Mickey off quarters’ menu
Hotel shuffles mean ABs to miss second Disneyland stay
Potentially disappointing news for headline writers in the event of an All Black World Cup exit at the quarter-final stage at the end of next week: Steve Hansen’s men are unlikely to be staying at Tokyo Disneyland where they are now based, so the Mickey Mouse or Goofy zingers can be saved for another day.
It’s disappointing news for some of the All Blacks’ management too. They apparently wanted to stay at their current Tokyo Bay Hilton hotel — the team travel south to Nagoya on Friday in preparation for their final pool match, against Italy in Toyota City on Saturday — but another nation already has first dibs.
The preparation for where teams stay for the knockout phase is done by ballot before the tournament.
All 20 teams draw a number, the lowest number giving them priority of hotel choice should they continue in the tournament.
The Springboks, likely to finish second in Pool B behind the All Blacks, were in Disneyland recently, so it’s possible the team which includes Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira may be returning.
Why any team would choose to stay among flocks of well-heeled
tourists wishing to pay many thousands of yen visiting said mouse and Donald Duck is difficult to know. One reason may be because it’s out of the way and with little chance of players finding trouble to get into.
The Disney jingles begin several train stations away, with a Mickey Mouse line the final — well, some would say straw — but strictly speaking it’s the final rail service for dedicated fans of imaginary American wholesomeness. They cross the age spectrum. Entering the carriage as the Herald exited this week were a Japanese couple in their 20s in full Aladdin and Princess Jasmine costumes.
So instead of rubbing shoulders with giant cartoon rodents, the All Blacks are likely to be back at the
inner-city Conrad Hilton, another luxury hotel of giant proportions.
Those on a budget should not consider the hotel as an option. Two beers apparently cost about $75, with high tea on a Saturday setting you back $250 a head.
As far as the rugby goes, the All Blacks won’t know their quarter-final opponents until Sunday night after the Japan v Scotland match in Yokohama. It is the final pool match of the tournament and promises to be one of the best.
With wins over Ireland, Samoa and Russia, the hosts are unbeaten and are on the brink of qualifying for a quarter-final for the first time.
It’s possible their opponents the next weekend will be the All Blacks, a match-up which will send this tournament into the stratosphere.
It is clearly evident that the All Blacks are many of the locals’ second favourite team, a preference Hansen and his men have been careful to nurture.
“Japan are playing very, very good rugby,” Hansen said. “They’re exciting to watch, their crowds are right behind them. I haven’t thought about them playing the All Blacks because I think it would be remiss of me to look too far ahead.
“Once we know who we’re playing we’ll have a good look at them. It would be a heck of a game from a crowd point of view.
“There’s all those great Japanese supporters who seem to get behind us that might swap over and put on a red and white jersey.”