Japan Shock Rugby World Again!

Japan 19 - 12 Ireland

What a day, what an unbelievable, mind boggling day. There's only one place to start on Saturday's round up, because Japan have done it yet again! They stunned everyone outside of their own camp by beating Ireland in the game of the tournament so far. It was truly an awe inspiring display from the hosts, they played which such energy and pace, that Ireland just couldn't shake them off. Japan tackled which such ferocity and accuracy that it made Ireland's big ball carriers almost obsolete. Where Japan really made nuisance of themselves was the breakdown where they slowed Ireland down and on their own ball, Japan moved the ball off the floor such such speed that Ireland began to tire. The game was waiting for Ireland to try and disrupt that Japanese breakdown, but they weren't able to do. Japan back themselves as the fittest team in the competition and try to keep the ball in play as much as possible; as Ireland began to slow down in the humidity, Japan seemed to grow. What was strange to see was the way Ireland played in the first 20 minutes, regularly moving the ball wide with neat little kicks from Carty, resulting in two good tries. For whatever reason they stopped the tactic and reverted to route one Irish possession based rugby; except they couldn't maintain that possession as the herculean Japanese effort never allowed them to build any momentum. This now leaves Japan in control of the pool and with the potential to qualify for the quarter finals for the first time in their history, they need now to beat Samoa and then maybe Scotland. I honestly rank this win higher than the one they pulled off against the Springboks 4 years ago, where South Africa definitely under estimated their opponent. Ireland knew what Japan would be coming at them with and still had no answer to it.

South Africa 57 - 3 Namibia

South Africa got their first win against their African counterparts Namibia in a one sided affair, that wasn't without entertainment value. While the scoreline was never in doubt and Namibia battled hard, the real highlight was seeing Schalk Britz, at the tender age of 38, not only captain his side, but do it from the position of Number 8. To top it all off, he played a really effective role, not bad for the smiling assassin who normally lines up at hooker. Word has it that he was on a beach in Ibiza enjoying a few well deserved cocktails, when the coach called him and asked whether he'd be up for coming out of retirement. What a player and possibly the best import the Premiership has ever seen.

Argentina 28 - 12 Tonga

Argentina dispatched Tonga, but it wasn't without controversy. Right when the game was in the balance and Tonga were starting to into a stride, they went wide down the left and dived to score in the corner. The covering tackle stopped the effort, but it appeared to be a no arms challenge with a shoulder connection, somehow neither the referee nor the TMO picked it up. That really stunted Tonga's effort and the game ended up petering out as a spectacle.