Welsh ruggers aim to erase scars of 2011 loss to France
Six Nations champion Wales might be one of the more predictable teams at the Rugby World Cup, but that doesn’t make beating it, 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 while experiencing 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, an epic failure in Auckland that left emotional scars on many a Welshman.
It was Warren Gatland’s first World Cup in charge, and with this being 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 scrum half 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 that was secured through a converted try 20 minutes after the final hooter had sounded.
That Japan is preparing for the biggest match in its 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 its belt, 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 it was 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 twotime champion South Africa 34-32 in its opening pool match.
The victory put Japan on the rugby map.
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.