Wales aims to bury the ghosts of 2011
Upset rugby loss to France still rankles
Six Nations champions Wales might be one of the more predictable teams at the Rugby World Cup but that does not make beating them, as France will endeavour to do in the quarter- finals on Sunday, the slightest bit easier.
France, by contrast, has long been the very measure of unpredictability and in Japan this year Les Bleus have put in three inconsistent performances and had a fourth match cancelled due to a deadly typhoon.
There have, almost inevitably, been rumours of divisions in the French camp but after they reached the 2011 final to the background of a full- blown mutiny, that might even be welcomed as a sign the requisite creative tensions are in play.
That 2011 run took France past the Welsh in a semifinal disfigured by an early red card shown to Sam Warburton for a tip tackle, a heroic failure in Auckland that left emotional scars on many a Welshman.
It was Warren Gatland’s first World Cup in charge and, with this his final tournament, the meeting with France at Oita Stadium might be considered unfinished business for the New Zealander.
“The worst memory is the World Cup semifinal in 2011,” he said on Friday when asked about the games he has coached against France.
“The best memory? I’m just trying to think ... this Sunday?”
Gatland’s second World Cup campaign in 2015 was thrown off course by a horror run of injuries and so he must have been relieved on Friday to have been able to select from a full squad of fit players after concerns over a string of key backs.
France coach Jacques Brunel, who was also able to include winger Damian Penaud and scrumhalf Antoine Dupont after they recovered from injury, said he knows exactly what his players can expect from the Welsh.
“They’re not going to change their strategy,” he said. “They’re going to rely on a very strong defensive screen, quality individuals, their ability to put the opposition under pressure.”
Wales has beaten France almost every time the teams have met since the 2011 Auckland semifinal, the one exception being a 2017 victory in Paris which was secured through a converted try 20 minutes after the final hooter had sounded.
That Japan is preparing for the biggest match in their history, a Rugby World Cup quarter- final showdown against South Africa in Tokyo on Sunday, is a testament to the rapid improvement the Brave Blossoms have made over the past five years.
Despite appearing at every edition since the tournament’s founding in 1987, until four years ago Japan had just a single World Cup victory under their belts, a 52- 8 win over Zimbabwe in 1991.
Routinely whipping boys, Japan was best- known for conceding the largest number of points in a single World Cup match when they were annihilated 145-17 by New Zealand in 1995.
However, under current England coach Eddie Jones, in 2015 Japan produced the greatest upset in World Cup history, beating two- time champion South Africa 3432 in their opening pool match.
The victory put Japan on the rugby map and brought a wave of public support for a sport usually relegated below baseball, soccer and sumo wrestling back home.
A then- record 25 million people watched Japan’s win over Samoa in 2015. Although the Brave Blossoms failed to qualify from the pool stages following a loss to Scotland, a flame was ignited four years out from hosting the tournament themselves.
The result enabled the Japanese players to believe they could take on anyone. Many players believe their current success stems from the confidence gained in 2015, including flying winger Kenki Fukuoka who played then and who in this tournament scored two tries in a man- of- the- match performance against Scotland.
“The acknowledgment of our ability to play on the world stage was established four years ago, which led to our confident performance this time,” Fukuoka said.
Centre Ryoto Nakamura said there would have been no Japanese victory over Ireland this time had it not been for 2015.
The players routinely point to two major factors for their success — preparation and the influence of head coach Jamie Joseph, who played for Japan in the 1999 World Cup.
The worst memory is the World Cup semifinal in 2011.