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I was told of a wonderful moment in the Rugby Universe the other day, it occurred in France, a club field featuring two former All Black props appearing as professionals in a top division competition fixture. The game was new-ish, maybe a handful of minutes old. As one expects in France the action was hot and heavy straight away, no camera’s, TMO’s or vegetarians were present so the truth of French Rugby was laid bare.
From a ruck the first of our All Blacks was struck with enough effort to put him on notice – how does one know when an All Black is aware of your presence? He will stand upright and look at you in the eye.
Your next move in this situation is all important. It will dictate the future, a long cold look back will lock in the message that you will not be backed down by a reputation. This is not only the preferred action, but also the more refined one, speaking volumes about you as a Rugby player and as an individual. It says, ‘hey, I’m happy to play the game hard and fair, I don’t even mind a little bit of cheating, it’s good – but if you think you’re going to pull that stunt on me mate. You’re in for a fucken hiding’.
The inadvisable option is to rattle the saber, flash the guns or raise your fists in a manner that indicates things are ‘go’.
Especially to an All Black prop, former or not.
The ruck was spontaneously consumed with skin curdling crunches, the kind that result in teeth being found by an Archaeologist in future centuries and on this occasion there were more teeth to be found than usual, as both Islanders stood shoulder to shoulder firing off shots in three and four punch combinations. Bodies were bouncing off the ground, then back onto their feet and charging straight back in – only to begin the process again and the running battle erupted with regularity.
It was carnage. But then it was France. Immediately after the match a five course meal with silver service and enhancing bottles of seriously good wine were offered up to both teams as the string quartet lubricated the social ramp.
The men who had been losing blood and teeth sat together easily, warmed with the good company at this fine pageant of conviviality.
Saturday night just passed was marred by some odd slight of hand, firstly Sergio Parisse the Italian Captain and 2008 IRB Player of The Year Nominee was cited and consequently banned for 8 weeks for eye gouging. It was a tidy bit of work from the skipper, looking one way while nicking the eye socket of the All Black rookie, far from damaging but certainly painful if done correctly. The reaction from Ross was… well, unfortunate although it wasn’t nearly as unpalatable as Thompson taking a Kockett to the face.
Meanwhile in Pretoria Schalk Burger opened the game with what is the Rugby equivalent to a ’snuff’ movie., raking; perhaps even nearly taking, the eye’s of the Lions winger, who had arrived at a ruck uninvited.
Just a quick note to all outside backs. If you see a ruck form in the opening moments of a vitally important Rugby match – STAY AWAY.
Schalk is now a ‘gone-burger’ and but probably got himself another ten minutes more in the game for rest.
But the reality of it is this, attacking the eye’s is not nice. It is dangerous and despite hitting the pitch to ’smash some cunts’ no one; I believe, wants to mame or permanently injure another. It might happen but I seriously doubt anyone has done it on purpose – except on occasion Richard Loe. Even then he was just trying a few things.
Of course all this would be sorted out faster than you can say ‘retaliation’.
If there were still rucking in the game…
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Kiwi’s go Back-to-Back
Field conditions like the PGA. Warm and still. Wet. Same two teams as the year before in similar conditions – though much warmer, no doubt. The Tokyo Gaijin had a full panel at the game and all those one-eyes from both the British and New Zealand Isles added up to a lot of shaky input.
The English Gym Bunnies were out to make up for pumping they received in the 2008 finals and they looked like they had been taking their proteins in preparation to face the Mullet Men from Down Under and early on it was anyone’s guess as to how the Kiwi boys would fare with such a well drilled and professional English unit. Yes, these Englishmen were big. They were strong. They were way better looking than the skanky looking Kiwi’s, but it was after all the huffing and puffing the Mongrel from the boys Down Under that won the day.
England started out with the expected dominance up front and they had the Kiwi’s scrambling at scrum time and in the rucks. Huge pressure by the English forwards saw the Kiwi’s infringing in defense and offering the Ginga formerly known as Stupid Hair Man, Thomas Homer the chance to take his lads up by 6 points to nil. The English it was fair to say looked very slick at this point in the match.
Possession was largely owned by the big English pack but it was the Kiwi’s who did surprising things with the ball when they had it in hand. Though they kicked often enough (and very effectively), they were simply trying more creative things and it paid off as the line breaks came and they rampaged up field popping passes to support runners all around. The first time around it was centers Shaun Treeby (Wellington) and Winston Stanley (Blues), scrawny little openside Bernie Hall (Canty) and Southlander Robbie Robinson who all linked up perfectly for Robinson to go over down the left side.
Two minutes later gangly English forward James Gaskell drove forward on the right flank and despite the protest of the Kiwi panel – as the big screen replay clearly showed that Gaskell had spilled the ball – the try counted and England extended their lead to 11-5.
In true fashion the Kiwi contingent moaned for a bit but were soon consoled when a perfectly weighted chip over the top by center Winston Stanley was re-gathered and off-loaded to Zac Guildford for another try down in the left hand corner. Only 20 minutes in and the tries were coming thick and fast!
Fly-half Aaron Cruden was having a stormer and the only blemish on his game was the fairly average penalty and goal kicking from wide out. As it was though his running game was sublime and he started carving up the big Englishmen to spark the opportunities.
Cruden was the man who picked up the next try in the 27th minute after another sizzling raid by the boys in black, quick passing, quick recycling and they crashed it up toward the try line only to be held out by some staunch English defense. Eventually though the ball was sent blind and the little Kiwi dived over to extend the Kiwi lead to 7.
Cruden then scored again through some more slick interplay between backs and forwards to have the Poms at sixes and sevens. Things were going very well for the Mulleted Ones at this stage of the game.
Half Time: MM 25-14 GB’s
While Thomas Homer kicked a penalty to reduce the margin, New Zealand went into the half up 25-14 and feeling confident. England had been awesome in the set pieces, smashing the Kiwi front row to the extent that they were collapsing and standing up to break the strain but they lacked the creativity of the Kiwi’s with ball in hand. In fact they lacked the skill of the Kiwi’s with ball in hand. It was clear that if the Bogans could keep up their solid tackling, we thought they should hold on as their counter attack was something the Gym Bunnies could not cope with.
And so into the second half they went and it was a good start for the Mullet Men with inside center Shaun Treeby going through hardly touched under the posts in the 43rd minute. 31-14 and the Gym Bunny supporters went quiet.
Again the Poms smashed their way back up field and hammered at the Kiwi line for what seemed an eternity. Penalty after penalty came as the Kiwi’s did all they could to hold the Gym Bunnies at bay. Monsters these Englishmen were and they eventually smashed their way over for a try to Number 8 and Kiwi Wannabe, Carl Fearns. We must remind readers that this try scoring beast looks closer to 39 than 19 but is a player to look out for. In fact if he did not score the try, it was clear to even to us biased Kiwi’s that the ref was sure to award a penalty try if the infringements kept up.
At this stage, the English left wing Charles Sharples was having a good night and was unlucky not to dot down but for some desperate cover defense of the surprisingly mullet-less Southlander, Robbie Robinson. With no “‘fro” the poor guy must get teased down in Invercargill but this kid single-handedly defensively shattered English dreams on a number of occasions. Thomas Homer the English full-back looks solid in a Josh Lewsie-esque way and could well be one to watch, while their forward pack is chocked full of guys who will go on to be club stars in the mud bogs of English rugby.
It should be noted also that Sharples was a far cry better than his right winger who looked average at best, as did the English inside center who spilled the ball on a few incredibly unnecessary occasions. The panel thought it must be a cruel joke to them that such skinny little buggers like these Kiwi’s (or little Welsh Williams’ in the big leagues) were running rings around them.
Unfair maybe, but the Gym Bunnies were trying too hard to match the Kiwi’s running flair and just made a hash of it by dropping the ball or making poor passes – again, “too much weights, not enough speed work”, which may suit the muddy English game but on a clean track seems a waste. The times the Poms got back into their traditional game of trucking it up, they made more decent yards and created the chances for wider moves but they were too far behind to muck around, they needed to ship the ball and score some tries.
For the Kiwi’s open side flanker Bernie Hall was everywhere. For a midget he sure gets around and plays a great linking game, so we hope he can get taller and heavier and make a go of it at a higher level. Zac Guildford is a class act and Robbie Robinson at fullback is almost surely one to press for higher honours in future. Aaron Cruden was looking classy and half-back Frae Wilson was putting the Poms under all sorts of pressure on attack and defense. Winston Stanley looks the goods and will mature into a very handy center with more time at the Blues, while mulleted Hooker Braydon Mitchell also had a strong all round game to round out some great Southland participation: three Southlanders, two disgraceful mullets but three extremely effective players.
The Kiwi’s ran in two more tries through speedster Zac Guildford on the right wing and another Southland combo act between Alex Ryan (proud owner of the skankiest of all the bad hair on display – a dred-slash-mullet effort you’d rarely see north of Gore) and Braydon Mitchell. Ryan knew exactly what to do and was the key man in squaring up and delivering Mitchell’s try in the corner. All done with a front rower in the bin as, yes, that card had finally come.
England came back with a last minute pride booster but it was all too late for them. The Kiwi’s had shown them how the game should be played: on the field and not in the gym. Superior handling was the key. It was exciting stuff and with the scores being relatively tight for much of the match it was a great finale to a very good tournament.
The Kiwi’s were crowned Champions with the final score being 44-28.
Fly-half Aaron Cruden was deservedly selected as the Junior World Championship Player of the Year. He is a class act and when he sorts out his place kicking game (or gets someone else to do it), he will be a star that will be fun watching. Cruden scored two tries and was a key catalyst in three others in the Final and was the key playmaker who sparked the Kiwi’s when it counted over the Aussies in the Semi. According to the official tournament guide, this lad from Manuwatu missed out on last year’s tournament as he was “battling cancer”. Hard core.
In other news…
Scotland beat Tonga, Italy beat Canada, Samoa beat Ireland, Argentina beat Fiji and France tore Wales and new rear end, as did Japan Uraguay to see who got the wooden spoon. In the 3rd/4th Play-Off, Australia got flogged by the Baby Boks 32-5 in what was a good lead in to the main event.
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JWC Finalists Decided
The scene was set at Chichibunomiya Stadium in central Tokyo for two hum dinger match ups: Australia versus last year’s champs New Zealand, and South Africa versus last year’s runners up, England. The four powerhouses of world rugby in a junior edition with all teams looking to win and go on to the Grand Final held at the same venue Sunday.
Weather conditions were cool and still with mild humidity. Ground conditions looked to be perfect though a little greasy once the players took the field. A good crowd was in attendance but it must be noted that close to half the crowd was made up of school kids who had been given free tickets (and time off classes?) to attend. Nonetheless it was a good atmosphere with plenty of Black, Yellow, Green and White shirts in the audience.
Big Game #1: Aussie and the Kiwi’s.
First up Australia who had flogged all and sundry in a fairly easy pool series taking on the Kiwi’s who had struggled somewhat against a determined Irish side. The Kiwi Tokyo Gaijin, trying to demonstrate ability to see clearly through both eyes, backed the Aussies at the betting table, even while the New Zealanders dominated possession and territory through the first half. When Australia had the ball through the first spell they looked by far the more determined side, with a sense of urgency to their game. Defensively they kept the Kiwi’s at bay and let them kick possession away all too often. New Zealand were managing to throw away all of their line outs early on, mostly through overthrows from Southland Bogan Brayden Mitchell trying to find fellow mullet-man and Southlander Alex Ryan. Farmer Bogans have long been a core part of the Kiwi game and with the return of the Bogans, the mongrel may be back!
It was the Kiwi’s who opened the scoring with a big break up the middle, some quick recycling of the ball from the ruck putting winger Zac Guildford (‘Canes) into space for a race to the try line. Guildford was active all day and in fact both Kiwi wingers were coming into the line on both sides of the park nicely.
The Aussies came close through halfback Richard Kingi (Reds) but only really threatened the New Zealand line on a few occasions through the first half. They eventually did level the scores at 7-a-piece through with a rubbish try that we forgot to write notes on as we were too busy bagging the referee. It was decided by the Sarfie, the Kiwi and the Irishman that he was a rubbish referee; Mr. Small from England was to be defended only by the Poms in the panel. The try stuck however it was scored and the game went into a long spell of Kiwi possession and garbage attack (if you can call it that) in the Aussie half. [Ed. Judging by the post-match scorecard, the try was apparently scored by hooker and Captain Damian Fitzpatrick of the ‘Tahs.]
The Kiwi’s had a big front row and skinny bogan second row but showed the ability to match the big Aussie tight five, spread the ball and support well out wide. Manawatu Bogan, Captain and First-Five Aaron Cruden was having a shocker by missing tackles and kicking poorly from hand as well as at goal. Before looking at the team sheet it was decided by the panel that Cruden must be the Coach’s son, otherwise we could not fathom what he was doing in this squad. All in all it was a first half of lost opportunities for the Kiwi’s and the Aussies looked by far the calmer and cooler of the two sides.
Enter the second half with the scores locked at 7-a-piece and it was the Aussies who scored first after a terrible decision to run off his try line by Coaches Kid Cruden that resulted in a shocker of a clearance kick (bomb?) by halfback Frae Wilson (Wellington) bounced backward straight into the hands of Aussie Ben Tapuai (Reds) for an easy stroll back over the line. The conversion from wide out was good and the Aussies took the lead 14-7.
It was not long after though that the Kiwi’s decided to step it up a gear. After a pretty poor performance all round they were suddenly much more aggressive in the tackle and faster with the ball in hand. Aaron Cruden took note of our raging criticism and picked up his game, starting to slip the first tackler and find his support runners with ease. Halfback Frae Wilson made a monster tackle on Aussie center Afusipa Taumoepeau (Brumbies) to certify the change in heart and a few minutes later the Kiwi’s had a try from a charge down by the Coaches Son on Kingi for center Shaun Treeby (Wellington) to score.
Within another 2 minutes the Kiwi’s scored again from a fantastic kick and take by wing Zac Guildford (‘Canes) and the momentum had very clearly swung in New Zealand’s favour. They closed out the game with a fine try to another Southland Bogan, Full-back Robbie Robinson who was selected as Man of the Match by the Bokke Wife, stating: “he’s the only one I noticed and he’s not even good looking!” Fair enough as we all agreed that he was a cut above the rest and the only Southlander we’ve seen without a Farmer Bogan Mullet.
Kiwi’s won 31-17 and head to Finals to defend their crown.
Big Game #2. South Africa took on England.
This game started with a long period of back and forth kicking. South Africa were infringing repeatedly at the ruck and were lucky not to be carded (we felt). Stupid Hair Man Tom Homer gave the English a nice early lead through three penalties and it was clear that the Bokke Boys were in for a serious match. The English – all of them professionally contracted – were clearly physically superior to the Bokke’s who had a few genuine school boys amongst them. The Pom’s were far more organized on attack and their defensive line looked solid across the park. The benefits of being contracted and being able to spend their days in the gym was plain to see, as the English boys in their tight fitting costumes look more like your stereotype roid-abused Bok international, than English public school boys. Anyways, it was a boring first half and we had to get beer replacements.
South Africa came back at the English somewhere during the half through a great block by Number 8 on halfback Ben Youngs’ chip kick on his 10 meter line. The Number 8 was fast enough and skilled enough to chase down the awkwardly bouncing ball, pick up and drive over the line in the tackle.
All in all though it was a pretty boring match until the second half when England stepped it up a gear. They converted this to points with a nice line break from the 22 by Ben Young who came through the middle of a line out into open space. The look on his face was one of confusing as to what to do as he looked around himself for support, of which there was none and he thence stepped and twisted his way through the cover defense to score a good try.
The Bokke came back through their outside center Nicolas Hanekom (Western Province) who grabbed a nice bounce (of a grubber by his inside man Captain Robert Ebersohn, Free State) to split the English defense and extend the Sarfie lead. The English increased the intensity at this point and the Bokke openside (Rynhard Elstadt, Western Province) gathered a red card (second of the tournament) for what was really not a full blown spear tackle on the gangly James Gaskell (a lock from Sale), but enough to set off the alarms at Under 20 grade.
The Sarfies were suddenly down to 7 forwards and what was already a struggling ruck and maul scenario for them got worse. England started to pour on the domination through their loosies (Calum Clark and Roid Man #1), were securing all of their own ball and freely taking a fair amount of the Bokke’s. Roid Man #2 (Graham Kitchener, Worcester) imposed himself at the rucks and also made a number of big hit ups to stand out as one of the leading English forwards.
The Gangly One Gaskell ran in a nice try late in the game as the English were finding all sorts of holes around the ruck fringes and he went through not one but two tackles and reached over the line to score a good individual try. The dour Kiwi’s on the panel thought the throwing the ball and acting like he had individually won the whole tournament was a bit over the top and he was labeled according with a big W.
We may have missed a few other good plays in there but there was increased chatter and refreshment on the sidelines making it hard to keep up with details. End result: England into Finals to face the Kiwi’s and set up a rematch of 2008’s final. This time the Kiwi’s will be lucky to win by such a flattering margin as the English; the panel concedes, are a well drilled and professional looking outfit, literally and figuratively speaking.
In other news…
Scotland managed to beat Fiji, 39-26 thanks to a pair of tried to hooker Finlay Gillies. Much to the joy of our drunken Scot and the disappointment of our resident Fijians (whose mood was severely enhanced by the free beers provided by the drunken Scot).
The Welsh beat the Irish 19-17 in a match sealed by the conversion by Mathew Jarvis in the 22nd minute. The rest of the game was made up of penalty goals in true Northern Hemisphere rugby tradition. No Welshmen on the panel today and the Irishman was pretending to be English.
Argentina went down to Tonga, 17-26 and 4 tries to 3. This was much to the disappointment of our resident Argie who had his father with him all the way from Buenoe’s Aires.
Canada beat Uruguay unsurprisingly and unflatteringly, 29-11. But who really cares.
The big Finale is on Sunday and will include the Farmer Bogans against the Public School Boy Contractees. Fair to say this will be a great match up. Will the mongrel of the Mulleted Ones be enough to hold off the strength and power of the Public School Gym Bunny’s? Time will tell.
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Mooch picks up the microphone and stands on a box to make this impressive debut for Rugby Canada TV…
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The Junior World Cup reached the third round of pool matches Saturday, with The Tokyo Gaijin making it to the Tokyo matches: England vs. Samoa and Japan vs. Scotland. The weather was sweltering and surely conditions that few of the English or Scots have ever played in before let alone seen. 30 degrees or so with a haze and reasonable humidity level to make it a rough day for anyone trying to chase a pig-skin around a park. Better to be in the stand with cool refreshments.
First up England-Samoa. An absolute thumping. 57-7. Samoa made mistake after mistake with their poor handling, disorganized backline and utter lack of passion. England on the other hand were clinical and really look the goods to go all the way in this tournament. Up 40 points or so in the second half the English earned the ire of our crew by taking a penalty kick but they probably had instructions to. Samoa only had the one player to stand out, once again: Auvasa Falealii. This boy from Marist has a great all round game and as he matures he will no doubt end up in the Auckland Blues or Samoan national squad with his super strong running, pace, ability to fend and offload; as well as put in a few nice chips when necessary. His tackling was solid and he is one to watch.
England who are now off to the Semi-Finals, have a boat load of “ones to watch” but considering that the entire squad are paid professionals none really jump out as super stars of the future. Maybe Stupid Hair Man (who had a haircut and now looked respectable to our panel) Thomas Homer at Fullback (London Irish), Bob Baker at tight head (Wasps), Roid Man #1 Courtney Lawes (Saints) or Carl Fearns at Number 8 (Sale) are the ones we pick to go on to higher honours sooner than the others, at least based on fairly easy pool play.
On to Japan-Scotland. This one was expected to be close but it was Scotland who took the upper hand early on and dominated possession. Japan showed their intent immediately and tried to run the ball and run the big Scots off their feet – a tactic we thought worthy considering the heat and what would be expected if it was kept up for 60 minutes or so. Scotland put in some great defence and looked to be well improved compared to earlier rounds in this respect and forced a huge number of knock on’s by the local team. Scotland struggled on attack though against an equally committed Japanese side tackling the big fella’s around their ankles. The Japanese Captain Ryuhei Arita was on the blind side and had a huge game tackling all day and always being in support – this guy is surely a key to Japan’s rugby ambitions as he played hooker in other matches and can play anywhere in the back row.
The game had a few kicking duels and both sides showed good skills here, though probably Scotland had the edge through fullback Peter Horne who got more distance on difficult kicks. Scotland managed to pick up their first try through a good strong run by winger Chris Anderson and then a second try a few minutes later from Number 8 Stuart McInally who broke the line and offloaded nicely to his open-side flanker Chris Fusaro to go in under the posts. They went into the break surely very conscious of the toll the heat would take in the second half.
That second half indeed started with a hiss and a roar by Japan who, after having little possession and worse territory through the first half, suddenly were hot on attack looking to get back into the game. A well worked try by their backs saw the deficit close to 7-12 but it was not enough. Scotland managed to hold on in the heat for a ragged win over the determined school boys who got themselves the wooden spoon and head off to play Italy for the 13th place play off.
Other comments of the day:
New Zealand don’t look the goods to win this Junior World Cup. They struggled against Ireland the other day and took far too long to clean up the Argies. No disrespect to the South Americans, but the Kiwi’s do not look anywhere near the strength they were last year. According to our man who saw the Ireland game, the Kiwi’s are rubbish around the rucks with no-one showing any real steel at all. They won this one through a big second half and probably some scorching words from their coach – but the yellow card to one of the Argentineans surely helped them find their feet. Final score 48-9. To the Kiwi’s: on to the Semi-Finals with ye.
Ireland beat Uruguay 45-nil. Ireland put in a big one against the Kiwi’s (losing 17-nil) and got to unleash some frustration on the South Americans. We’ll see Ireland against Wales in the 5th place Semi’s.
South Africa scraped past a determined France. The Sarfies looked the goods to beat down a French team 43-27. France apparently had a rip snorter of a first 20-30 minutes before the Bokke Boys remembered what they were there for and earned their place in the Semi-Finals. France on the other hand head off to play Samoa where they should have the goods to take on the winner of Ireland-Wales for the 5th place play off.
Australia smashed last year’s Semi-Finalist and rained-soaked home side Wales 38-5. The young Aussie backs – a line-up that includes future Wallabies such as Kurtley Beale and Richard Kingi – demolished the Welshmen on burning hot day down in the South of Japan. The weather was more akin to Queensland in early summer than Cardiff in the winter rain. Even up front the Welshmen fell short of their duties and were crushed by an Aussie team that could well beat those Baby Blacks from New Zealand in the Semi’s.
Canada 20 – Tonga 36. As expected Canada get the wooden spoon for Pool D and really have a long way to go. How will they fare against the likes of Uruguay for the 13th place play off?
Fiji 20 – Italy 14. Fiji go on to play Scotland in the 9th place play off, while Italy take their wooden spoon to play Japan.
That’s about it. As we expected the Semi’s include the following tasty match ups: Australia-New Zealand; England-South Africa. Too tough to pick with any certainty but we will make the wager that the Kiwi’s will fall. Which captain will hold the trophy aloft next weekend? An Aussie? A Pom? Or a Bok?
Yours,
The Tokyo Gaijin
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Round 2 of the JWC
The Tokyo Gaijin were able to get to the games in Fukuoka and in Tokyo on June 9 to see Round 2 of the Junior World Cup. As for Chichibunomiya (say what?) Stadium in Tokyo, the ground was in immaculate condition and the weather warm if slightly humid. To help the visiting teams cope with the heat, water breaks were taken in each half allowing the commentary team to refresh through the beer lass who so cheerily filled our cups. On to the games…
England vs. Scotland
Scotland was a mixed bag in the backs but their forwards played solid rugby. They looked handy on attack through the first quarter hour until an overlap on the left wing broke down and provided English winger Charles Sharples with an intercept. Sharples (Gloucester) showed good strength to break out of Scottish Number 8 Stuart McInally’s jersey pull (poor effort at the tackle) and race off to the corner to open the try count. Again, as they did against Japan, the English loosies were quick to stamp their mark on the game both at the break down and in the loose. Their forwards work so well with the backs to apply an across field blanket defense that is hard to penetrate.
Roid Man #1 (aka Courtney Lawes from Northhampton) looked the goods as he demonstrated some fine touches with the ball, quick legs and solid running. A fine specimen, he played well but for one glaring balls up in the second half where he failed to pass to the man outside him and promptly lost the ball in the tackle. The English second row looked solid and did all the things you could ask of them, while the tight head Shaun Knight (Gloucester) played well all day.
Players showing nice skills in the Scottish camp included halfback Henry Pyrgos and Number 8 McInally who has a mean sidestep, even if he can’t tackle quite as skillfully. Scotland were dominating territory through the first half but England came away with points every time they went down to the Scottish end. Tries to Sharples (13 min) and Gloucesterman Henry “Pose Man” Trinder (36 min) had the Scots down 20-zip at the end of the half. Trinder’s try in particular was nice as the flyhalf Bob Miller (Newcastle) put down a perfectly weighted kick through for Trinder to burst on to behind the posts and do his little hand-in-face dance for the cameras like a true super star. Thomas “Stupid Hair Man” Homer (London Irish) picked up the rest of the conversions and penalties: his hair was atrocious but his boot was hard core.
It looked like Scotland were about to face the full fury of this well drilled England side when they let the Poms in for another try 2 minutes in to the second spell. Attacking left of the posts, Shaun Knight went through his tackler to pass inside to his Captain Luke Eves (Bristol), cutting a nice angle to score. It took until the 37th minute for the Poms to score another try though as Scotland put up a fight. Carl “Wannabe a Kiwi” Fearns (Number 8 off the bench) bashed his way through after a line out, ruck and pick and go for the big lad who plays for Sale.
At 30-nil, Scotland then came back with a well worked try of their own to break the duck. Earlier they had a sniff as center Ashleah McCulloch broke the tackle to go between the posts only for a desperate ankle tap by an Englishman to put him down with the ball spilling from his grasp. They got their try though after the replacement halfback (a feisty looking guy that you would likely want to punch if you met him – a lot like all those other classy half backs around the scene), Peter Jericevich injected a huge amount of energy into the match after entering at the 55 minute mark. He was indeed feisty, strong and fast of feet, with a beautiful pass on him, featuring three times to set up the last minute try that saved Scotland a night of shame. As I was thinking “kick and at least get 3 points for the sake of pride” the feisty one tapped and blasted off down the left side of the field, passing to his winger who set the ruck for the halfback to pop the ball back up to one of the forwards; another ruck, then pick and go to crash over and earn the team some last minute respect. It was a great try and the speed at which it happened made for good watching.
Certainly the Scottish backs looked more calm and controlled than they did against Samoa but they really couldn’t do much damage to a well drilled defensive team like England. My bet is that we see England in the Finals.
On to the main event of the evening (in Tokyo at least): Japan vs. Samoa. The Samoans had been a bit lucky after kicking all their possession away and being able to snaffle the winning drop goal in the final seconds of their game against Scotland and Japan had looked utterly out of their element against England, so this match would be an interesting test.
From the outset it looked like Japan were fucked, as it was said by one of our commentary members as Samoa ran in a nice try in the 4th minute: “aahh, Japan are pretty much fucked”. Maybe so. The try was a nice quick tap and run by left winger Tito Sufia, though the classy looking halfback Auvasa Faleali (who was the only stand out in their first match) and fullback Rayhan Laulala featured well in the build up to winning the penalty. Japan to their credit started to pick up the pace and early on their game plan appeared to be to run and run some more to tire the Samoan boys out. The Japanese fullback picked up a try after a nice sequence of quick ball recycling just a few minutes after looking to be “faaaaarcked” as the commentary team put it.
The game a fairly high error count but the Samoans looked dominant with their aggressive running attack. Even the man-mountain tight head Uini Atonio got in on the running action and showed some good skills in traffic to offload and set up inside center Iafeta Laau for another try. Atonio was listed at 198cm/163kg in the program today, slimmed down from the 168 listed Friday, though the papers listed him at 152kg. Whatever the numbers are, the reality is that he is a monster and a crowd favourite with ball in hand. Laau though, was the key man to help right wing Taupo Sefo score the next try for Samoa as they looked to be taking charge.
Down but not out, the Japanese played for territory and despite the size difference matched the Samoans up front. In particular the Japanese hooker looked solid and was everywhere on the park – even switching to Number 8 through the second half. Their Tongan-born center Aisea Havea looked solid and made a lot of tackles through the game. The local boys were showing just how forwards should play the game as they used their line out maul to great effect to pick up 3 tries in the second half and bring the score to 20-17 with time ticking down. Again though Samoa pulled out a try to extend the lead and this time it was openside Falamiga Selesele who crossed. Japan scored another try to bring the game closer and they attacked and attacked through the final minutes but could not get closer. It was an exciting game and certainly the Japanese looked better than in their effort against the Poms. Samoa will be fun to watch against England but you have to wonder if the hugely organized English lads will have much trouble.
Other game on the program were as follows:
The Argies beat the Uraguyans 33-15 to show that even a small rugby nation like Uraguay can be competitive. It was 15-10 at the half but the Argentinean lads started to dominate from late in the first half. Most interesting of all, on the program, the Argies had 3 Tomas’ and 4 Joaquin’s in the First XV – though when quizzed, an Englishman in our panel felt Diego was the most common name in South America. Their tries were mostly from the backs while the Uruguyans scored through Number 8 and the half back, whatever that means.
The Aussies took out Tonga in Fukuoka by 40-6 with tries to Reds winger Rodney Davies (2) on the left wing, Hooker Nathan Charles (Brumbies), flanker Thomas Murday (Force), center Afusipa Taumoepeau (Brumbies), and fullback and South African escapee Mark Swanepoel (Force). Tonga were out after the 24th minute and their second penalty of the game.
Canada looked better against Wales but still appear a tad lame according to our man in Fukuoka. They were smashed 55-15 by the Welshmen and their stand out players included Harry Jones (Captain and flyhalf), and Jordan Wilson-Ross (fullback) according to our man in the stand. For the Welshmen it appeared a good overall team effort and tries were had by prop Simon Gardener, flanker and Captain Justin Tupiric (3), wing James Loxton (in the 2nd minute no less and another early in the second half) and replacement halfback Ryhs Downes, who all stood out. Flanker Seb Pearson scored Canada’s first try of the tournament and Number 8 Andrew Crow picked up another late in the match from a well worked line out maul. Wales will go up against Australia in what should be a very interesting match between two of the tournament strongmen.
In other news, France beat Fiji 48-25 in what must have been an entertaining match 31-25 with 30 minutes on the clock, but the Frogs ran away with it and the island boys apparently coughed the ball up far too often over the final stage.
Finally, South Africa pummeled Italy 65-3 and look to be a solid outfit come the Knock Out rounds but we don’t know much about the French as yet, except that they are really problematic for Kiwi teams post-pool play!
Our bet for Semi-Finals: Aussies-Kiwi’s, Poms-Bokkes.
Yours,
The Tokyo Gaijin
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The IRB Toshiba Junior World Championships kicked off last Friday night with games in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.
A quick revisit to last year which was the first JWC and was held in sunny Wales… The Kiwi’s, Poms, Bokkes and locals made the Semi-finals with the Kiwi’s and Poms prevailing to set up a tasty finale. That final fell flat though in terms of a contest as the New Zealanders shut England out to win 38-3. The Kiwi’s spanked Tonga (48-9), Ireland (65-10) and the Argies (60-0) in the pool games, before seeing Wales off in the rain 31-6. England beat Australia and South Africa to make the final but it was Wales’ Leigh Halfpenny who was voted Player of the Tournament. Halfpenny is now somewhere in South Africa getting tenderized by local Boers in the build up to the Springboks.
First up in the program was the future of Samoa against Scotland. The Samoan boys started slow and it looked like Scotland were going to dominate early in the second half as the island lads looked poked. In particular the man-mountain tight head prop looked knackered but according to the official program, this guy weighed in at 168 kilo’s packed over his 198 cm frame. WTF? Scotland had their own man-mountain in the form of lock Richie Gray, who along with his 125 kg’s also brought a fair amount of energy and leadership to his pack.
Early on the players to look out for – according to the Tokyo Gaijin selection panel: a Sarfie, a Pom, a Basque and a Kiwi – were the Samoan halfback who set up a nice try in the first half with a deft chip, chase and offload to open-side Falemiga Selesele and possibly Scottish fullback Peter Horne who ran the ball nicely until he picked up a leg injury and started doing daft things. For example, taking a kick reception in his 22, rolling back and lying down with the ball, then getting up and going outside his 22 to kick out of the full. The jury is still out on his game and he has another couple of matches to prove himself. The Scottish outside center Ashleah McCulloch also looked dangerous (despite his name), as did their open-side flanker Chris Fusaro. With Samoa having opened the scoring with their 7 pointer, Scotland dominated the play to be up 14 points to 7 going into the final stages of the game and their backs were growing more confident after some earlier indecision. For the Samoans, our panel thought they must have just been here for the parties as they looked tired by the boat trip up and lacked any form of organization in the back line, opting to kick away possession on every single occasion. It looked ominous until the island boys snuck in a try in the 58th minute by left wing Lemisio Faimoa on a nice switch pass from his flyhalf. In the wet Faimoa dived early and just kept sliding under the defense all the way to the line and suddenly Samoa was electrified.
Scotland hardly saw the ball again and certainly never threatened. Samoa took another penalty a minute later to level the scores at 14 apiece and stayed in the Scottish half looking for the breakthrough. Scottish defense was solid but the error rate from Samoa and their bad habit of chipping possession away remained preventing them from crossing the whitewash. As the clock wound down it looked like it was all over as Scotland kicked up to the Samoa half. Samoa’s replacement wing Jonathan Malo took the ball and ran it straight back at a swarm of Scots somehow slipping through the would-be tackles to get up near the 22. Within a flash the ball was flipped to reserve fly-half Winston Wilson who fired over a wobbly but accurate drop goal to win the game in the 80th minute. And the crowd went wild!
Queue the seasoned English professionals against the local Universities. The England team is made up of young hopefuls from the likes of Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, Sale Sharks, Newcastle Falcons and other leading names of English rugby, while the local boys came direct from Teikyo, Meiji, Waseda and Keio Universities. It was expected to be a pasting and it was. By this time beer replacements had been found and the details started getting hazy but it was keenly noted that the England back row was a major factor in the match with their pace and power bringing the ball up. Especially the flankers were superior in the rucks and in support play; in the loose they showed pace to burn on some telling line breaks. Japan’s flyhalf blew three kick off’s and really struggled to get in the game. Mind you the England backs were bigger than the Japanese forwards and when the Japanese fly-half did get possession he had the English flankers in his face all day.
Sadly no-one really stood out for the locals as a future savior of Japanese rugby but their backs played with high energy and did cause some problems for the Brits. To their credit the Japanese scrum held quite well and they tackled their guts out until the inevitable onslaught came. The England defensive line was always intact and Japan never really had a chance, only threatening the English line once late in the piece. England truly looked like a professional team on a mission but mistakes were common and discipline cost them a couple yellow cards.
Players commented on by our panel included the English open-side Josh Ovens, the halfback and big Number 8 Carl Fearns. Also we can’t forget Roid Man #1 and Roid Man #2. When Roid Man #1 (Courtney Lawes) scored a try late in the game it was noted by the panel that the monster walked funny. Blinked funny in fact. These were beasts unleashed to intimidate the local academics through the second half. Final score 43-nil. It could have been higher if not for the increasingly heavy rainfall. England will be a strong team through this tournament and we expect to see them in the semis where the Roid Brothers will once again be let out of the cage.
On the way to the pub score sheets were handed to us and the following comes from a glance in their direction. Australia destroyed Canada 86-nil with halfback Richard Kingi (Queensland Reds) and fullback Kurtley Beale (‘Tahs) scoring 4 tries each. Matthew To’omua (Brumbies) playing flyhalf also picked up a couple. Our man at the ground has not submitted his match report and we have nothing further to add at this stage.
With 9 Super 14 contracted players, Australia will be a solid team through the tournament. Fiji were blown out in the second half by the Bokkes in Osaka. Going into the break the Sarfies were up 14-10 but added 22 points in what must have been a dominated performance. All of Fiji’s points (including the first try of the match) came from outside center Noa Nakaitaci (listed as a fullback from Vitogo in the program). For the Biltongs tries came from Number 8 Christian Stander (24 min), center and captain Rob Ebersohn (49), his twin brother and fullback Josias Ebersohn (55), and left winger Sampie Mastriet (70).
In Nagoya, Argentina went down to Ireland 9-16. Irish outside center Nevin Spence scored the only try of the game in the 13th minute and from then on it reads like a kick fest. Argentina were close and it was two second half penalties that saw them home. A droppie was attempted so we can assume Ireland had the territory and possession but Argentina kept them off their line. This was an almost identically opposite result to their 2008 match but the Irish come up against the Kiwi’s on Tuesday.
Uraguay were subjected to a 75-nil drubbing by 2008 Champs New Zealand in the other Nagoya game. Zac Guildford is the only remaining member of the 2008 squad and he was able to run in a hat-trick of tries in the first half. New Zealand coach Dave Rennie said after the game he was “reasonably happy” with the effort, while the Uruguayans were just proud to be there.
Wales thumped Tonga 51-5 in Fukuoka, showing the island boys why they were Semi-finalists in 2008 and a team to be reckoned with this year. It must be said that Welsh Number 8 Roy Pitman looks more like a Brown Brother than a pasty Welshman, but he is one big unit. It seems the Welsh scrum was a powerhouse that unsettled the Tongans from the outset. Tonga gave up two yellow cards (at the same time) and sound like fitness is an issue as they faded in the second half.
Finally, France overcame Italy 43-13 in Osaka. Right wing Benjamin Fall scored a pair of tries but it appears that the competition was over early on as Italy were dominated by their 6N neighbours.
Thanks to Jedi for sorting out the media passes. They saved the day on several occasions. Firstly the toilets were broken down and the queue was a mile long but those with media passes could head for the carpark! Secondly the pricey beers at the stadium (and more of those lengthy queues), meant a quick trip to the beer shop across the street from the stadium was required.
Great stuff! Yours,
The Tokyo Gaijin
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In case you haven’t heard Episode 88 yet, we’re offering our first ever survey to see what you think of the show and figure out how to make things better. To take part send an email with ‘Survey’ in the subject line to rugby.roundtable@gmail.com
Cheers – Jedi
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