TOKYO — The first two weeks of the Rugby World Cup are in the books, with only New Zealand, Canada, France and the United States still to play their second games in Japan.
And that will be taken care of on Wednesday when the All Blacks and Canada face off in Oita, and Fukuoka welcomes France and the U.S.
Read on as we bring you some of the off- and on-field colour from the second week of the tournament.
YOU CAN’T ESCAPE THE ALL BLACKS
The two-time defending world champions were always going to be a big deal in Japan. Their posters are plastered all over Tokyo; they were welcomed with two separate hakas performed by local schoolchildren; Steve Hansen was made an honourary police chief in Oita and they are generally big attractions wherever they go.
You might have thought, though, with the team in Oita the sightings of everything All Black would slow.
It is not the case.
On Monday night after a lovely yakitori dinner at the north exit of the ginormous Shinjuku Station, your humble correspondent had a hankering for something sweet after the delicious beef and chicken skewers, and sliced squid, and so he headed for one of the many Family Marts [perhaps more common than sightings of the All Blacks] that are dotted around the city.
Rummaging through the freezer section, past the green tea ice cream offerings and various Drumstick-like options, there it was.
Surely not? My eyes are deceiving me? It can’t be.
On the way home last night in Shinjuku, fancied something sweet. This just about did me. Can’t escape the @AllBlacks, even when they’re on another island in Japan. pic.twitter.com/FlHUb7IQdy
— Sam Bruce (@Sambruce86) October 1, 2019
Yep, that’s an All Blacks ice-cream. Staring me right in the face. In Japan. Guess if you can put a label on it, you can license it.
For the record, the chocolate-coated green-tea ice-cream with slithered almonds was a triumph.
IT AIN’T COOL UNDER THE ROOF IN KOBE
It may be autumn in Japan, but the conditions remain incredibly warm. The perfect supporter attire is loose, breathy clothing, a short-sleeve jersey of your country’s team, if you have it, accompanied by plenty of fluids … not always of the H2O variety.
The players are, at times, also struggling with the warm conditions and that has been no more evident than under the roof at Kobe Misaki Stadium. First up, it was England and the United States who had a case of the dropsies before Scotland and Samoa also took some time to adjust the slippery pill on Monday night.
Let’s get one thing straight: Kobe Misaki Stadium is a fantastic and those looking for the solution to the great stadium debate in Sydney, Australia, would be wise to consider a similar design. There wouldn’t be a bad seat in the house.
But can we maybe keep the roof open; you know, to let a little air in? Certainly last Thursday night as George Ford ran amok against the Eagles, things got just a little bit stuffy.
In the tone of the iconic Ron Burgundy, “it’s so hot today, jeans were a bad choice!”
RED AND GOLD MONTAGE MESMERISING IN TOKYO
It may not be the best design for watching regular-field sports such as rugby but Tokyo Stadium is still a beautiful structure that is creating a cauldron-like atmosphere at the World Cup.
And that was on show last Sunday for the huge Pool D clash between Wales and Australia, the venue awash with red and gold jerseys in one of the great colour contrasts at the tournament to date.
The national anthems of both sides were also fantastic. The Welsh anthem is always belted out with passion no matter where the team is playing, but there is also something special about hearing it at home under the roof in Cardiff.
Not one of the more inspiring anthems on the planet, Advance Australia Affair isn’t always sung with the same conviction. But perhaps sensing the gravity of the occasion, the huge contingent of Wallabies supporters at Tokyo Stadium did their best to deliver one of the more uplifting renditions for some time.
The occasion certainly wasn’t lost on Wallabies prop Scott Sio.
“It was unreal to see so much gold out there; I had a few friends in the crowd and they said the atmosphere was electric, something that they’d never experienced before as well and just credit to Japan so far, hosting such a great World Cup,” Sio said Tuesday.
“They’re packing out the stadiums with all the supporters and it’s been unreal, like we said to some of the boys who haven’t come over here before, it’s hard to put into words, you sort of have to experience it.”
THE HOSTS AREN’T QUITE HOME, YET
Japan’s win over Ireland on Saturday was just the tonic the tournament needed. Following a week of discussion about referees, citing commissioners and the World Rugby “framework”, the Brave Blossoms gave us a reminder of what this tournament should be about: Great rugby.
Having stayed in touch with the Irish via the boot of Yu Tamura, Japan were clearly finishing over the top of their opponents in the second half and finally got a reward when Kenki Fukuoka finished off some slick passing in the 59th minute. The Brave Blossoms went on to win 19-12.
That result has them on the cusp of a quarterfinal place for the very first time, but they are not quite there yet. The bonus-point system could yet deny them a place in the knockout phase, just as did four years ago in England.
If Japan can beat Samoa with a bonus point, by scoring four tries just as they did against Russia, then Scotland will have to beat the hosts in the same fashion, and likely by some margin, if they are secure a place in the knockout phase. This is assuming Ireland bounce back and swat away both of Russia and Samoa.
But the message for Japan should remain simple: Keep on winning.
Two more victories and they’ll top Pool A. It’s that simple.
NOT HAPPY, JOE
Just on that famous clash in Shizuoka on Saturday, it appears Ireland weren’t overly enthused by the officiating of Australian referee Angus Gardner.
No-one who saw the game could make the case that Ireland really deserved to win, but Joe Schmidt certainly felt that his side might not have got the rub of the — excuse the pun — green when it came to some of the offside rulings.
And he later claimed to have been justified in those post-match comments after talking with World Rugby.
“We were penalised for offside four times and we’ve now got the feedback that three of those were incorrect calls. People were asking us about our discipline,” Schmidt said.
“It’s pretty hard to keep getting off the line and onto the front foot when you are getting those calls. Two of them were from an assistant referee [Jerome Garces] who is going to be refereeing us on Thursday [against Russia], so we know we’re going to have to be on our best behaviour.
“One thing I would say about this team is that they try to go out and deliver and, generally speaking, it’s unusual for us to have a higher penalty count than our opponents.”
Saturday’s loss is certainly a setback for Ireland but you’d back them to bounce back and take out their frustrations against Russia and then Samoa.