RWC - The A Games with Shaggy (Japan vs New Zealand)

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The A games with Shaggy – Japan V New Zealand

New Zealand move slightly south from Auckland to Hamilton, to take on Japan this Friday.

At the time of writing this blog, neither team had been named, but I would expect that the Japanese run on side would remain pretty close to the one that lost to France, as it's got to be close to the full strength side, and they will need to cement the combinations for their future pool A games, and they will want to eradicate the crucial errors that could have made the result against France a lot closer.
James Arlidge and Ryan Nicolas in particular, will want to tighten up there combination at 10 and 12, and hopefully the loose forward trio that performed so well against France, as well as the back three, and the half back. I think Hirotoki Onozawa played outstandingly well on the left wing, and Shota horie was a live wire in the number 9 jersey, so hopefully, they can continue their good form in this match.

While these two players were two of the smallest on the park, and had some great runs, Japan have some big players too, such as Edo on the right-wing. They should continue to use these players to create go forward ball, and try to dictate the speed of the game, and play the fast style that has proved successful for them.It's not that easy to predict who will make the starting line-up for the All Blacks, as it's not easy to predict if the All Black management will continue to rotate players in and out of the playing 22.My gut feeling is that they will maintain the core of the players that started against Tonga, and maybe change the look of the players on the bench.

I'd expect that maybe Zac Guldford will get a start on the left wing, and that Conrad smith will start in the 13 Jersey, with perhaps Sonny-Bill Williams starting again in the 12 jersey. Mils Muliana should either start at full back, or come off the bench for this match, but it's hard to drop a player such as Israel Dagg who's in such great form.

Adam Thomson is returning from injury, but I'd expect him to get game time from the bench, rather than start this match.

I'd like to see Richard Kahui retain his right wing spot, and run out on his home ground, but the selectors may not be done experimenting with the back three yet.

I'd expect that the All Blacks will again test the Japanese scrum, and should be dominant in the lineouts. They will try to dominate the breakdown area, but won't have it all their own way if Japan retains Michael Leitch as their open side.

I'd like to see the All Blacks earn the right to go wide, by trying to establish dominance in the forwards first, and sucking in the defenders into the rucks and mauls first. They could probably get away with playing an expansive game from the outset, but I'm hoping that they'll use this game as a dress rehearsal for future games, so playing a tighter style may pay dividends later.

Japan will have increased confidence after the way they played against France, but for them to beat the All Blacks at home, is likely to be asking too much.

I predict a comfortable win to the All Blacks, but not a thrashing –Japan deserve a lot of respect, as its clear that their standard of play has improved greatly from the earlier Rugby World Cup tournaments.

Blog By Shaggy