Brave Blossoms Inspired
Japan 28 – 21 Scotland
Sunday 13 October 2019
In front of a packed and excited home crowd at Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium, the Brave Blossoms were inspired to a fabulous performance, claiming their second scalp of a tier one nation in their pool matches and progressing to a Quarter-Final with South Africa with 4 wins out of their 4 matches.
Japan refused to let Scotland settle and held on to possession for long periods of the game. It was only in the fourth quarter that Scotland threatened, as they threw caution to the wind, in wave after wave of attacks, which yielded two tries and many close-calls.
Scotland Step Up Again
Scotland 61 – 0 Russia
By our correspondent in Japan
Scotland turned in a dominating performance, running in 9 tries, with a further two disallowed by the TMO, in crushing Russia.
Scotland Fully “Prepped”
By our correspondent in Japan
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend says the team is “fully prepped” for the Russia match on Wednesday and Japan on Sunday. There are concerns, however, over Typhoon Hagibisas it threatens matches over the coming weekend. Townsend, who spoke to our correspondent in a hotel lift in Hamamatsu, says everyone is focused on the Russia match.
Scotland Win in Kobe
Scotland 34 – 0 Samoa
By our correspondent in Japan
After a disappointing first match against Ireland, the Scotland team was transformed for this RWC Pool match in Kobe. Displaying an energy and a determination not seen against Ireland, Scotland blanked a powerful Samoan side.
With the roof shut, the temperature and humidity in the stadium were both high, which made gripping the ball a real challenge. Mister Greg (as his Japanese fans call him), scorer of Scotland’s second try, said it was the most difficult conditions he had encountered since playing in Houston, Texas.