfair advantage.

No way do NZ get an advantage. They will have had no meaningful rugby since the first weekend. Should Ireland top their group, I reckon this gives them a boost before their q/f with NZ.

Its an odd one to call, I'd rather England were playing this weekend and risk and injury or two rather than being under cooked against a team like Aus.

Yes Italy would have suited us perfectly for the quarter, recent matches vs Namibia and Canada hardly providing top

LondonTiger wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Im afraid that cancelled games sets this world cup way behind other world cups in terms of a success. Ok its a good thing to ensure safety at all times but postpone or more the England and NZ games dont cancel them. It makes the whole thing farcical in my view and gives those teams an unfair advantage.

No way do NZ get an advantage. They will have had no meaningful rugby since the first weekend. Should Ireland top their group, I reckon this gives them a boost before their q/f with NZ.

Hey, Tiger...wait until we see who we have left after Samoa.  They presumably will be pumped up to make us pay for all the wrongs they perhaps feel were done to them through the pool stages.  
Overall, I think already that Ireland have done more serious (unnecessary perhaps) huff n puff stuff than any other side in any pool, who all seem to be in cruise mode so far.  So we're probably already jacked as it is.  Meeting a fresh faced NZ ain't no party.

LondonTiger wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Im afraid that cancelled games sets this world cup way behind other world cups in terms of a success. Ok its a good thing to ensure safety at all times but postpone or more the England and NZ games dont cancel them. It makes the whole thing farcical in my view and gives those teams an unfair advantage.

No way do NZ get an advantage. They will have had no meaningful rugby since the first weekend. Should Ireland top their group, I reckon this gives them a boost before their q/f with NZ.

The 1014 boys did an analysis of RWC pools over the years and they discovered that teams that have their meaningful games early on in pool play rather than a bruiser before the quarters tended to do better. Aside from that it is still an advantage to avoid the prospect of injuries, suspensions and attrition before a quarter.

LondonTiger wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Im afraid that cancelled games sets this world cup way behind other world cups in terms of a success. Ok its a good thing to ensure safety at all times but postpone or more the England and NZ games dont cancel them. It makes the whole thing farcical in my view and gives those teams an unfair advantage.

No way do NZ get an advantage. They will have had no meaningful rugby since the first weekend. Should Ireland top their group, I reckon this gives them a boost before their q/f with NZ.

It's not unitary though. It's not as if there are ONLY disavdantages. There are clear advantages to not playing relating to injury, the possibility of losing (!!!), form wobbles etc.

LondonTiger wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Im afraid that cancelled games sets this world cup way behind other world cups in terms of a success. Ok its a good thing to ensure safety at all times but postpone or more the England and NZ games dont cancel them. It makes the whole thing farcical in my view and gives those teams an unfair advantage.

No way do NZ get an advantage. They will have had no meaningful rugby since the first weekend. Should Ireland top their group, I reckon this gives them a boost before their q/f with NZ.

Apologies for the pedantry but they'll play SA if they top the group.

If the typhoon cancels the Scotland v Japan game too Ireland cant top the group which wouldnt be much of a boost. Domt think that will happen though.

Uruguay players involved in a fracas in a restaurant after match with Wales .

Didnt like the size of the steak?

LondonTiger wrote:Uruguay players involved in a fracas in a restaurant after match with Wales .

With each other? They were a bit feisty at halftime. Thankfully Moriarty was there as a calming influence

Team announcements for Rugby World Cup quarter-finals (NZ time):

Thursday:
England (team posted match page)
New Zealand (team posted match page)
South Africa (team posted match page)
Ireland (8pm)
Australia (9pm).

Friday:
Japan (5:30pm)
Wales (5:30pm)
France (7pm).