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'It is us against 70,000 people' - Scotland primed to deny Japan historic World Cup victory
Scotland know they will certainly be the second most popular team in Yokohama Stadium on Sunday, should their match against Rugby World Cup hosts Japan go ahead.
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The match, which will decide the outcome of Pool A, is still scheduled to go ahead on Sunday despite the impact of Typhoon Hagibis, which made landfall on Saturday.
World Rugby and tournament organisers announced on Sunday morning that the match would still take place after being satisfied with the lack of damage provided by the typhoon following an assessment of Yokohama.
In the meantime, Scotland are cooped up in their hotel in Yokohama and must battle through an unprecedented preparation for a match.
They must also overcome the mental hurdle of playing against the host nation in a decisive match.
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“It will be a sense that it is us against 70,000 people,” said Scotland coach Gregor Townsend.
“I think we will be going into an atmosphere that will be fairly passionate for the opposition and we have to play as well as we can to win that game.”
“They will get energy from the crowd and we will have to take away their energy.”
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Although Scotland were embarrassed against France in Nice in one their two World Cup warm-up matches away from home, Townsend instead pointed to the 36-9 victory over Georgia in Tbilsi as the blueprint for his players to follow on Sunday.
“The way the players approached that game in Georgia was how we want to see them approach this game over the next two days, knowing that the crowd will have an influence and bring a lot of energy,” he said.
Rugby World Cup tournament organisers have finalised their decision on whether the Scotland v Japan clash will take place in Yokohama tonight. #RWC2019 #JPNvSCO https://t.co/dcYZe0Z6yC
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 13, 2019
“The opposition will get a lot of energy from that so we have to stick to what we know will work in the game and what will work for us.”
Scotland have qualified for the World Cup knockout stages at every tournament bar one coming into Japan 2019 but know they must win by eight points or more to qualify from Pool A ahead of the hosts.
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Weather conditions aside, the two teams both play a chaotic, speedy brand of rugby and access to quick ball could be pivotal on Sunday.
Townsend praised the Brave Blossoms for their quick ball recycling, with a rider.
“They do things at the ruck that creates a lot of quick ball, not always legal, and we know they have a very effective way of getting quick ball there,” he said.
AAP
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