I’M BACKING US TO SPOIL THE PARTY...WEATHER PERMITTING
ANDY NICOL
THIS has been a crazy and surreal 24 hours in Tokyo as we await the arrival of Typhoon Hagibis. We are all experts now, we know all about typhoons, their grading and what happens when they hit land. Some of what I’ve found out has been a bit scary, to be honest. But if the storm that is about to engulf us creates a certain amount of fear and trepidation, the one created by World Rugby has huge ramifications for Scotland. The precedent they set by cancelling Italy’s clash with New Zealand — removing any possibility of the game being on another day or at a different venue or behind closed doors — gives them little room for manoeuvre when it comes to Scotland’s game with Japan. How could they agree to any of these options without the very integrity of the tournament being called into question? It is a farce and, if the last 24 hours have been surreal, I imagine the next 24 will be the same. I can only hope the game goes ahead and, by Sunday, Typhoon Hagibis has moved on. It is important the group stage gets the final game that everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to see. The locals are getting excited and there is huge hype about
what Japan can achieve. It’s an exciting proposition for the Scotland players and they should embrace this opportunity. No-one wants Scotland to win. Well, no-one outside Scotland, as Japan have become the story of the World Cup and they are everyone’s second team. Scotland can use this to their advantage, a ‘no-one likes us, we don’t care’ mentality. The plan should be to ruin the big party. It certainly is an interesting team selection. Dropping Stuart McInally took me by surprise.
In the last 18 months he has made himself one of the best hookers in the world, combining excellent set-piece with work rate and genuine speed in the loose. He seemed more of a ‘first choice’ than Greig Laidlaw. The rest of the pack picked itself, but it’s disappointing that Sean Maitland is not available in the backs because you want your best players in these big games and Maitland is certainly that. The tactics are going to be very important. Adam Hastings showed how to control a game with good tactical kicking and exciting rugby against Russia on Wednesday. Finn Russell needs to do the same against much better opposition. There have been signs the message is hitting home, that you need to have the foundations in place before trying to play the fastest brand of rugby in the world, Gregor Townsend’s stated aim. Against Samoa and Russia, there was a better balance and this will be vital against Japan. It will be a loose game which will suit us.
But this is a huge test of Scotland’s mentality. The crowd will be going berserk and the Scots will have to deal with this by controlling the pace of play and where the game is played. I have always backed Scotland to win this game and qualify for the knockout stage. Japan’s win against Ireland means Townsend’s men need to beat the hosts by four clear match points. I have no doubt this will be a nerve-shredding experience but I am still backing Scotland to spoil the party... weather permitting!