Stuart Hogg challenges Scotland to play biggest game of their lives
Stuart Hogg says Scotland must be ready to play their biggest game of their lives as they bid to reach the last eight of the World Cup.
Gregor Townsend’s team are due to take on Japan in Yokohama on Sunday and a win of at least eight points will take them through to quarter-finals.
Typhoon Hagibis could yet throw a spanner in the works and blow the Dark Blues out of the tournament if World Rugby deems the match is not safe to play and rule it a draw.
But Hogg is preparing as if the match will kick-off as planned at the 70,000-seater International Stadium and wants his side to grasp the enormity of the occasion.
“I think making it to the quarters would definitely be up there with the biggest things I’ve done so far,” declared Scotland’s star fullback.
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“We’ve been in since the start of June working incredibly hard to get to where we want to be and come Sunday we’ve got a chance to let loose and get to a quarter-final.
“For myself and a lot of the boys this could be the biggest game of our careers and one we’re very much looking forward to getting stuck into.
“It’s a huge test match for us but the majority of the squad have played in big games. There are a lot of boys with experience.
“It’s going to be a hell of a ding-dong battle.”
A Wallabies great believes Matt To'omua isn't the man to lead Australia into the World Cup knockout stages. #RWC2019 https://t.co/vIIS66ZEYc
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Scotland got off to a dismal start as they slumped to Ireland in their Pool A opener.
But this weekend they return to the same venue that pasting from Joe Schmidt’s men took place in having claimed back-to-back bonus point wins without conceding a single score against Samoa and Russia.
Now Hogg has urged his side to maintain their recent standards and not slip back to the sloppy ways that hurt them last time out in Yokohama.
“For us as professional players we have to be on the money at every single opportunity,” said the British and Irish Lion. “We made it difficult with the way we started this tournament.
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“But we’ve still got a chance going into the last game of making it to the quarter finals.
“The Japanese players are all terrific individuals who also play really well collectively.
“We need to make sure our defence is on the money to shut them down at the earliest opportunity and then make the most of our opportunities in attack.
“But we’re fully aware of the strengths that they have – but we see opportunities as well. There are some tasty match-ups but we truly believe we can win this test match.”
The Japanese public have taken the Scots to the hearts in recent weeks, with Greg Laidlaw – who will resume the captaincy against the Brave Blossoms after Stuart McInally was dropped to the bench – the unlikely pin-up boy.
The rivalry between Michael Cheika and Eddie Jones has reignited in the lead-up to a probable Australia-England sudden death showdown at the Rugby World Cup. #RWC2019 #ENGvAUShttps://t.co/tDHMFJeVfU
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But they now find themselves cast as the baddies looking to kill off the hosts’ hopes of a fairytale run to the last eight.
However, upsetting the locals is the least of Hogg’s concerns.
He said: “We’ve had a terrific time in Japan so far. We’ve had a lot of different experiences. You’ll see by Gordy Reid’s Instagram and Twitter posts that he’s enjoying himself.
“But we came here with a job in hand and that was to win test matches. We’ve got the chance to play against the host nation and it doesn’t get any bigger than that.
“The focus is on that and making sure we do everything we can to take another step forward.
“Are we the underdogs? We’re not bothered what we’re branded as.
“They are going to come out of the blocks firing. We have to match them and better them. These are the games as an international rugby player you want to be involved in. I just wish it was Sunday evening now.”
– Press Association
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Bold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to comments