Relance
Herbert Moran (7)
After a couple of days, I am still stunned by that Japanese victory. Can't get over it. Even though you want to understand how it could click so perfectly, even though you had been following them for a little while and knew about the quality of the coaching staff, the Super Rugby players or the rising level of the Top League, you don't want to be part of that bandwagon of self-proclaimed Eddie Jones exegetes giving you their unerring teaching about how the physios, the psychologist, Pep Guardiola, the team's mascot or a new shochu variety distilled from Shota Horie's armpits sweat made them deliver the way they did.
Not that the game shouldn't be analysed at length, far from it: I think it was Chris McCracken who pointed out rightly that some of EJ (Eddie Jones)'s patterns of play are very legible. But that victory is irreducible to even the best of video analyses. There was, there is still something entirely irrational about it, a set of shared beliefs that morally united the players that day; the enabling factors, the environment conducive to that performance may be explained. But why it broke out then and there is that touch of mystery that has just made the game of rugby a little more captivating for me.
Back to the game. I am still stunned by that Japanese victory. I can't imagine how the players must feel: they're the underage nerd Fogell-turned-25 yo Hawaiian organ donor McLovin, who bangs the hottest chick at the party. FFS they can't even get to the training field without having the local college students forming a guard of honour ! As meticulous as EJ (Eddie Jones) might be, I doubt he ever planned for this. I'd be less concerned about their physical recovery than I'd be about their emotional state tbh. If that was France playing after such a feat, I'd put all my savings on whoever they'd be facing, in a heartbeat. I believe that's terra incognita for Japan. Will they crumble against a wary, improved Scotland team under Cotter, or will they be up for it ?
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Maitland.
Japan: 15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Male Sau, 12 Yu Tamura, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 5 Justin Ives, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki.
Replacements: 16 Takeshi Kazu, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Shoji Ito, 21 Hendrik Tui, 22 Atsushi Hiwasa, 23 Karne Hesketh.
Not that the game shouldn't be analysed at length, far from it: I think it was Chris McCracken who pointed out rightly that some of EJ (Eddie Jones)'s patterns of play are very legible. But that victory is irreducible to even the best of video analyses. There was, there is still something entirely irrational about it, a set of shared beliefs that morally united the players that day; the enabling factors, the environment conducive to that performance may be explained. But why it broke out then and there is that touch of mystery that has just made the game of rugby a little more captivating for me.
Back to the game. I am still stunned by that Japanese victory. I can't imagine how the players must feel: they're the underage nerd Fogell-turned-25 yo Hawaiian organ donor McLovin, who bangs the hottest chick at the party. FFS they can't even get to the training field without having the local college students forming a guard of honour ! As meticulous as EJ (Eddie Jones) might be, I doubt he ever planned for this. I'd be less concerned about their physical recovery than I'd be about their emotional state tbh. If that was France playing after such a feat, I'd put all my savings on whoever they'd be facing, in a heartbeat. I believe that's terra incognita for Japan. Will they crumble against a wary, improved Scotland team under Cotter, or will they be up for it ?
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Maitland.
Japan: 15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Male Sau, 12 Yu Tamura, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 5 Justin Ives, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki.
Replacements: 16 Takeshi Kazu, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Shoji Ito, 21 Hendrik Tui, 22 Atsushi Hiwasa, 23 Karne Hesketh.
his only weakness is kicking for territory, which is I believe why Eddie Jones has gone for a second 5/8 at 12 with Tamura. 
