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aussiboris · 2 years

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The Final

England vs South Africa in Yokohama

2nd November 2019

After a thrilling and victorious win overall the All Blacks in the Semi Final we were buzzing with excitement. We met up with Alex (Rob`s brother) who had come to the semi final with his friend Roy. We were high fiving and hugging, bouncing with what we had just seen, when Alex announced that Roy had spare tickets to the final and asked if we wanted them. We couldn`t believe it! We were going to see England complete the journey. We were going to the final!

We were committed to enjoying this last week of the Rugby World Cup in Japan. Firstly we needed to get festive, I spent some time trialling different face-paint and as we weren’t going to be sat with Mel, I planned a double sided fan design to cheer on our team. Eba used her extensive artistic skill to improve and make these come to life.

We then went to enjoy the bronze final in Roppongi. We located a large crowd of Rugby fans outside the Hobgoblin pub and joined them trying to view the match at funny angles through open doors and windows. The Crowds must have attracted British media who were trying to record some Vox pops for the build up of the next day’s event.

The next day felt like Christmas morning. We were excited for this spectacle and we had really learned that the build up and anticipation was as much fun as the match itself. We got dressed and painted and were ready for the day.

We headed for the Hub (a British theme pub), apparently everyone else had the same idea and the crowd outside it was rather large. We located our friends, Mel and Russ on arrival. Rob patted Mel’s superbly crafted, English Tea Set hat, to get her attention, and narrowly missed a slap in the face. Some of the rugby fans had already been interfering with the head piece and Mel was on the defensive. Don’t mess with a ladies Teapot! Luckily she just about recognised Rob, through his face-paint and didn’t end up laying him out on the concrete outside Lawson.

Mel’s amazing hat drew a lot of attention and she was asked to appear in pictures with others who had made the effort with their festive attire.

We thoroughly enjoyed the walk to the stadium and the excitement continued to build as our tickets were scanned and we finally entered the stadium area.

With Mel’s magnificent hat and flag, we caught the attention of British TV again, and were asked about our hopes for the match. Of course we were enthusiastically emphatic that England would win.

Once inside we were delighted to see how close we were to the action. We could see the UK punditry team of Brian O’Driscoll, Brian Habana and Sir Clive Woodard. Then we got a fantastic view of the England team warming up.

The warm ups ended and the teams were announced. The England team walked out proudly in their anthem jackets, the gold roses gleaming in the floodlights.

So, after much anticipation it began. England started nervously Laws giving away a penalty before 2 minutes had even passed, luckily Pollard missed the points. Barely a minute later and Kyle Sinckler collapsed to the floor knocked out by Maro Itoje’s elbow. The game stopped and everyone held their breath. It took some minutes for Sincks to come round and then longer for the medical staff to clear him to walk off the pitch under his own steam. This was not the start we had hoped for; South Africa’s scrum was going to be a tough enough prospect without England losing a key player. Dan Cole, an excellent scrummager and very experienced player came on to fill the tighthead role.

England gave penalties away particularly from the Scrum and Andre Pollard made them pay with his boot. By 30 minutes in England had thrown everything at the South African’s seemingly impenetrable defence and come away with nothing.

They left the pitch at half time after giving away another scrum penalty which provided yet another points opportunity for the Boks which was happily taken. The score was 12-6 to the Springboks.

The second half didn’t really improve for England. Dan Cole has since said that it wasn’t just the props that caused all the problems for the English scrum, the giant locks which South Africa seem to have in abundance, are quite something to have behind the already substantial props. This seemed to be one of the reasons for the hemorrhaging of penalties from the scrum. Replacing Mako Vunipola with the better scrummage of Joe Marler did seem to stem the flow for a period at least.

South Africa were also penalised for mistakes taking the scores to 15- 9. At around the 60 minute Mark Farrell bought the score closer, but the brutality of the game had taken its toll and when Mapimpi saw his opportunity and kicked the ball at a run, it was beautifully gathered by Am who flicked it back to the winger who dived over the line for the first try of the game. 25 points suddenly seemed like a large total to topple. Seven minutes later, the seemingly uncatchable Cheslin Colby sidestepped to produce the second try and sealed England’s fate.

It wasn’t the way we wanted it to end. The tournament had been a dream. But the win seemed to mean more to South Africa, it was symbolic for unifying the nation with its multiracial team. England had done us proud, we had seen them at their best and had had a wonderful time watching not just their journey but also Japan’s unfold in front of us. It was a magical 6 weeks that we will never forget.

#rwc2019 #rwc final #englandrugby #england vs south africa #JapanRugby

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aussiboris · 3 years

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We made it to the Semi-final! England versus New Zealand

October 26th 2019

That had been the plan. To see England play. To hopefully see them in a quarter final match. We had gambled and got tickets for both quarter finals so they didn’t even have to top the group. We would get to see England play in a competitive match. We did see them and it was a fantastic day. We watched their victorious win over Australia. Now we could enjoy the semi final and finals - whoever may be in them at our local rugby pub.

Then, on the bus back to our hotel after the seven hells of Beppu exploration, we reminisced about how great it had been. How it would be so nice to support England in the semi-final. They were going to lose I reasoned, they were up against the two-time World Cup holders New Zealand, but wouldn’t it be great to be there to support them... Were we really ready for our live World Cup journey to be over? Ok, let’s see how the tickets are going on the resale sites. Not horrendous. The price would only increase closer to the day. We didn’t have to worry about accommodation, and we could get the shinkansen up on the day as it didn’t start until 5pm. So we did it. In a tourist information shop with dodgy internet connection in Beppu, we splashed out on the tickets which would continue our World Cup Dream. We were going to Yokohama to watch England fight for a chance to make the World Cup Final.

It was a lovely sunny Saturday morning. We donned our festive supporters gear, borrowed the England flag from Mel and made our way to Yokohama. We wanted to get there early to soak up the atmosphere in the fanzone!

We arrived by 1.30pm and already the place was filling up. There were stalls, photo stops, food and drink available. We took photos with a few people who appreciated Mel’s flag. We grabbed some food to eat whilst the big screen replayed other World Cup matches.

We knew we wanted to get to the stadium early to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy every moment we could, so we headed to the train station at about 3pm. Once there we followed the continuous flow of people and the helpful games makers towards the stadium.

Outside the stadium we chatted with a few English fans, taking photos for each other. We were particularly impressed with the couple with the Ren Ji hats, if a little jealous.

We had a good wander around the whole stadium and finally made our way to our seats. We found we were sat next to some lovely English boys; Jamie and Sam and pretty quickly convinced them to help us wave our flag.

The stage was set, the Japanese weather was again putting on another beautiful sunset.

The atmosphere was electric. There were a lot of England fans but there were a lot of All Blacks fans too. The numbers of the Kiwi supporters were swelled by the Japanese who worship the All Blacks as their second team.

The warm up complete it was time for the iconic Haka. The All Blacks formed their arrowhead shape and in a shocking turn of events the England team formed a V outflanking the All Black team. At one point it looked like Billy Vunipola and Joe Marler were actually going to advance on the All Blacks, but they were ushered back behind the halfway line by the match officials.

The crowd were audibly shocked and the normal hush that accompanied the sacred Haka was disrupted. Owen Farrell, England’s captain, looked on from the top of V with a satisfied smirk. Everyone in that stadium knew that the gauntlet had been thrown down. England were ready, they had made an incredibly bold gesture, now they had to back it up with action.

England were kicking off. Straight away they set to confuse the opposition by making it appear as if George Ford would kick but as the whistle blew he passed it back to Farrell. England began with real intent. Anthony Watson skipped along the line evading defenders, and offloaded across the pitch. The whole team were involved in passing and carrying the ball towards the All Blacks’ try line. It felt like an inevitability then when Manu Tuilangi completed the attack my diving over the try line just two minutes in. The vaguely stunned crowd erupted. England had come to play.

England’s line out was working like a well oiled machine. They suffocated the All Blacks attacks by ushering their wingers into touch and turning over the ball with frightening efficiency. The forwards showed their skills as they tackled with ferocious brutality and carried and passed with silky ball skills. Finally at 24 minutes it looked like England had cleaved their way through the All Blacks defence as Sam Underhill charged over the try line. After consultation with the TMO however, Nigel Owen decided that Tom Curry had obstructed a defender from tackling the ball carrier and therefore the try was disallowed.

Just a couple of minutes later, Owen Farrell received a dead leg that would continue to haunt him for the rest of the match. After a bad kick by Ford the All Blacks capitalised but the attack was finally naturalised as three white shirts forced Jack Goodhue into touch.

Just a couple of minutes from half time England are 7-0 ahead of New Zealand. The All Blacks are on the attack but Tuilagi’s sudden presence makes the usually confident Richie Mo’unga hesitate, giving Sam Underhill the opportunity to make the tackle and get over the ball. The resulting penalty taken by George Ford brings the English side to 10-0 over the World Cup holders at half time.

We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. At no point did I relax and think England had this in the bag. This was the All Blacks team who had torn Ireland apart just the week before, surely after half time they would come back and show their class.

Shortly after half time there was a messy bit of play that saw England lose their attacking ball to the All Blacks; however, the England forwards piled in with Maro Itoje forcing a penalty. After a swift kick England activated their set piece. From the line out they created a maul and drove towards the line. The ball was released to Ben Youngs who spotted the space and wove between defenders for the try.

Unfortunately, during the replay of the points being scored, a close up showed some shifting of the ball during the maul. After careful TMO scrutiny, it was decided that the ball had been lost forward in the maul and regathered and therefore, another try was disallowed. At 49 minutes the All Blacks gave away another penalty and George Ford with apparent little effort makes them pay with his precision kick to take the points to 13-0.

At 55 minutes Slade and Tuilagi had to sprint across the pitch to halt Sevu Reece from scoring in the corner. This tackle had to be examined for foul play but Slade was given the benefit of the doubt as he tried to wrap one arm. The result was an England line out. Jamie George confidently throws the ball high as he has been doing all game. This time something went wrong with the machine, either the jumper has not reached the heights he needed or George has overthrown. Ardie Savea needed no more encouragement, he catches the loose ball and dashes for the line. Finally the All blacks have points on the board. After the Richie Mo’unga conversion the All Blacks coming back 7-13. Within five minutes to go, the All Blacks are desperately defending their try line from the onslaught of the powerful England forwards. They give away a penalty and again George Ford takes 3 points with a kick.

I keep expecting for the All Blacks to come back at England but the men in White contain the opposition effectively. So much so the usually clinical Kiwis end up giving away another penalty that leads to points, making the score 19-7.

By the 80th minute the All Blacks were labouring across the field but their repeated attempts were dashed against the rock hard wall of white shirts.

Nigel Owens blew his whistle to end the game as Jordie Barrett attempted to keep the ball alive.

England had done it. They had looked in control of the game. Every member of the team had played exceptionally. Maro Itoje had frustrated the All Blacks at the break down and looked supremely confident in the line outs. He was influential in attack and defence and rightly deserved man of the match. Considering we thought there was a sliver of a chance of a win against the clinical All Blacks, we were delighted to have been there to experience it. But the question now was could they overcome the final hurdle and lift the World Cup?

#The All Blacks #englandrugby #rwc2019 #semifinal

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aussiboris · 3 years

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The Seven Hells of Beppu

October 21st 2019

Our first sight to see in Beppu was Mount Tsurumi. We took a bus to the base of the ropeway then took the scenic gondola ride to near the top. It was a beautiful day so we were able to get a lovely view of the surrounding area.

Beppu is famous for its geothermic activity. It has a lot of onsen and as an added tourist attraction 7 hells - which are different themed geothermic pools. These range from brightly coloured steaming pools to mud bubbling ponds, to crocodile infested lagoons and spurting geysers.

There is a bus that shuttles visitors between the sites. The first one we visited was Umi Jigoku - Sea hell- as its main attraction was the turquoise blue steaming pool surrounded by a well manicured garden. There was also a nice footbath here.

The next Hell we visited was Oniishibozu Jigoku, a bubbling mud pond hell.

At this point we stopped for lunch where Rob had a hellish spicy ramen.

Our next hell, Kamado Jigoku, that we visited was more like a theme park/ Disney hell; where the guides blew chemicals onto the pools which reacted by throwing clouds of steam into the air.

The next hell was different as it involved “monsters” Oniyama Jigoku. This was home to a enclosure full of crocodiles.

After a quick cooling ice cream we headed to a more peaceful Hell. Shiraike Jigoku which means white pool hell.

We finished our hell viewing in Shibaseki District a slightly longer bus journey away. It is home to Chinoike Jigoku- a blood red pool, with an impressive gift shop then our final one of the day Tatsumaki Jigoku. This is the spout Hell that erupts every 30-40 minutes.

The next morning we finished off our stay to Beppu with a visit to Takegawara Onsen. One of the most treasured hot springs in the area. Its historic facade is famous and conveys the feel of the onsen town’s past. It is very traditional and as Rob found out very very hot. He could only manage a few minutes actually sat in the pool. A very suitable way to end our visit to the area renowned for its hot springs.

#onsen #7hells #beppu #geyser #geothermal #mountain #mountain view

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aussiboris · 3 years

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Oita: the Quarter finals part 2 - Wales versus France

October 20th 2019

After a fantastically successful day on the Saturday, we shifted our support to another home country- Wales. It helped that we had a genuine Welshman in the shape of Russ, and Mel had done another sterling job of creating a gigantic flag, this time for Wales and their home town of Cowbridge.

Unfortunately, as I was carrying a bit of a cold and had cheered so enthusiastically for England, I had lost my voice. Rob decided to write me a sign so I could communicate this with any Japanese supporters.

We set off mid morning on the hour long journey to Oita. Again the train was absolutely packed. Mel and I were lucky to nab a seat for part of the way.

On arrival in the fan zone we looked at the stalls and displays, with Rob and Russ grabbing the opportunity to try on some samurai armour. We also took the opportunity to collar some French supporters for a friendly pic.

Again we were funnelled onto a bus to the stadium, where the atmosphere was great.

I was keen to find some souvenir mascots so we had a good search around he merch stands, finally having success in one of the upstairs kiosks. Ren and G are the World Cup Mascots. These lion like creatures are supposed to spread the spirit of rugby throughout Japan. These values are : integrity, passion, solidarity and discipline.

We were at the other end of the stadium for this match and met lots of Welsh supporters. We got to see the Welsh team warm up, as they were right in front of us, which added to the excitement.

Then for the game. France had been inconsistent during the build up to the World Cup and we had missed the opportunity of seeing them play England. Wales were coming off winning the six nations and an impressive gritty game against Australia.

France came out looking like the unpredictable dangerous team they always have the possibility of being. Within the first 7 minutes of the game they had scored two tries and one conversion. Wales were looking nervous but Aaron Wainwright grasped an opportunity when the French spilt the ball. He grabbed it and ran a fair distance to cross the try line. Dan Biggar showed his quality by confidently putting away the conversion. 5 minutes later Josh Navidi already the second choice number 8 came off injured. Ross Moriarty was sent on to replace him and a little too enthusiastically threw himself into the fray. Within two minutes he had been yellow carded for a high tackle. The Welsh were a man down and it didn’t take long for the French to capitalise on the weakness. Vakatawa stormed over the try line to put France more firmly in the lead.

The wind seemed to be behind France until a fateful maul where the early try scorer Vahaamahina, elbowed Aaron Wainwright in the face. After TMO review the second rower was sent off. The tide was turning. The Welsh started to make some slow progress. Dan Biggar put away another penalty closing the lead to 13-19. Then with six minutes to go the French pack minus one player was put into a scrum. Tomos Williams managed to rip the ball up into the air and somehow it came down into Justin Tipperick’s hands. He then launched himself over the try line. Dan Biggar quickly converted the try to nudge the Welsh team into the lead 20-19. After 5 minutes of managing the ball, keeping it firmly in hand Dan Biggar was able to kick it out for a Welsh win. It was an awkward and uncomfortable game to watch. The Welsh around us were shouting angrily at their team for most of the game. The Welsh made it through to their semi final, with a win but not a pretty one.

We left the stadium pretty sharpish as we were keen to watch the South Africa, Japan quarter final. We hurried to get onto to the buses as quickly as possible, then on arrival to the fanzone area and finding it full made our way across the station in search of a bar who would be showing the game. Instead we found a pop up bar just outside the station who had a small Telly that lots of people were gathered around.

Sadly we watched South Africa bully a fantastic Japan into submission. There were tears and sighs but positively an appreciation for a previously unrecognised team, who, over a few weeks had became national heroes.

On our way back to get our train we met some enthusiastic Welsh supporters who were lifting people line out style. Some how I ended up in the air.

A weird end to an eventful day. Wales were through with a messy victory and japan were out. But England were in the semi finals. Could we justify paying to see our team progress.

#rwc2019 #rugby #japan #france #wales #oita #quarterfinals

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aussiboris · 3 years

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The World Cup Quarter Finals Weekend; Oita

October 18th 2019

The weekend where we managed to get quarter final tickets on consecutive days was upon us. Our luck was in during the ballot stage and we got both matches in Oita. We expected it to be one of the highlights of the competition. We watched groups C and D hoping that England would not end up facing Wales (obviously for Wales’ chances!).

We took an early flight from Nagoya to Fukuoka (the cheapest and quickest way) to get to Kyushu, the main southern island of Japan. We had wanted to get to Oita, an onsen town on the East coast of Kyushu but the World Cup had made getting accommodation very difficult. We resorted to booking a hotel that was an hour outside of Oita by train.

It was raining heavily as we arrived in Fukuoka. We were determined to see bits of a previously unexplored city, and started off heading to a famous temple. We found that we weren’t the only England supporters visiting the tourist spots of Fukuoka, and the England supporters’ tour red raincoats became a familiar sight. We prayed at the temple for a good result against Australia and then walked around the main centre of the city.

We headed to a famous Ramen restaurant for lunch, which was a welcome warmth, against the damp weather outside.

We then decided it was time to head on the train south to Yukuhashi, the location of our hotel for the weekend. It wasn’t long after we arrived that Mel and Russ, our rugby partners in crime for the weekend, arrived and we went out for a quick dinner.

The next day we were keen to head over to the Fanzone in Oita to get a feel for the place. Also, from our experiences over the last month, we knew that being in the stadium early meant you got more out of the day.

The fanzone was pretty busy so we had a couple of drinks then made our way over to the stadium by bus.

It was a pretty substantial trek from the car parks to the stadium but we stopped a long the way taking pictures and enjoying the atmosphere.

The mood in the stadium was very much like a carnival with people dressed up and keen to share pictures together.

We were a lot closer than when we first saw England play Argentina in Tokyo. We were excited to show off Mel’s amazing hand made flag and tried to get the photographers attention. We were surrounded by a large group of England supporters which added to the excitement.

From our seats, we were pretty close to the action and the anticipation of seeing England play well against Australia began to rise. After the warm up, Jonny May led the England team out as he was getting his 50th cap.

The game began pretty slow until Kurtley Beale made a break through the England defence. This led to a penalty which Lealifano confidently put between the sticks. Not long after England put the lines together and with some lovely passing managed to make space for Jonny may to get over the try line in the corner. Farrell converted and England were ahead. A few minutes later, Henry Slade intercepted the ball and kicked it through the Australian defence in to the path of Jonny May, who gathered it beautifully scoring his second try of the game.

Penalties were traded before half time leaving the score at 17-9 to England.

Australia must have had a talking to in the dressing room as pretty soon after the whistle Koroibete stormed through the English lines to score the try that would bring Australia within a point of England. But England kept their composure, putting their passing skills into practise, Kyle Sinckler spotted a running line that he could not miss and went for it. He delightedly ran it over the try line like a tank.

Farrell kicked a few more penalties to stretch the lead away from the Australians. Then, in the dying minutes Anthony Watson read a pass really well, accelerating through, he snatched it out of the air and was away over the try line before the Aussies knew what was happening.

England looked confident and in charge of the game. We screamed and cheered our way through the game with Mel’s massive flag - which got us on TV.

We caught up with Alex, Rob’s brother after the game then headed back to the fanzone hoping to catch some of the Ireland New Zealand Quarter final.

It was a truly amazing day, a great game, watching with friends. I did end up with a somewhat husky voice though due to the screaming but it was worth it.

#eng vs aus #rugbyworldcup #rwc2019 #oita #fukuoka #quarterfinals #england #australia

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aussiboris · 3 years

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The Storm Continues...Hagibis arrives

October 12th 2019

After the Australia Georgia match we were supposed to be making our way to Tokyo to watch our beloved England but as I said in the previous post that fun had been cancelled due to the impending storm. We made our way back to our hotel in Shizuoka to wait out typhoon Hagibis.

Shizuoka was probably not the best place to hide out as it lay directly in the path of the storm. The forecasts were grim and after getting snacks (and alcohol) we were told to stay inside by hotel staff.

The super typhoon let us know of its arrival with wind and rain. All we could do was watch as the carnage outside was recorded and fed live to our TV.

The rain came down and the rivers swelled.

By the afternoon we had decided the best course of action was to play a drinking game. We chose 6 things we were likely to see during the live feed of the typhoon. We chose 3 each. If it appeared on the tv you had to drink.

Rob`s paper included : things underwater - as a result he ended up winning (drinking most of the wine).

Our biggest concern, apart from the obvious, of damage and loss of life caused by the typhoon, was the impact it was due to have on the blue ribbon match of the tournament. Scotland versus Japan. Everyone wanted this match to go ahead it would signify the continued success of the World Cup or had the storm would well and truly dampened the atmosphere with another cancelled game.

At 11am we got the news that the Japanese had excelled themselves to make it possible for the game to happen.

It was still windy but the big blue sky signified the storms passing. We headed straight to Yokohama.

With the wind having created a beautiful clear sky we took the opportunity to go up the Landmark Tower and finally see Mount Fuji from its excellent position.

After enjoying the view, meeting up with our friendly Scottish supporters (Glen and Debbie, Tracey and Joe) we headed off to find a suitably friendly pub to enjoy the game.

We found rugby fans in an English theme pub and settled down to cheer on Japan.

The bar filled with eager, mostly Japanese fans and we camped out near the front to properly watch the game. The atmosphere from the stadium was absolutely buzzing. The usually polite crowd sang the national anthem with passion.

The game opened with a score from Finn Russell. But it wasn`t too long before the Japanese fought back. Kenki Fukuoka showed a taste of what was to come when he made a break and then passed a beautiful offload to Matsushima as he was being tackled to the ground. Matsushima needed no encouragement to swiftly accelerate to finish his 5th try of the tournament.

Matsushima showed his metal again to beat 3 Scottish defenders and had to be taken down by 3 more before offloading to the rest of his team who sidestepped and beat defenders to give Inagaki, the loose head prop a try right between the posts.

Japan were flying when just before half time Lafaele chipped the ball through the line of Scots, creating space for Fukuoka to speed into and side step to another try.

The diminutive winger wasn’t finished as after half time he came out to rip the ball from one of the Scots who could just trail in his dust as he used his insane turn of speed to head straight between the posts.

Not long after Scotland did attempt a come back, managing 2 tries. But it simply wasn’t enough. The Nation were behind their team, they played with heart and for those affected by the storm. That mentality and passion meant they delighted Japan by beating Scotland and making it into the Quarter finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

#rwc2019 #rugby #japan

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aussiboris · 4 years

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A wet weekend in Shizuoka

Australia vs Georgia

Friday October 11th 2019

When we were choosing what games to see we weren’t expecting to get many tickets so we chose ones that worked together. Ones that were in locations near each other or on the same weekend. So that is how we ended up with tickets for Australia vs Georgia in Shizuoka. We fancied seeing what Australia were looking like as they were likely to be playing in one of the quarter finals we would watch, also we had tickets for England vs France on Saturday in Tokyo and Shizuoka was on the way. The plan made sense.

That is until the Japanese weather changed all that. Typhoon Hagibis was causing Japan’s rugby World Cup a massive headache. They had to cancel 3 games and other games looked to be in jeopardy.

One of the cancelled games was the highly anticipated England France game. We were disappointed but we had seen England play and hoped to see them again in the quarter finals. The fans who had come out to Japan just for that game were understandably devastated.

We had to come up with a new plan. So we decided to go to Shizuoka for the Australia game, hunker down in a hotel there to wait out the storm, then, Typhoon carnage permitting, go on to Yokohama to watch Japan versus Scotland in a pub.

The Australia game was set to be a wet one. There would be no fanzone; all the screens and gazebos were being safely stored away for the typhoon. We packed our wet weather gear and when we arrived we were very glad that we had.

The rain from the oncoming storm was lashing down. It didn’t stop us from making the most of the photo opportunities.

The game itself was as expected a wet one. Georgia were aiming to beat a tier one nation, while Australia were trying to make safe passage through to the quarter finals.

Both teams were physically big and neither was going to be intimidated. For the first 20 minutes it was like an arm wrestle both showing power and a determination not to allow the other to score. This brutality led to an early casualty in the form of Australian full back Kurtley Beale, who was knocked out in a collision. This put his inclusion in the team for a possible quarter final against England in huge doubt.

There were penalties for both sides and the kickers did their job well in tough conditions. The Australian’s proved they were struggling to come to terms with the stricter high tackle rules, leading to Isi Naisarani being sent off with a yellow card towards half time.

By half time Georgia had put up a solid fight only conceding 10 points and scoring 3.

The rain continued to dampen the occasion. Luckily our seats were near the top of stadium which was pretty sheltered.

For 20 minutes after the break the struggle continued with the Georgian defence making a determined show, leaving no new score from either team. Finally at 60 minutes Koroibete made a break and used his fantastic footwork to dart past the Georgians to the try line. This try was answered 10 minutes later when the Georgians pulled together a play off their set piece and Alexander Todua came away with a try. The Australians started to show some quality in the dying stages as the Georgians tired from their earlier efforts, scoring two more tries.

Not the most exciting game of the tournament but one that allowed us a glimpse at Australia and Shizuoka stadium and not a bad way to spend a Friday evening if a little damp.

#rwc2019 #australia #Georgia #rugbyworldcup #typhoon hagibis #rainy stadium

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aussiboris · 4 years

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The All Blacks and the try of the tournament

Sunday 6th October 2019

These were some of the first tickets we won in the ballot. We wanted to see the legendary All Blacks play. I had read books about them after their brilliant 2015 World Cup win and wanted to witness the magic. It didn’t really matter who they were playing and as a result of the draw, we got some fantastic seats to see them play Namibia.

It was a rainy morning in Tokyo, we had invited the American side of the family to enjoy their first rugby game. We were insistent that to truly get the full experience we had to arrive early and visit the fanzone. We were so enthusiastically early that the fanzone wasn’t even open yet. So we headed for an early coffee.

Possibly due to the rain or the fact that Japan had won the night before so fans were still recovering from the celebrations, the fanzone was pretty quiet. This meant we got to meet one of the World Cup mascots, which made my day, and try out some VR canon exhibit.

So Rob got to score a try in a Japan shirt and a I got to do the Haka with the All Blacks - even if I might look a bit deranged.

After checking out the dwindling merch stall we joined the long queue for the bus to the stadium. We knew our way around a bit, from the previous day, watching England Argentina. So were delighted when we found our seats so close to the action.

We loved watching the Haka, led by TJ Perenara, especially being so close and there was a great atmosphere as the Japanese support New Zealand as their second team.

The All Blacks were resting some of their key players as this was seen to be a formality for them. They were missing their biggest star of recent years Beauden Barrett but the kicking duties were taken over by his younger brother Jordie. Richie Mo-unga NZ favoured play maker was also rested as well as a lot of the pack, who had taken a beating during South Africa pack. Some of the key players from the 2015 World Cup team were bringing their experience, Sam Whitelock the big number 5 was captaining, Sam Cane was in at flanker, the familiar face of Aaron Smith at 9. Brodie Retallick a key forward in the All Blacks game was making his first appearance in the World Cup since a shoulder injury. So plenty to look forward to.

As the game started we expected to see some All Black magic and were a little surprised when Namibia came tearing out of the blocks, looking like they’d come to play. Within 3 minutes they had forced a penalty from the ABs and Damien Stevens, Namibia’s scrum half showed how serious Namibia was by kicking the ball with deadly accuracy right through the centre of the posts.

I think everyone was a bit shocked. Namibia - who only got their place in the World Cup in August of 2018 when they won the Africa Gold Cup, were leading the current World Cup holders. They were beating the All Blacks. It was a real thrill to see the underdog taking the initiative.

It didn’t take long for the All Blacks to come back though as Jordie Barrett nailed a beautiful kick across field to Sevu Reece who took it over the try line. A Maybe nerves were getting the better of Jordie Barrett as he could not convert the try. Leaving the score still close at 5-3.

Namibia’s scrum got some crunching from the heavier pack and after a while Anton Leonard Brown made a break for it and made it over the try line. Jordie Barrett again failed to convert. 10-3.

At 26 minutes Namibia got another penalty and Damien Stevens again showed his experience and the talent that he obviously uses when playing in the South African domestic league, by closing the score to 10-6.

2 minutes later the ABs gave up another penalty which allowed the number 9 to bring the score within a point. At this stage the crowd was going crazy. Namibia were really scaring the All Blacks now. The majority of the first half was over and Namibia were very much still in the game.

This threat seemed to galvanise the All Blacks as 2 tries were powered through before half time. Jordie Barrett finally found his composure, Beauden being on hand to bring him his kicking tee must have helped, and he converted both tries. The half ends 24- 9. So far it had been a fantastic game to watch.

The second half was a completely different game. Steve Hansen had obviously given the All Blacks a really good talking to in the break. They came out and then the onslaught began. The power and skill of the World Cup holders became apparent as they scored try after try. We were loving it as we were sat close to the try line so got to see a lot of the action.

The real highlight of the game and one of highlights of the World Cup for us was the final try of the game. TJ Perenara made a break through the Namibian lines, then offloaded to George Bridge who managed to pop it up to Ioane who as he was tackled got the ball to Webber. Webber made more ground and slipped the ball behind him Perenara who started the whole move. Perenara headed down the touch line and was tackled as he is put the ball down in the corner. It was a split second between the ball touching down and the tackle that threw Perenara into touch. But with absolute focus accuracy he made the try. It was an amazing try from an amazing All Black.

TJ and some of the other All Blacks did some extra laps of the field so that those that didn’t get as much time got a workout/ warm down. Epitomising one of the New Zealand team’s mantras - All Blacks do extra.

It was a fantastic game on so many levels, seeing the determination of Namibia in the first half to an All Blacks masterclass in the second. One of my favourite games of the Tournament.

#The All Blacks #Namibia #rwc2019 #underdogs #masterclass #rugby #damien stevens #tj perenara #try of the tournament

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aussiboris · 4 years

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A road trip, England vs Argentina and a knight to remember

October 5th 2019

We got on the road early with our friends Debbie and Glen, so we could relax and enjoy the build up to our first live England match. The four hour drive to Tokyo was easy, it was a beautiful day and we were even fortunate to see a cloudless Mount Fuji, surely an auspicious sign of what was to come.

The excitement was building, feeling like kids at Christmas, the boys may have taken that idea a little too far. We proudly walked around the service station in our pristine white shirts.

Once in Tokyo, we made our way slowly through the crowded trains and road systems to Tokyo Stadium. We managed to stay together through the throng of fans, mostly down to Glen being easy to spot; wearing his Knights’ Templar costume.

We eagerly made our way to our seats which were in the upper tier. This afforded us a stunning view of the Japanese sunset behind the stadium and meant we could really appreciate the swathes of white shirts which appeared to be filling Tokyo’s stadium. There were pockets of pretty vocal Argentinians but the numbers of the English contingent became very apparent during the National Anthems. The noise and power that boomed around the stadium during God Save the Queen was electric.

This was England’s first big test of the tournament, we had watched this team evolve through six nation contests and a range of internationals. They’d won against Tonga and the USA but they weren’t showing the dominance we had hoped for. This was it, they would have to show some flair to beat a pretty determined Puma team.

Argentina started well attacking with conviction and they drew first blood with a penalty scoring 3 points, 7 minutes into the game. England came back hard using a driving maul which had been so successful against the USA to get the ball wide from George Ford to Jonny May who tore across the try line. At this point we breathed a sigh of relief, ok the boys were settling down. Owen Farrell would convert the try and England would be on their way.

I lined my camera up to get a shot of the England captain doing what he does best; slotting it through the posts. However nerves or some residual damage from the serious blow Farrell had taken to the head, the previous week in the USA game, meant he unusually missed. This left England looking less convincing 2 points ahead, instead of 4.

The next big moment of the game again concerned Farrell. At 17 minutes Tomas Lavanini shut his eyes going into a tackle catching Farrell dangerously about the head again. The second row was red carded and sent from the field. My heart went out to the poor guy and if I’m honest I was more than a little disappointed that it meant that England simply would not have to try so hard.

And so it was towards half time that Elliot Daly used his amazing turn of speed nipped the ball over the line for England’s second try. This was followed up by Ben Youngs just before half time when he exploited Argentina’s missing player and found space to cross the line for England’s third try. However England weren’t safe yet. Farrell had failed to convert the tries, therefore stopping the team looking like the complete package.

After the break England’s physical brutally started to punch holes in the stretched Argentinian defence. Lewis Ludlum who had replaced an injured Billy Vunipola made some great carries and with the quality support of Manu Tuilangi George Ford squeezed through for the 4th bonus point try. Farrell finally quieted critics by kicking home the conversion.

It took until the 70 minute for a dozing English defence to allow the pumas to run away from them, scoring a try straight between the posts, creating an easy conversion for Boffelli the kicker.

A few minutes later Jack Nowell showed why, even after injury and appendicitis he had made the England squad. It was his first game, 6 minutes after coming on he showed his magic. The team made space and the ball went wide to the winger. He appeared to simply bounce off 3 defenders and dived over in the corner for a great try. Farrell converted.

The finishers made their presence felt as Luke Cowan- Dickie proved his mauling expertise by, as he and done in the USA game, neatly dropping the ball over the line for the final points of the game.

Man of the match was Sam Underhill whose tenacity in defence and attack is truly awesome.

We left that match feeling content having seen our heroes but knowing there was definitely more to come.

We decided to leave the stadium pretty sharpish as we wanted to catch the Japan v Samoa match in the Tokyo Fanzone. We followed the cheers through the streets until we arrived to the match being projected on the side of a building. The square was packed with supporters. The fans were excited.

This was the first match after Japan had shocked the world again by beating the World Rugby’s number 1 team Ireland. Fans old and new gathered together to see if Japan could maintain this winning conviction.

Japan built the score as Yu Tamura kicked penalty after penalty. Samoa’s kicker Henry Taefu replied with similar accuracy. The Brave Blossoms gave the crowd a a lot to shout about as their new stars; Himeno, Fukuoka and Matsushima provided some glorious tries. There was an intensity and pride to the team who were determined to make sure they qualified out of the group stage. It was truly magical to be surrounded by so many Japanese fans who were quickly beginning to love their team.

We made sure to chat to some of these fans especially in a bar afterwards. Glen got a lot of attention for his knight costume and everyone was keen to share in the wonderful atmosphere of the night.

#rwc2019 #englandrugby #englandvsargentina #tokyostadium #fanzone #braveblossoms

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aussiboris · 4 years

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The Rugby World Cup

A Road Trip, The Brave Blossoms arrive, a Sake Tour and the Tartan army

September 28th 2019

So the second weekend of the tournament arrived! Excitedly, we joined our relatively new rugby friends Glen and Debbie on a road trip to Kobe. This weekend we were going to see the Scots, so we filled the few hours journey with a Scottish playlist of classics including the Pretenders, Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand and of course, The Proclaimers. In hindsight this was good preparation for meeting the tartan army who we would find in excellent (loud) voice.

We found that there was an ‘English Pub’ called The Harbour Tavern in central Kobe that was already open at 1pm showing the Tonga and Argentina game.

The Harbour Tavern is somewhat hidden away in a tall building on the 7th floor but we found it. It definitely has the rustic feel and sticky carpet of a traditional English pub. We were quick to install ourselves in front of a big TV as we were particularly keen to see the next match which was the hosts vs Ireland.

After eating some dubiously microwaved ‘beef pies’ we were ready for the main event - Japan’s first proper test. Our Irish friends had travelled to Shizouka with the intention to see their team conquer the Blossoms, but they had not reckoned on the impact of Yu Tamura’s deadly accurate boot. The Irish were vastly outnumbered by the home crowd who went suitably nuts (very unjapanese) when Kotaro Matsushima very nearly scored a try within the first three minutes.

After that wake up call Ireland looked to regain their composure with Garry Ringrose carrying a try over at 13 minutes. However Jack Carty was unable to convert it so Ireland were ahead by 5 points. 4 minutes later Yu Tamura scored his first penalty. Ireland replied with a converted try putting them firmly ahead 12 points to 3. Our friends were delighted and we saw them celebrate on TV several times in their bright green wigs. But the Irish team made mistakes and by half time Tamura had kicked Japan back to touching distance 9 points to 12.

The second half carried on the excitement for the Japanese crowd when the backs put together an attack off the back of a scrum- Lameki charged through the Irish lines only just being stopped before Tanaka was able to feed the ball out to Nakamura who then threw a long pass to Lafaele who popped it to the newly arrived wing replacement Kenki Fukuoka who charged over the try line. At this point The Harbour Tavern erupted as Japan took the lead 14 - 12. 10 minutes later Tamura added a 5th successful kick adding to his large collection of points. The Japanese started to believe this was winnable. Then with 3 minutes to go the try scorer Kenki Fukuoka intercepted a pass and very almost scored a try at the other end of the pitch. The noise was insane. When the whistle blew Japan had won the contest 16-12. There were a lot of very happy Japanese supporters.

After celebrating Japan’s stunning win in the Harbour Tavern we went to look for some dinner. This was the point that it became apparent that the Japanese had become aware of the World Cup. There had been curiosity from the host country’s citizens - now there was enthusiastic interest.

As we walked through the streets of Kobe, Rob and Glen were getting stopped by Japanese who wanted to high five them for wearing the Brave Blossoms strip. This enthusiasm was echoed the next morning when we went in search of a Japan rugby top the next morning, overnight they had disappeared. Rob also decided to wear his Japan top on our sake tour where he got mildly harrassed (stroked) by female cashiers. There was definitely a new level of excitement around the city, it finally felt like the World Cup had properly begun.

The next day was Sunday, we made our way over to Kobe’s Nada District, which is home to Japan’s top Sake producers.

Its location allows it access to high quality rice, good water, and favourable weather. Being close to the ports of Kobe and Osaka was also key for distribution.

We started early and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine as we toured the many breweries and museums with our Sake connoisseur friend, Ruth. We got the Rokko liner train line to Uozaki. This is near the lovely walk by the river.

We then made our way down to our first stop - Hamafukutsuru. The Brewery has won awards for its “Ginjo” sake. It was a good one to start with as they have an excellent museum on the second floor explaining the Sake brewing process in English with plenty of diagrams. Here we had a small tasting with one of the brewers. He was somewhat of a celebrity as he had clippings of a newspaper article that had featured him. He gave us plenty of different sakes to try as well as sherry and plum wine. Ruth invested in some sake ice cream and we were ready for round two.

We headed to our second brewery with slight trepidation - if we consumed the same amount as the first in all the stops on the tour we’d be in trouble. Our next stop was Sakuramasamune. This was a smaller set up with a few traditional tools and equipment to see. It did have an attractive looking restaurant so that is where we stopped for lunch for motsunabe.

After a suitably filling lunch our tour continued to three other breweries. Kikumasamune Sake Museum, Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and Kobe Shushinkan Brewery. These all had excellent museums which showed off the huge casks used in the brewing process. Some had photos of past techniques whilst in a slightly creepy approach one had life sized models recreating images from the past.

As the afternoon wore on we hurried back to the city centre to watch the Wales v Australia game - a game that would potentially decide who would top group D. One we wanted Wales to win as we were hoping to see both Northern hemisphere teams in separate quarter finals in Oita.

We headed for the “Aussie” pub, the Rock. Maybe a questionable choice. It was rammed mostly with Scots. As we squeezed ourselves into the place Rob and Glen went in search of beer. It was not the most comfortable place but the game proved a healthy distraction from our cramped situation.

It was a close game with Wales taking the lead within the first minute with a cheeky drop goal. They continued to lead throughout but the six nations champions had to dig deep to stop the resilient Wallabies. The big number 12 Samu Kerevi proved very hard to stop. Dan Biggar ended up with concussion after an attempted tackle. Reece Patchell was mown down by the massive unit and somehow got rewarded with a penalty for his efforts. A brutal physical game that was close right to the end. Only the accuracy of the Welsh number tens boots kept the Australians at bay. To our relief the Welsh won 29-25.

We celebrated with a few drinks in some nice and not so nice bars and some Kobe Beef.

Game day

It was a bright sunny morning. We made our way over to Kobe’s China Town. After some tasty walking snacks, we had a sit down lunch to give us a solid basis for the drinking that was about to occur. So we were ready, off to the Fanzone.

The Fanzone was located on the edge of the port area with views of the sea. There was a stage with scheduled entertainment that ranged from BMX stunt riding (not sure what that has to do with rugby, but was not the only time we saw this), to a Scottish pipers band, made up of expats and Japanese enthusiasts. There was a large covered seated area where most of the Scots gathered in their festive clobber. A few porter cabins provided food and soft drinks and then there was the bar with its complicated queuing system that kept the rest of the Scots busy. A small merchandise booth offered a small selection of souvenirs, a big screen which switched between showing highlights of the tournaments earlier games and the history of rugby in Japan. Lastly there was a skills area where people could join in some very sweaty touch rugby and a tacking skills area where small children could hurl themselves at a tackle bag and rebound onto a crash mat. Here we spotted an English guy we had met in one of the bars the night before. He was pretty hard to miss as he had a long red cape attached from his shoulders and flip flops. He was throwing himself into the touch game. We chatted to him after and his feet were caked is dust and dirt.

After we had “absorbed” the atmosphere (alcohol) we decided to make our way to the stadium. This was a few kms away but there were plenty of World Cup Volunteers grasping flags marking our route. We just followed the singing really.

It got a bit more tricky when getting on the train. We all squeezed in and got acquainted pretty quickly. With our faces practically pressed against the windows, we made it to the next station where the doors opened and let in some vital fresh air. However as the train progressed through the stations more people wanted to board the train. At this point a particularly massive young scot decided he would help make room for the new arrivals by grasping the top of the door and pushing backwards with his arse. Somehow we survived and found space for the new passengers. On arrival at the destination station we all exploded out of the carriage and followed the crowds to the stadium.

We managed to find our friends at the stadium and made our way inside. We found our seats which happened to be near the front.

The Japanese embraced the Scots as they touched down in Nagasaki, and their favourite player - Greig Laidlaw or Mr Greig as he is known. He has become something of a poster boy for the World Cup and is currently the most famous Scot in Japan. His popularity has eclipsed the usual stars of Hogg and Russell but his team mates love the game of the attention Greig gets. Apparently when walking through shopping malls they will quite regularly shout out ‘Mr Greig’ and watch delightedly as the mob descends on the scrum half.

Greig puts the popularity down to the 2015 World Cup where a sizeable Japanese TV audience watched Scotland beat Japan. Greig had a great game scoring 20 points and the Japanese has remembered this.

The warm up started and sat with friends Justin and Mary, we could actually identify the different players faces. After the anthems it was time to experience our first live Haka of the World Cup and it did not disappoint!

Samoa are a renowned physical side but Scotland had the discipline and the flair.

Within eight minutes Mr Greig had delighted his fans by drawing first blood with a penalty. This was followed up later with an impressive cross pitch kick by Finn Russell to Maitland to place a try in the corner. Laidlaw then scored near the posts after being fed by Richie, the no 7.

Ten minutes into the second half, Scotland had a driving maul which was collapsed by Samoa resulting in a penalty try (27-0).

Maitland then was on for a try in the corner which was denied by Samoa but with a two-knee tackle. Another penalty try was awarded to Scotland. Final sore was 34-0 to Scotland.

The route back to the hotel was pretty eventful. Kobe had put on a lot of party opportunities for the kilt wearing jocks- one place with a covered shopping area putting on food and selling cold beers until the wee hours. But with the prospect of an early shinkansen and work the next day, we didn’t make it too late. Oh to be on holiday and at the world cup! Nonetheless, an excellent weekend in Kobe.

#rugbyworldcup #kobe #scotland #samoa #japan #braveblossoms #ireland #irelandvsjapan #scotlandvssamoa #kobebeef #sake #mtrokko #harbortavern #greig laidlaw #yu tamura #kotaro matsushima #kenki fukuoka #uozaka #hamafukutsura

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aussiboris · 4 years

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The Rugby World Cup

The first weekend, The first game

September 20th 2019

So after much anticipation and preparation it had finally arrived. The Rugby World Cup in Japan. We kicked it off with other rugby fans in a bbq joint with unreliable wifi connection. We cheered on the hosts against Russia. After an average match it was good to watch Matt Damon doing his best South African accent in Invictus.

We then had to pace ourselves through the first rainy weekend of rugby. We watched The French make a promising start against Argentina in an appropriately smokey little bar. We then headed across town to our favourite Rugby bar the Coat of Arms to watch the first crunch match of South Africa vs New Zealand.

By the Sunday our brains were a bit rugby scrambled or pickled by the alcohol but it was time to watch the home nations perform so we powered through.

We were excited to see Scotland take on Ireland and for England’s debut against Tonga. As we headed across Nagoya to meet up with rugby loving friends we started to notice a few Welsh shirts making an appearance. This was because Wales’ first match was due to take place on the Monday in nearby Toyota. We even offered assistance to some lost looking Welsh fans and invited them to join us at our local haunt. As we arrived it appeared that The Coat of Arms had been taken over by a sea of red shirted tourists. There was the odd pop of white in this blanket of red, it was just nice to hear British accents mingling all around us.

We watched on as Scotland fell at the first hurdle and Ireland looked like they deserved their recently earned no1 World ranking. Then it was England’s go. Not the most convincing start. The home nations battle lines began to show up as the mass of Welsh supporters wholeheartedly supported Tonga.

It was a great atmosphere and by the end of the evening the Welsh had unsurprisingly burst into song.

The game

September 23rd 2019

This was our first game of the World Cup. We were so excited to have our first taste of the tournament and it was relatively close to home in Toyota. As it was our local game it meant lots of our friends were in attendance which added to the party feel. The Welsh supporters came in their droves. Our first encounter was with a couple of Japanese who had adopted Wales as their country to support. Now something you need to know. Japanese people love to dress up. Rugby supporters - love to dress up. This was one aspect of the World Cup that I knew would prove to be a hit with the Japanese. We knew that the Japanese couple were supporting Wales as the girl was wearing a Welsh shirt (standard), and Welsh Flag tied around her neck (OK) she also had a Welsh bag, and sheep hat! The guy was similarly kitted out except he had a dragon hat. Good work guys!

Of course I was taking a photo of Rob on the train - Not the Japanese/Welsh supporters behind him!

We arrived nice and early for the match to check out the fanzone and the festival atmosphere.

As we completed a loop of the festivities we got our first close up look at the Webb Ellis trophy.

We checked out the fanzone, collected free stuff and drank the sponsored beverages. After walking what felt like a significant distance we made it back around to meet up with our friends at the British Theme pub - Boobies. Not sure if the Japanese understand the name!

Facepaint was applied to the native supporters (our mate Russ) and we were ready.

We had seen the Georgian team play against Japan in this very stadium a little over a year before. At that time Japan’s dynamism kept the unit-like Georgians to a clean sheet. This Georgian team’s backs looked a completely different physical shape, smaller more agile and ready to put up a fight against the Welsh.

We were sitting in the East stand and luckily for us the Welsh team were playing to our end first.

We excitedly watched the warm up spotting the familiar faces of the Welsh heroes.

We gave the Welsh National anthem a good go, thanks to Mel for providing a phonetic version, and then we were ready to cheer the boyos on.

Sitting with our Welsh flower (our mate Russ), we had an excellent view, as Jonathan ‘Fox’ Davies provided the first try for Wales after just 3 minutes. This was followed up by Justin Tipuric and Josh Adams within the first 20. Dan Biggar slotted over the conversions surely buoyed buy the reassuring chanting from the crowd (Mel) of Dan, Dan he’s our man if he can’t do it no one can!

Maybe due to it being one of the first matches of the world cup or due to nerves there a was a large amount of TMO usage. This really slowed the momentum of the game down and quietened the crowd. Having experienced the choral excellence of the Welsh fans just the night before in the COA we were surprised at the general lack of singing during the match. The Welsh fans were separated into smaller groups throughout the stadium so this may have been a factor.

The Welsh score was building well with Liam Williams securing the 4 try bonus point before half time. This seemed to lead to some complacency meaning that the Georgians were able to squeeze in a try and conversion early on in the second half.

As the Georgians seemed to tire, Tomos Williams added a 5th try in the 65th minute. The Georgians managed to capitalise on a tap and go penalty to penetrate the Welsh defence at 69 minutes. Then Tomos Williams again showed his skill with some ducking and fancy footwork to offload to George North who finished the final try of the game in the 75th minute.

The final score 43-14 to Wales.

As we walked back towards “Boobies” across the connecting bridge we were entertained with the full Welsh repertoire. Delilah, bread of Heaven, National anthem, on repeat.

We finished our evening drinking and singing with the rest of the red army. A great first outing of the world Cup.

#rugbyworldcup #wales #Georgia #TOYOTA #toyota stadium #wales v georgia #bread of heaven #delilah

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aussiboris · 4 years

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Family fun and a birthday surprise

31st August 2019

The last weekend in August has turned into an annual gathering of the Fujino Family near the ancestoral home of Otsu. Otsu is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture and is the main port lake for Japan’s largest lake- Biwa.

The meal celebrating the meeting for 4 generations was expanded to include the newest addition Tazzy to the family.

We got to explore a small part of the lake shore on a misty August morning then took a quick dip in the pool. Particularly as the Japanese shut most of their pools on September the 1st. It is still very hot and humid at that point but thems the rules!

It was lovely to spend time with the nephews and start to get to know them better. The pic above is Orion trying to jump - he has the right technique but just couldn’t get air! So that was the end of some nice summer family time or at least that’s what Rob thought.

The Surprise

13th September

So as it was Rob’s 40th I told him I was taking him away for a weekend surprise in September. The other surprise was that Alex and family were coming to celebrate with us. Our first Fujino/Clare holiday together! I packed for him and all he knew was that he had to be at the airport for 6.30 pm on the Friday evening.

I was doing very well at keeping it quiet until we got to the security area for our bag drop and the man wanted to know our destination so I had to say we were going to Okinawa.

Rob was pleased with this as we have been wanting to go for a while.

Rob at Okinawa airport - still unaware of the full surprise!

Eventually we made it to our hotel where we were greeted by enthusiastic staff. They led us to the premium floor. At this point I had to blag a bit as we don’t tend to splash out on accommodation. I was like oh I told them it was your birthday they must have given us an upgrade.

As we were checking in (on the premium floor) the receptionist kept mentioning Alex and Eba, luckily she was quite quiet so Rob couldn’t follow everything she was saying, and I added bits like Eba had recommended the hotel maybe they had paid for the upgrade... Rob got a bit annoyed with me for texting ‘my mum’ ( I was frantically texting Alex) “we were supposed to be on holiday”.

Finally thinking that Rob must have caught on that something was up we made our way to our room. At this point Orion wandered into the corridor. Rob turned to me and said that looks like Orion? At which point Alex, Eba and Robby appeared.

Rob was completely surprised - no clue! Apparently I’m a pretty good liar or more likely Rob is just unaware.

What followed was celebratory drinks from the lounge and some lovely beach time.

Okinawa World

The weather was not great so we decided to explore the South end of Okinawa. One of the most popular attractions in that area is Okinawa World. There are caves with Stalactites and stalagmites, traditional lion dancing and many different crafts.

There was also a Habu Park. Basically the most poisonous snake in Japan lives in Okinawa so they decided to have small theme park based around it. As part of the experience we got to see a show. In the show they raced a sea snake against mongoose - in separate tubes. They also demonstrated that a Habu was more likely to strike a warm balloon than a cold one. At the end of this strange ‘educational’ show we got to have a photo taken with a python.

Driving near the coast of the island

Shuri Castle

Our final point of call was Shuri Castle. Okinawa was originally part of the Ryukyan Kingdom. This kingdom at varying times in history was independent but had strong trade links with China. In 1609 it was invaded by the Japanese and became part of the Shogunate system.

This castle shared many familar Japanese castle features which recognised from the many we have visited. It was made of wood and as with most of the castles in Japan had burnt down many times in its history. Most recently it had been destroyed in 1945 during the battle of Okinawa. It carefully rebuilt in the 1990s using personal recollection and records.

One of the main reasons we had wanted to see it was its bright red colour. We were excited to explore the sprawling network of buildings and collect the different stamps of differing locations. It was definitely one of the highlights of our visit so it was a saddening shock to hear that the castle had pretty much burnt to the ground just over a month after we had visited.

The South of Okinawa is quite industrial but has a few cultural gems. We look forward to exploring the wild Northern part.

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