Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Japan seemingly set up a qualification winner takes all versus Argentina should
00:09 the Pumas do the business and win against Chile on Saturday can they make
00:16 the World Cup quarterfinals for the second tournament in a row they've
00:22 given themselves a chance Shane they've definitely given themselves a chance
00:26 what is it about Japan and World Cups they always come they perform and they
00:35 show some real character up there as did Samoa but what a game and Samoa will go
00:42 on to play England on that final weekend and to confirm England are through to
00:48 the quarterfinal now as a result of this result which finished in Toulouse
00:55 Nabil Rose the terracotta buildings beautiful city wonderful place to watch
01:01 your rugby this ground as well and they gave full value it's finished Japan 28
01:08 Samoa 22
01:23 well the brave blossoms put in a stirring performance to beat Samoa for
01:28 the third World Cup in a row and give themselves real hope and belief of
01:32 emulating their achievement of four years ago when they became the first
01:36 Asian side to make it into the knockout stages at the Rugby World Cup fantastic
01:41 victory for them and their fans well the pool D table makes for very good
01:47 reading for fans of Japan and England as well because England are now guaranteed
01:51 a place in the knockout stage Japan moving up to nine points Argentina face
01:56 Chile on Saturday in the other match in the pool this weekend if Argentina can
02:02 win that it will be a straight shootout with Japan for a place in the quarter
02:07 finals let's hear now from Japan's player of the match
02:10 Lomano Lomac Lomano two years without test rugby you'd never believe it but
02:16 what does it feel like to be back it's pretty unbelievable
02:20 my thought was long long gone the dream was long gone two years ago to get the
02:24 the call up after the season had just gone as a backup for the for the
02:29 members so like half a chance better than no chance and just ran with it and
02:34 here I'm again luckily certainly is and what do you say to the camp day you to
02:38 dream to go deeper into this tournament it's these camps have been really tough
02:43 but we've had league coaches all these wrestling is you know what it's like
02:47 stuff that's not fun but it seems to be working and we put a lot of emphasis in
02:51 this game now it's pretty much knockout 40 for us now so this was the first step
02:55 and next week we've got to try and beat a tough Argentine in Timmies Oh
02:58 Mano Masaka player of the match what an effort thank you very much thank you
03:02 very much can I just say hi to everyone back in Japan
03:04 no Mina no no Mina so I was I must I want to need to go and I must say Erica
03:09 love you well a fantastic afternoon for him so he has every right to send that
03:16 message back to everyone at home but it was a game another game at the Rugby
03:20 World Cup which went right down to the wire still in the balance as we ticked
03:24 over 80 minutes did we get the fair result in the end to the person that
03:27 called Samoa to win it yeah I think we did I mean Japan were really positive
03:34 right from the start when they got the opening score and and for me they just
03:39 played with a lot more freedom and they deserved it that you know the key players
03:43 in the game Samoa when they reflect on this match a bit like the last match
03:48 they just leave it a little bit you know too little too late you know there's so
03:51 much talent that side I've been really disappointed you could see the emotionally
03:54 the end of the game Samoa massively disappointed but they need to have that
03:58 emotion at the beginning of the game because you know if they'd have done
04:01 that then I think they would have grown into the game and as it turned out Japan
04:04 it was a lot closer than it should have been really for Japan they deserve
04:07 deserved winners that is Lawrence right did they handle the emotion on the
04:10 evening the better out of the two teams yeah I think they did I think they got
04:14 real momentum in the first half through a couple of instances and you know as
04:18 Lawrence said there I think you know when Samoa look back they will be a bit
04:21 disappointed because it was almost a carbon copy of what went on against the
04:25 Argentina you know they never really played until the last quarter of the
04:29 game and they showed the real qualities but what's really hampering them is the
04:32 discipline we talked about you know they picked up a yellow card in the first
04:36 half and then they end up picking up a red card in the second half so it's
04:40 really hard moment you plan 14 men for periods of time that's difficult
04:44 seventh red card of the Rugby World Cup so far was given to Ben Lam and it was
04:48 the key moment in the match high degree of danger no mitigation knowledge you
04:53 agree yep that was pretty clear cut you know you see I was asking in terms of
04:59 high degree of danger no mitigation contact no clear medication
05:04 on those cover tackles it's a little bit lazy I think from Ben Lam and I think
05:08 he's had such a good tournament so far it's such a shame coming and getting his
05:11 first cap and you know now is gonna miss the game as well I think with Samoa you
05:17 know they even before the new tackle laws they were always high in the tackle
05:20 because that's the way that they play very physical if other teams are
05:24 struggling to lower the tackle the Samoans are really are in it and it's
05:27 cost of its costume in previous matches and and ultimately it cost them in this
05:31 game because I don't think even with 15 men on the field they had enough work
05:34 right enough energy to beat Japan you start to know that's a 14 and 13 you're
05:38 gonna be in trouble for yellows and one red now for Samoa at the Rugby World Cup
05:42 and the thing is as a coach you can't really mitigate for that you know you
05:46 try your best to talk about gameplay and we'll talk about attack and defense to
05:50 a blue in the face but ultimately these are the small things that you need to
05:53 get right if you're gonna be competing highly at this level yeah definitely
05:57 against the better and better teams you're gonna play against you just can't
06:00 afford it and you know we've already talked about some of the great player
06:03 that Samoa had and and the opportunities they did create but they're just
06:07 shooting themselves in the foot a little bit you know time and again it's not a
06:10 one-off you know we've seen it already against Argentina and then again tonight
06:13 against Japan so they're really hurting themselves it's a shame to see because I
06:17 don't think it's a lack of fitness because I think they've been finishing
06:20 game strongly so so they've obviously been working hard behind the scenes but
06:24 you know that other side the top two inches it's crucial yeah they should
06:28 know already Samoa because if you look back in the history of the Rugby World
06:31 Cup most yellows droit most reds most cards full stops so something that I
06:36 think they do need to get out of the system as we move forward and it cost
06:40 them tonight straight off the back of that card we saw Japan score a try go
06:45 over in the in the corner and ultimately that took them into a position where you
06:49 thought the result was really going to be you know out of the hands of Samoa
06:53 yeah I think you know the I think Leach was initially credited with the try but
06:58 Jimeno ends up going over almost it to Samoa what they they've done to them
07:03 earlier on in the game and they and you can see that the confidence was there
07:06 the tails up I think I think you know as a as a player when you when your
07:10 opponent gets man sent off or gets a yellow card you have to take advantage
07:13 you have to use that as a moment of weakness and that's exactly what Japan
07:17 did yeah they play very very well took their moments built on if you like at
07:22 times from that fullback we saw the player of the match Lomano Lomecky who
07:26 gave them that platform that go forward drive that they needed in the first half
07:29 when they scored two tries as well yeah we talked about him at halftime then and
07:34 showed the damage because and in the white channels as you'll see here and he
07:38 really great grew into the game with 151 meters and 10 carries but just his
07:42 ability here you know he gets back up on his feet that beautiful sidestep of his
07:46 right and then a big power at the end there you know he gets his team team on
07:50 the front foot so a real dangerous player and and this is you know if Japan
07:53 are gonna win against Argentina going forward you know they're gonna need
07:57 players like him and Matsushima to really stand up get get their hands on
08:00 the ball got the ball out the back there we really questioned whether it was
08:04 crossing in the end it was given and finished well by Labu Scagni but then we
08:08 saw the other try came from Leach as well he was an important player for the
08:12 team they'll need his experience if they're gonna get that result against
08:15 Argentina next week yeah they're just capitalizing on the space that some are
08:18 offering them on the edge and then clever play by hitting back into a
08:22 retreating defense and again shifting it but Lameke's work great I loved his
08:27 post-match interview saying you know he wasn't expecting this and just taking
08:30 his opportunities and yeah I mean he's talked about wrestling he's mixing it
08:35 isn't he we're not in all the collisions and us fullbacks don't tend to like that
08:38 but the detail of the pass over the edge if you've got a shooting defender it is
08:43 it does require skill to hit that pass to make sure that Leach doesn't have to
08:46 hold on his run or break so yeah they they kind of they did well but they also
08:52 just took their opportunities that were gifted to them from Samoa yeah I just
08:55 think we've got the end product at this time didn't we we've seen Japan in this
08:58 World Cup they've created opportunities they've made the meters you know they've
09:01 played well but they just haven't managed to finish them off I think today
09:05 with the confidence of that first try and obviously helped by your opponent
09:09 you know losing their shape and their discipline you know they were able to
09:12 finish tries off you look at how Samoa performed in the kind of last 15 minutes
09:16 of that match it didn't look like they've been taken to a player less
09:19 instead of player more you really couldn't tell and yet you wonder why it
09:23 took so long for them to get going yeah you know maybe this is part of the
09:29 bigger picture with it with tier two nations and stuff and their ability to
09:32 get rugby together and time together as a team so you know hopefully that's
09:36 something World Rugby can look at and because that consistency time together
09:39 can really help teams because we talked about it before you know they've got
09:43 great players right across the 15 but and they've got that pure power as well
09:47 and that's kind of what they went for here and when you see the pyjama try
09:52 here you know that this really went down through the middle of Japan had real
09:55 patience and this is when they look good they put a few phases together and
10:00 caused Japan some problems as well I think you raise a good point there Greg
10:04 about the rugby the time together if you look at it I mean it stands for both
10:08 sides 20 tests between World Cup for Japan just 13 for Samoa so you know we
10:14 can criticize them but when you look at that it's a stark difference to those
10:17 tier one nations yeah and look they've got the the franchise side you know
10:21 Pacifica but really a lot of their players are playing the rugby all over
10:24 the world so they're very disjointed and when they come together and it costs a
10:29 lot of money to bring them all back together again let's not forget I just
10:31 not so sure they're getting that training time together they're clearly
10:34 not getting the test matches and I don't know every time we've in Simone sides in
10:39 the past about one or two players leaders in the group that they can
10:42 really build the team around doesn't feel like they've maybe got those
10:45 leaders at the moment that are willing to take some own rugby forward for the
10:49 next four or five years I think also when you've got players that are
10:52 scattered around playing in all different continents they've also got
10:56 different styles and they are wonderfully talented individuals but
10:59 actually bringing them together and working out what is the Samoa way how do
11:02 they want to to play and move forward and that that's what you're saying isn't
11:05 it well I just think they lost their DNA a little bit you know everyone the way
11:08 they played today is not the way that I'd have expected a Samoan team to play
11:11 very limited in very sort of risk averse you know they should have been running
11:15 it from their own 22 yeah and it's not gonna win this World Cup they should
11:18 have been running it from their own 22 right from the start and I think they
11:21 need to rediscover their DNA in my opinion yeah you're absolutely right I
11:25 was gonna come in on the back of that and that's when they've looked so
11:28 dangerous you know down to 14 men we've probably already touched on it but
11:31 you're putting teams under pressure the same in Argentina again so they've got
11:35 the skill set they've got the players you know they just need to knuckle down
11:38 and understand what really what works for them big work to do for Samoa
11:42 they're out of the Rugby World Cup still chance for Japan going forward a big
11:47 game against Argentina to look ahead to but let's hear from their head coach
11:51 Jamie Joseph after that big victory Jamie you now move to second place with
11:57 nine points how content are you with the performance oh well it's the World Cup
12:03 yeah it's a big big win for us there's a really tough game then we hit the
12:07 work bloody hard to get the win I mean to take my head off to the Samoan boys
12:11 that really took it to us we always talk about the attack of Japan and how fluid
12:15 it is but defensively outstanding today how happy are you with that yeah well I
12:20 mean yeah they're big fellas aren't they these guys and they got on top of us a
12:24 lot we talked about that we'd have to play for the whole entirety of the game
12:28 really proud around the guys that they're a lot bigger than us
12:32 Jim's of commitment the boys were there but we have to work on a few things too
12:36 so that's good going to the next match next match so crucial such a tight pull
12:40 Argentina next Sunday your thoughts straight away on that one I don't know
12:46 well I mean that's sort of our grand final isn't it but we you know we get an
12:49 opportunity to play a tier one team and we've been there a little bit before and
12:53 I know our guys gonna be really excited for that match there's going to be
12:57 another tough one so like a grand final for Japan against Argentina at next
13:04 timeout five points of difference with them remember Argentina facing Chile at
13:07 the weekend we expect them to get five points there so they will be level going
13:11 into that final weekend and we can confirm that England are Paul D winners
13:16 so some people not expecting that great performance from England so far with one
13:21 match to come against Samoa next weekend listen it was fantastic for Japan they
13:26 set up that game against Argentina at next weekend I mean sometimes it's about
13:32 building into the tournament I mean ideally you want to win all your games
13:34 don't you but you get the feeling with Japan that they've they started fairly
13:39 poorly but they've built and built and built that's been their best performance
13:42 so far and the suddenly the momentum and the body language you can hear the coach
13:45 this is the game we've been building for so if they get their timing right you
13:49 know I mean I'm not writing off Argentina's not very good at picking
13:52 winners and Japan will feel really up for this game yeah and I think Japan of
14:00 I think they do have the game to challenge Argentina I really do I think
14:04 that when they look back at this game tonight I think they've got the balance
14:07 pretty much right in terms of when they kicked you know when they run the ball
14:10 you know so that balance again you know coming into Argentina Argentina you know
14:16 you look at Matsushima here you get these hands on the ball beating
14:18 defenders making yards and you know we talked about Lenecky earlier on so the
14:22 more times these guys can touch the ball in a bit of open space the more dangers
14:26 they're gonna be the problem is though they didn't get the ball in their hands
14:30 very often you know Shane talked about it in commentary it was Matsushima
14:34 touched the ball two three times and he's really dangerous but it's how can
14:38 they get the ball there and how can they capitalize on the skills that they've
14:41 got on the edge Samoa gave them cheap space I don't think that will happen
14:46 against you know a strong Argentina side they do though have to lift their game
14:51 just a little bit do you think to take on Argentina next week because Argentina
14:55 at moments haven't been anywhere near what we expected from them we expect
15:00 Argentina to be a tournament side and they've not played their best rugby but
15:03 they are a side that are used to playing the bigger nation that the tier one
15:07 nations on a regular basis you know they play the rugby championships so they
15:09 they'd be used to the physicality of the South Africa you know Australia and New
15:14 Zealand whereas for Japan they've only just had a maybe a year or two of playing
15:18 against these so it's a it's a huge contrast a huge step up for Japan for
15:22 Japan I think in Argentina physically if they want to if they want to win this
15:26 game they've got everything they need yeah I think it's going to be a huge
15:29 challenge for Japan I think you know they've given away ten ten penalties in
15:34 the last seven games so straight away that could be an access into the game
15:37 for Argentina you know they obviously love the scrum so you know I don't think
15:41 Japan will be under any illusions how difficult this game is going to be
15:44 they'll probably need to produce the door they will need to produce the best
15:48 performance so far of the tournament to get past Argentina okay lots for us to
15:52 look forward to on that final weekend we'll also look ahead to tomorrow night's
15:56 match between New Zealand and Italy next but first another chance to win with our
16:01 World Cup competition and in the rugby New Zealand back in action tomorrow
16:05 after two weeks off as they take on Italy a team they've never lost to but
16:10 won the All Blacks will not be underestimating well history means
16:14 nothing really I mean history is yesterday's newspaper isn't it's not
16:18 tomorrow's and and so what we've seen is that we've we can only go on we try to
16:26 prepare for the team a team opponent playing us at their best and what we've
16:30 seen them is we've seen them you know leading France into the last ten minutes
16:35 of a Six Nations game we've seen them pushing Ireland right to the end we've
16:38 so if you look at through the recent form they're playing well we understand
16:43 that we have to win against Italy and that's the bottom line and they're an
16:50 improved side and we see them as a genuine threat they've got great
16:54 attacking shape and these quality players across the board so and yeah
17:00 they're well coached so it's not gonna be easy the good thing is that we're
17:04 playing a team that's confident so there's no surprises and they've earned
17:08 that you know the last two years we've seen a lot of growth from their game and
17:12 I think I made the point after the Six Nations I thought they were the one of
17:16 the highlights of the Six Nations the way they played and the competitiveness
17:20 of all their games. So a massive game in Pool A Italy with a five-point advantage
17:27 over the All Blacks in the table Italy never made it through to the knockouts
17:30 New Zealand have never failed to make it through of course three-time champions
17:34 as well nine changes for Ian Foster as you saw Jordie Barrett will be involved
17:39 of course Shannon Frazelle returning from injury as well important player
17:44 both of them? Definitely I think somebody like Shannon Frazelle he's
17:48 really came into that back row slot he's not only his physicality he's got a
17:52 really good footwork and his ability to offload a really typical you know sort of
17:56 New Zealand back rower that he's got you know all the ability and so it's great
18:01 to see him back in there and somebody like obviously Jordie Barrett as well
18:05 you know coming back into the team he's picked up an injury didn't play in the
18:09 first game and I think they really missed him miss Jordie Barrett going into that
18:13 French game. I just think everyone's written New Zealand off primarily
18:16 because they got battered by South Africa just before the World Cup and
18:20 then they lost the opening game to France but we mustn't forget that South
18:24 Africa lost the opening game four years ago and then they went away fixed their
18:27 game and came back and won and I just feel that New Zealand have got a big
18:32 game left in them if their forward performances I think have been
18:35 inconsistent for a while and if they can sort that out then you know as Greg has
18:41 highlighted they've got some players behind the scrum that can that can really
18:44 tear you apart so I wouldn't be writing off New Zealand just yet I mean if they
18:48 eventually play Arden in a quarterfinal that would be a very very interesting
18:53 matchup. Is there any chance though that Italy can catch them a little bit cold
18:56 because that game against France feels a very long time ago now last time out
19:00 there were a raft of changes to take on Namibia they've had a little break now
19:03 does that maybe give Italy a little chance? I think they've got some of the
19:09 best attack across the game when it clicks but it's just consistency they
19:14 have been clunky in various elements of their game but they're a young side that
19:20 their captain Lamar is 22 years old they've got a different energy about
19:23 them and you know that gives them an element of freedom but at the same time
19:29 then they don't have that massive game experience of year-on-year when you've
19:34 got the likes of Moanga are going to be moving that New Zealand ship around the
19:37 field. Not just Moanga as well you think of Bowden Barrett the way that he comes
19:41 in and into the attack but also off the bench Damian Mackenzie who
19:46 was fantastic last time out too. Yeah I got some real danger I think Lauren's
19:50 touching it there that the players behind the you know the forward pack so
19:54 and I think that the ability now for New Zealand to have Richie Moanga, Jordie Barrett
19:58 and Bowden Barrett all on that back line but somebody like Mackenzie coming off the
20:02 bench you know really exciting really dangerous it's been a bit of a new thing
20:07 obviously teams having two weeks off in this Rugby World Cup so it's New
20:10 Zealand's turn now to deal with that so it'll be interesting to see if they can
20:13 get out the blocks quickly I think they will I think I think they're probably
20:17 silently confident in their own ability in New Zealand. Can't really work out
20:22 what I'd rather see a shock Italy win or that quarterfinal between Ireland and
20:26 New Zealand you mentioned some big games to come one man who's coming back into
20:30 the World Cup Andre Pollard for South Africa starts against Tonga this weekend
20:35 less than 30 minutes play for his club Leicester since May because of a calf
20:39 problem he hasn't played for his country since August of 2022 he's back in
20:45 starting at flyer half this weekend. Does South Africa need him? They've played
20:49 well so far Manny Libok's been fantastic. Is Pollard central to what they do from
20:54 here? As you go further in the tournament I mean goal-kicking and points penalties
20:57 and conversions every point matters would we have won a World Cup without
21:00 Wilkinson well we never had to find out but Carter I mean New Zealand just about
21:05 managed to win one without without Dan Carter I think you know they realise
21:09 that had they kicked all their goals they would have won that contest so yeah
21:13 he does come back in and he's really really important to them. You also don't
21:16 necessarily have an injured player returning coming off the bench you kind
21:21 of it's probably safer to start him so we see how he gets on get him the
21:25 minutes and then take him off after hopefully kicking the points that they
21:30 so desperately want. Razzy Erasmus keen to point to the fact that he's not
21:33 Superman at this point in time trying to take the pressure off his player is there
21:38 a chance of rusting us here should we have our expectations a little bit low
21:41 we know he's played in in massive games has huge experience of course but there
21:45 is that expectation rising now he's returned. Yeah I think you know Razzy is
21:50 obviously a clever man and he's very good at protecting his players and that's
21:53 why he's a good coach but you know somebody like Andre Poulard he's I think
21:57 the fact that he's been put straight back into start shows how much he's
22:00 rated within that squad you know and as Lawrence has already touched on there
22:03 that ability to kick goals kick goals under pressure and the way South Africa
22:07 play the game that's vitally important for them to kick three six nine and move
22:11 the scoreboard so he's a really important piece of the piece of the game.
22:15 I remember when he was playing for Montpellier he was out with a long-term
22:17 ACL they put him straight back in the team he kicked goals at the end of the
22:20 season to win a trophy Leicester he arrived injured as soon as he was fit
22:24 they got him straight back in there are one or two players around who you need
22:27 back and the way that South Africa played they will want him back as soon
22:32 as possible. I think to add to that that you've the fact they've brought in La Rue
22:36 at full-back as a big game experienced player as a decision maker playing as
22:41 well it will take a little bit of pressure off Poulard being the only
22:45 playmaker on the field. Before we go I did want to ask you about a report in
22:49 the Times newspaper today regarding what might be happening at the next World Cup
22:54 they report World Rugby determined to expand the competition to 24 teams we'll
22:59 see six pools of four the winners will go through and then the next best six
23:04 winners after that in terms of the points but also I think you know an
23:09 additional knockout round before the quarterfinals so we'll see more knockout
23:12 games more teams involved is that going to be a positive if it does come to
23:17 fruition? Yeah I think it's you know rugby is an international game it's not
23:21 a global game yet and you know we're seeing the growth of the game through
23:26 the investment the World Rugby have made and I think that we've seen the
23:29 performances of some of the other nations in this World Cup I think
23:31 merits the inclusion of more so I do think it is and also it leads the
23:35 fixture congestion so sides like Namibia won't have to play four matches in 18
23:39 days yeah it's hugely positive for the game because you know we want to try and
23:44 grow a rugby union around the world they've done that in certain parts
23:47 through rugby sevens through the women's game also so I think it's a really
23:51 positive step to try and get you know more teams involved and you know
23:54 hopefully along the way as well we can help the current tier two nations get
23:58 more rugby that we've already touched on this evening to you know to close that
24:01 gap to make games more competitive that would be the only concern wouldn't it
24:05 bringing more teams in do they have the quality especially if they're taking on
24:09 those big tier one nations yeah it is tough but I just love it if you've got
24:13 more knockout games because fundamentally anything can happen in
24:16 that it creates a different pressure and you might see different teams creeping
24:20 through into a quarterfinal okay could be absolutely fantastic if we see it
24:24 just reports at this point in time guys thank you so much for being such great
24:28 company throughout the evening and one more reminder we'll have the all-blacks
24:32 back in action tomorrow night seems like a long time since we last saw them
24:37 they'll be taking on Italy on ITV 1 from 7 30 p.m. and on Saturday we'll have
24:42 three more matches as the pool stage draws to a close for debutants Chile
24:46 against fellow South Americans Argentina then we'll see Fiji Georgia and Scotland
24:52 against Romania Gregor towns inside the only home nation in action this weekend
24:58 so it has been a fantastic evening of rugby here and a great one for Japan who
25:05 set up a grand final in their words against Argentina on the final weekend
25:11 of the Rugby World Cup pool stage England are through that's the positive
25:14 we'll see you very soon indeed take care
25:18 Oh
25:20 Oh
25:22 Oh
25:24 Oh
25:26 Oh
25:28 Oh
25:30 Oh
25:33 (dramatic music)
25:35 [laughter]