"I don't want this to end"
So we’re ten games (out of 48) into the 2019 Rugby World Cup and we’ve seen what 18 of the 20 teams have to offer. There have been lovely tries, dramatic finishes and just some bloody good rugby.
In the words of Uruguayan captain Juan Manuel Gaminara following his side’s shock 30-27 win over Fiji this morning, I don’t want this to end.
The all-black gold standard
New Zealand showed everyone why they are going for a third William Webb Ellis trophy in a row with a convincing win over South Africa. It wasn’t quite as high-scoring as I had hoped but I was hugely impressed by New Zealand.
They controlled the game brilliantly and laid down a marker for everyone else to meet. With Scotland or Japan presumably awaiting them in the quarter-finals, the All Blacks won’t really have to up their game again until the semi-finals.
It’s hard to get one over Steve Hansen let alone do it twice in one year and New Zealand had clearly learned from the draw during the Rugby Championship.
Richie Mo’unga’s kick pass to Sevu Reece in the build up to the George Bridge try is a perfect example of how the Kiwis got creative in order to counter the South African blitz.
But that wasn’t the only way, with New Zealand kicking from hand 50% more than they did back in July and giving up far more territory to the ‘Boks, who couldn’t get fast ball thanks to some, shall we say, clever play at the breakdown from Ardie Savea and co.
When they do keep the ball, the All Blacks are stretching the two playmaker set to the limit, with Beauden Barrett stepping in as first receiver and actually making more passes and carries on the day than #10 Mo’unga.
The only team to have come close to New Zealand’s level on the opening weekend were Ireland, who totally dismantled a poor Scotland side with a perfectly-executed gameplan. But the All Blacks remain a level above.
The Welsh masterplan
I wasn’t as impressed by Wales as a lot of people seem to be. Though they scored plenty of tries off set piece, I think that’s more down to the fact that Georgia were exceptionally poor in the first half rather than Stephen Jones being a tactical genius who has entirely re-vamped their attack.
Wales caught the Lelos out twice in the first half with the exact same move, reversing the play back to the blindside winger off a lineout.
The first example came in the 13th minute, with Justin Tipuric touching down a phase later.
This is about as simple a move as you’ll ever see and Wales use the exact same play from the exact same place on the field six minutes later. Amazingly, they find it even easier to score this time.
This is somehow a different passage of play.
The real test for Wales will come this Sunday when they face Australia (kick off is 8.45am BST). Both teams look destined for the quarter-finals thanks to Uruguay’s win over Fiji but the battle for top spot in Pool D will be fierce, with the loser potentially facing England in the quarter-finals with New Zealand awaiting the winner in the semis.
Though Australia are capable of beating anyone on their day, I still think Wales will win. The Wallabies weren’t terribly impressive on Saturday and they won’t be able to rely on Warren Gatland’s men running out of steam like Fiji did.
If Michael Cheika is to mastermind a win, he’ll need a big, big game from Samu Kerevi and Nic White will need to sort out his kicking.
But there is one thing that excites me greatly about this game: the battle of the back row. It’s highly likely that both sides will start with two opensides, with Michael Hooper and David Pocock going up against Josh Navidi and Tipuric.
Referees have been quite relaxed in their interpretations of the breakdown so far at this World Cup which could lead to some hugely entertaining chaos.
So who is the man in the middle when Australia and Wales meet on Sunday? Why, none other than Mr Romain Poite. It should be a cracker.
Ref Watch: When is a knock on not a knock on?
There’s not a lot that I can say here that hasn’t already been said about the refs at this tournament. Even World Rugby have said the standard of officiating was not up to the standard in the opening weekend.
Reece Hodge has been cited for his hit on Peceli Yato while Samoan duo Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu’u have both been cited for their hits on Russian captain Vasily Artemyev, though I personally think a yellow card was the right call for Lee-Lo.
While those incidents are taking the post-match headlines, there’s one moment I can’t stop thinking about from the Wales vs Georgia game when Gareth Davies attempts — but miraculously fails — to make a deliberate knock on to kill a Georgian attack.
Having originally called a knock on, referee Luke Pearce decided Davies’ slap down actually went backwards after reviewing it for a yellow card.
I suppose it is technically the right call but it’s one of those ones that feels very much against the spirit of the law in the same way a flat pass out of the hands which travels forward because of the momentum of the player should not be considered a forward pass.
I’m not really sure what the correct call is here to be honest but my gut tells me it should have been a penalty and a yellow card.
That feeling is only reinforced by Pearce making two other strange calls in this game by not showing a yellow card to Josh Adams for dragging down a man in the air and not awarding Wales a penalty try when he showed Jaba Bregvadze a yellow card for dragging down a maul destined for the tryline.
Meanwhile, in Tier 2…
I’ve been hugely impressed with the performances of the Tier 2 nations at this Rugby World Cup through the first ten games. Uruguay’s win over Fiji has been the highlight of the tournament for me so far and more than justified the 6am start.
I don’t think anyone gave them much of a chance coming into the game but Los Teros were great value for their first win at a Rugby World Cup in 16 years and it blows open the race for third in Pool D, with automatic qualification for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France on offer to whoever can take it.
It’s a shame they play Georgia so soon, with Sunday’s game probably arriving too soon for Uruguay to pull off another upset — though they can’t really complain, considering they caught Fiji on a short week. The Lelos were terrible in the first half against Wales and on a full week’s rest, Uruguay would be more than capable of beating them.
In the meantime, just enjoy that result.
It might just be me but if feels like the standard of the Tier 2 openside flankers and halfbacks has never been higher.
In particular, Tagir Gadzhiev (Russia), Peceli Yato (Fiji) and Pieter Labuschagne (Japan) are all canny operators at openside flanker and their disruptive force is vital against the bigger teams. If you can frustrate the opposition at the breakdown and secure the ball in attack, you’re in with a shout of winning.
Of course, if you’re going to take advantage of good back row play, you need strong decision-makers at halfback. Santiago Arata (Uruguay) and Damian Stevens (Namibia) have both impressed at scrumhalf while Ben Volavola (Fiji) and Felipe Berchesi (Uruguay) are the two standout outhalves for me.
You could see the difference in Fiji’s play against Uruguay when Volavola came off the bench. They looked far more composed in attack — though he still struggled from the tee, with Fiji costing themselves eight points by missing four of their five conversions.
I thought Yu Tamura had a poor opener for Japan against Russia — partly because of Gadzhiev’s hard work in disrupting Japanese ball — but he’s still got time to shake off those early tournament nerves and get things going. The hosts are going to need him firing on all cylinders if they are going to pull off an upset.
Did Rob Kearney pass the ball this week?
Anyone who has watched a Leinster or Ireland match with me knows of my frustration with Rob Kearney’s refusal to pass to his teammates, so each week I will be asking the question: did Rob Kearney pass the ball?
This week’s answer: No, Rob didn’t play. Jordan Larmour was impressive in his absence but I don’t buy the knee-jerk reaction that he’s put any pressure on Kearney for the starting #15 shirt in the big games.
If you see a Rob Kearney pass the ball in the wild, please contact the relative authorities (me) immediately.
Some extra stuff
Tom Savage of Three Red Kings has the best breakdown of Ireland’s win over Scotland I’ve seen so far.
Graeme Forbes has a superb explainer of New Zealand’s gameplan against South Africa in The Rugby Magazine.
I’ve recommended him before, but every rugby fan should be following Squidge Rugby’s videos during the Rugby World Cup. He is attempting to make one for every game except the Bronze Final. Will he make it? I doubt it but at the time of writing, he already has three of the games covered, providing fascinating insight into each one. His breakdown of France’s win over Argentina is particularly brilliant.
This is a very cool use of technology to recreate a more dynamic replay of George Bridge’s try for New Zealand at the weekend. You can also see it done for Andrew Conway’s hacked clearance and chase down of Stuart Hogg here.
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