Well day one has produced some interesting games and results which will keep everyone guessing as to which teams will be in the medals! The USA demolition of New Zealand’s Wheelblacks was perhaps not that unexpected but you would have got good odds for a Denmark win over Australia. Denmark has been getting stronger and stronger as we have experienced at the Quad Nations whilst Australia has suffered more than most from lack of team training due to COVID-19 in-country travel restrictions. I suspect they will look a little different when they play France though this will be another tough challenge if the French play as well as they did today against Japan. In another tight game which France led until the closing minutes, the greater experience of Japan shone through to win the match by one try. There were some excellent individual performances – Cedric Nankin and Sebastian Verdin stood out for France and the pace, height, and ball skills of Ikezaki Daisuke and Shinichi Shimakawa were difficult to counter, but it was an exciting game to watch and France are not over yet. They showed their mettle by beating GB at the Quad Nations earlier this year and any team would be foolish to underestimate them – we certainly would not!
So to our game and I have to be honest it’s a mixture of relief, delight, and pride to have experienced such a professional team performance. We went out there looking as if we meant business and then we set about delivering on our game plan. It’s true that there were a couple of shaky moments but all teams had these today as everyone tries to reboot after a long period starved of game play. We managed the game well today – clever use of time-outs, good line calls from the coach and some excellent transitions. There were some big individual games as well. Stuart Robinson was huge – and the gain in his tactical understanding and chair skills alongside his physicality and speed is transforming him into a world class player. A good high pointer needs a good low pointer and in Jonny Coggan we have always had that – he had a blinder today more than amply supported by Ryan Cowling who was composed and did some great work. Jim Roberts as always was the play-maker – always creating, a bit like my new puppy – always enthusiastic and always in the way! It is of course a game at a time, and next up is New Zealand. There is no room for complacency in this competition and I know that the coach will treat the Wheelblacks with respect and want to see us impose our game plan early and build on what we have learnt today. We will want to eliminate errors and remain composed under pressure. With a place in the semi-finals up for grabs we will want to secure that second win. My heart rate has come down a touch – a good thing at my age!
David Pond
