2019 Rugby World Cup

daveza · Oct 20, 2019

To be fair his box kicks gain less than 10 meters which were usually regained by Japan almost immediately and if it was the game plan why did Jantjies not also box kick from the scrum ?

Speedster · Oct 20, 2019

daveza said:
To be fair his box kicks gain less than 10 meters which were usually regained by Japan almost immediately and if it was the game plan why did Jantjies not also box kick from the scrum ?

Jantjies did. I'll have to rewatch to count how many times, but he certainly did. There were two or three atrocious kicks by faf towards the end, but for the most part he was pretty accurate

Fulcrum29 · Oct 20, 2019

daveza said:
To be fair his box kicks gain less than 10 meters which were usually regained by Japan almost immediately and if it was the game plan why did Jantjies not also box kick from the scrum ?

The kicks are in design to put pressure on the opposition and forcing them into mistakes which if they do make a mistake resets the set-piece and if not the team sets up their defence plan for which will work for the turnover ball with an attacking line.

The Kiwis also play a game like this as do most European teams.

They say that Japan is quick, but we probably have the fastest team off the blocks for line speed, it fits perfectly for what they want to achieve - A pressure game.

Out of Japan's frustration from our line speed they started to return the ball to us.

It isn't the kicks which should be pissing people off, but the accuracy of the kick. Faf had a couple of bad off-target box kicks in the earlier matches.

South Africa holds onto the ball in the late game when we have the lead. It isn't a good idea to play length when the attacking teams are enterprising out of nature.

SoldierMan · Oct 20, 2019

Speedster said:
Jantjies did. I'll have to rewatch to count how many times, but he certainly did. There were two or three atrocious kicks by faf towards the end, but for the most part he was pretty accurate

Um from what I remember quite a few of his kicks went too far and Japan just gained the ball. No contest.

Badprop_za · Oct 20, 2019

My biggest gripe with Faf's kicking is the time it takes to setup. It almost feels the game comes to a standstill before he kicks.
More often than not the ref will call to play it.....

Speedster · Oct 20, 2019

I guess that would be a question for Rassie to answer -does he want every kick contestable, or should some be deeper to push the defensive line (especially wings and 15) back? I have no doubt that the shallow kicks were errors though.

Fulcrum29 · Oct 20, 2019

I see 4 Japanese players announced their retirement today:

- Luke Thompson is returning to retirement,
- Shota Horie,
- Fumiaki Tanaka and
- Kenki Fukuoka.

Fukuoka is going back to medical school to become a medical practitioner but is wishing to be included in the Olympics squad. The rest is returning as everyday salarymen. I don’t know about Micheal Leitch but it is rumoured that Kazuki Himeno will take over the role as captain going into 2020. Jamie Joseph is still in charge until 2021.

Japan will also announce their Pro League on November 18th. It will be interesting to see their plan and who will be partnering as stakeholders. This competition is set to launch in 2021. Japan will then have two pro rugby leagues with the Top League being divisional. The next World Cup is in 2023, and they will only grow their game in 2021… expect many players who were in Japan’s RWC camp to be at 2023 as I don’t see much development happening in 2 years time. Foreigners galore, more likely.

Japan's biggest concern now is to avoid stagnation. Anyway, done talking about Japan. It is now all about the top 4 teams.

Speedster · Oct 20, 2019

Here is an excellent analysis of the Boks chosen style of play. You might not like it, but this should help you understand it:

As South Africa are beginning to rack up the points, you can start to see a trend to how they create scores; kick from a position of strength into the opposition half, pressure the other team into making mistakes and then score. Kick-pressure-score.

...

With a high energy blitz defence in what is likely to be a hot and humid Japan, the Springboks look to have a great foil in their attacking kicking game. While kicking the ball away to score may seem counter-intuitive when looking to score, it requires less exertion than running the ball up the pitch, and plays to the strengths of a back three including the likes of Le Roux, Mapimpi, Kolbe and S’bu Nkosi.

Kick-Pressure-Score: A look at South Africa’s phase-play attack

South Africa had an ideal preparation for the World Cup last Friday with a 41-7 win over Japan in the host country. The Springboks ended up scoring 6 tries altogether and are now averaging 32.4 poi…

ekrugbyanalysis.wordpress.com

TheMightyQuinn · Oct 20, 2019

Anybody else notice the interesting discrepancy today with Pollard's jersey. I wonder if there will be any repercussions?

Speedster · Oct 20, 2019

MightyQuin said:
Anybody else notice the interesting discrepancy today with Pollard's jersey. I wonder if there will be any repercussions?

Missed it. What was wrong?

TheMightyQuinn · Oct 20, 2019

Speedster said:
Missed it. What was wrong?

He had the Springbok emblem on his jersey where the RWC emblem is supposed to be...

Speedster · Oct 20, 2019

MightyQuin said:
He had the Springbok emblem on his jersey where the RWC emblem is supposed to be...

Only him? I wonder how that happens

TheMightyQuinn · Oct 20, 2019

Speedster said:
Only him? I wonder how that happens

Only him as far as I could see.

I noticed it, because I've a pet peeve re. the Springbok emblem being sidelined, when they are still referred to as the Boks or Springboks by literally EVERYONE internationally.

Even on the scoreboard there is a Springok indicating our team.

rietrot · Oct 20, 2019

Speedster said:
Here is an excellent analysis of the Boks chosen style of play. You might not like it, but this should help you understand it:

Kick-Pressure-Score: A look at South Africa’s phase-play attack

South Africa had an ideal preparation for the World Cup last Friday with a 41-7 win over Japan in the host country. The Springboks ended up scoring 6 tries altogether and are now averaging 32.4 poi…

ekrugbyanalysis.wordpress.com

Who ever wrote that has never played rugby as a forward. Chasing after kicks is hard work and tackling is just as hard. If you're team is running the ball hitting every second ruck is easy and running the ball is fun.

Fulcrum29 · Oct 20, 2019

MightyQuin said:
Anybody else notice the interesting discrepancy today with Pollard's jersey. I wonder if there will be any repercussions?

Just checked the highlights. I doubt there will be any repercussions. This may very well have been used in an emergency. No emblems or logos on the sleeves either.

It is a Rugby World Cup policy to have the emblems and logos moved, the World Cup logo must be on the right breast and then the Springbok emblem moves to the sleeve. The one sleeve has the Cup and the other have the Springbok. I think this was used in an emergency. He had the right one on in the previous games.

zeb · Oct 20, 2019

If there's a black dude who wants to make some money, I'll sponsor a few hundred if you accuse both Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux of assault and racist slurs. But you only get the $$$ if they're sent home before the next game

I'm kidding of course. You have to do it for free.

Speedster · Oct 20, 2019

zeb said:
If there's a black dude who wants to make some money, I'll sponsor a few hundred if you accuse both Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux of assault and racist slurs. But you only get the $$$ if they're sent home before the next game

I'm kidding of course. You have to do it for free.

Weird how South Africans hate faf, while the rest of the world really rates him.

zeb · Oct 20, 2019

It's a ruse to make sure Rassie will keep picking him.

Christo4 · Oct 20, 2019

rietrot said:
Who ever wrote that has never played rugby as a forward. Chasing after kicks is hard work and tackling is just as hard. If you're team is running the ball hitting every second ruck is easy and running the ball is fun.

T/C ?

Maybe the days you played but not the norm lately. The pudding is in the score.

Fulcrum29 · Oct 20, 2019

Speedster said:
Weird how South Africans hate faf, while the rest of the world really rates him.

Rugby World Cup: The top 10 players to watch out for including two England stars | Rugby | Sport | Express.co.uk

The Rugby World Cup is a chance for some of the world’s best players to showcase their talents on a global stage. Below are the top 10 stars to keep an eye out for.

www.express.co.uk

Rugby World Cup 2019: Beauden Barrett, Faf de Klerk and the other key players

The tournament in Japan kicks off on Friday, September 20

amp.thenational.ae

Faf only Bok in Telegraph's Top 20 RWC players | Sport

Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk is the sole South African to make the Telegraph's Top 20 best Rugby World Cup players in the world.

www.sport24.co.za

Faf is an obedient rugby player, but Rassie needs to loosen the leash a bit at times. Faf has shown true pedigree in his defence today.

2019 Rugby World Cup

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