VIBE
Was it the bagpipes ban ? Or the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 awarded the best whisky by Jim Murray’s bible ? The Scots were out to right a few wrongs and beat the Japanese in a tight RWC encounter, despite what a misleading scoreboard says.
The game was one of several tipping points.
Early on, Laidlaw and Russell exposed the Japanese poor aerial skills, bombing the openside winger repeatedly with accurate pressure kicks. Despite a nicely-worked maul off a lineout combination that resulted in a try, the hype-makers were mostly pinned in their half, dropping bombs, and the inevitable scrum-penalty-lineout-maul-try ensued.
After that feverish start, the Brave Blossoms managed to string together a few phases, and the momentum swayed in their favour. It seemed like South Africa 2015 all over again. The attitude in contact and accurate cleaning ensured speedy recycling. Then, it was the same neatly-executed ballet of great running lines and support play, waves and inside balls to take advantage of the rushing Scots. The Japanese were moving the point of contact at will and looked like scoring every time. But as Greg Clarke would say, “they needed to be patient there”. Poor decision-making let them down on several occasions in the Scottish red zone.
The second-half started with the same high-tempo, the Japanese playing Goldberg Variations. After a bullocking run followed by a step, a great recentring kick and a couple of strong carries, all in the same play, Japanese standout n°8 Amanaki Lelei Mafi was badly injured and replaced by Hendrik Tui. Once again, the momentum began to sway: the boys of Vern Cotter repelled attacking waves behind the gain line and asserted their dominance at the breakdown, while the Japanese attack began to lose shape. Brett Gosper’s idea of a “fair turnaround”, the good Scottish defence and the demanding nature of Eddie Jones’ attacking structure were taking their toll. After a nice move off-10 on the blindside and an intercept, Scotland blew the tired Blossoms away in the last 15.
SCORE
Scotland 45
Tries: Hardie, Bennett 2, Seymour, Russell
Conversions: Laidlaw 3
Penalties: Lambie 4
Japan 10
Tries: Mafi
Conversions: Goromaru
Penalties: Goromaru
Score at half-time: 12-7
INCIDENTS OF NOTE
The loss of Mafi will be a massive blow for the Brave Blossoms. 103m, 2 clean breaks, 5 defenders beaten, 7 tackles in 45 minutes, that’s how good the bloke was once again, after tearing it up against South Africa as a replacement 4 days earlier.
FEAST YOUR EYES
Goromaru’s covering tackle right before the tryline, in the dying minutes of the first half. Or Finn Russell’s sweet inside passes to set up several tries. They’re all in the highlights, courtesy of World Rugby.
SHOULD I BOTHER WATCHING IT?
It depends. As a neutral, the game was excruciatingly frustrating to watch: the Scots played restrictively for a good part of the game and a lot of nice Japanese moves didn’t quite come off, so they won’t feature in any highlights reel. But if you’re looking for deft moves and combinations or well-built multi phase plays, that shouldn’t bother you.
