MONDAY,OCTOBER21,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAIL O B13
Handre Pollard knew what to ex-
pect when he lined up against Ja-
pan, four years after being on the
losing end of the most shocking
upset in Rugby World Cup history.
South Africa’s leading scorer
took a deep breath when Japan
held off Scotland in the last of the
40 group-stage games last week-
end to set up a rematch of the Mir-
acle of Brighton.
Japan’s four wins in the pool
phase had galvanized support in
the home country, attracting un-
precedented interest and sup-
port.
Japan’s style of running rugby
had made them the second-fa-
vourite team for rugby fans all
over the world.
And the multicultural compo-
sition of Japan’s squad meant
there were even South Africans
who’d be backing them in Sun-
day’s quarter-final at Tokyo Stadi-
um.
“From the fixture being an-
nounced, we said it was us against
the world,” Pollard said, “but we
embraced it.
“It was always going to be
tough with that crowd and the
whole hype around it, but the
boys handled it pretty well.”
South Africa played to its
strengths and smothered the
smaller, faster Japan team, turn-
ing a 5-3 halftime lead into a 26-3
victory to move into a semi-final
against Wales. The other semi-fi-
nal will pit England against New
Zealand. On Saturday, England
beat Australia 40-16 and New
Zealnd thumped Ireland 46-14.
Pollard played the role of vil-
lain early in the second half, kick-
ing three penalty goals from the
44th to the 64th minutes to estab-
lish an 11-point cushion.
At Brighton in 2015, a Pollard
penalty had given South Africa
the lead with eight minutes to
play, but Japan clinched that his-
toric 34-32 upset with an injury-
time try.
Not this time. The Springboks
killed off any chance of a come-
back with two tries in five minutes
to scrumhalf Faf de Klerk and win-
ger Makazole Mapimpi, who fin-
ished off a long-range attack in
the 70th minute for his second
five-pointer of the match.
Another Springboks veteran of
that loss in Brighton, Tendai Mta-
warira, made it tough in the first
half, when he was sent to the sin-
bin for 10 minutes for a tip-tackle.
It left South Africa defending with
14 men, and even meant Japan
took a tighthead against a signif-
icantly more powerful Springbok
scrum.
“We made it tough for our-
selves in the first half. We had a
few opportunities and threw
them away,” Pollard said.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi
went on as a replacement in 2015
against Japan, but wasn’t scared
by the experience. Instead, he
used it as a benchmark. After all,
South Africa recovered from that
to reach the semi-finals in En-
gland.
“Honestly, it was exactly what
we expected. We knew exactly
what Michael Leitch and his boys
were going to bring today,” he
said. “They said they would come
for us at our set piece. It took a lot
out of us to keep on fighting, but
credit to my boys, we fought and
ground it out.”
He also commended Japan’s
team and its supporters, who en-
sured the success of the first
World Cup staged in Asia.
Rassie Erasmus has picked up a
Springboks squad in despair and
turned it into the champion of the
southern hemisphere’s annual
tournament.
A group-stage loss in Japan to
New Zealand was a setback, but
meant the Springboks would
avoid the defending champions
in the knockout stage until the fi-
nal – if both teams advance that
far. New Zealand meets England
in the semi-finals, and the Spring-
boks would have to overcome Six
Nations champion Wales.
Erasmus is feeling okay about
his team’s prospects.
“We have conceded three tries
in the World Cup, and two of those
were against New Zealand in four
minutes,” Erasmus said. “We
haven’t had long spells where we
were under pressure and actually
folded in our defence.
“I know a lot of people see a few
holes in our defence, but we trust
our system. We were really under
a lot of pressure today, and espe-
cially with the pace of the game ...
so that was good for a lot of play-
ers to get used to.”THEASSOCIATEDPRESSSouthAfrica
smothersJapan
inRugbyWorld
Cupquarters
JOHNPYETOKYON
ow this is a serious World Series
throw-down.
Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander
and Zack Greinke against Max
Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick
Corbin – all of them all-star starters, still
pitching at their peak.
It’s a mound meeting that every fan can
enjoy, the Houston Astros against the
Washington Nationals.
Capital hill, indeed.
“We’ve got the best pitcher in the world
going. And then after that, we’ve got the
best pitcher in the world going, too. And
then after that, we’ve got the best pitcher
in the world going, too,” Astros third base-
man Alex Bregman said. “It’s going to be a
lot of fun.”
Bregman and fellow Most Valuable Play-
er candidate Anthony Rendon certainly
did their parts to make this the Year of the
Home Run. And Jose Altuve lit up Minute
Maid Park with his walk-off homer to beat
the Yankees in the AL Championship Se-
ries.
But the focus of this Fall Classic is right
on the rotations. Houston opened as a 2-1
favourite at the Las Vegas sportsbooks.
Cole is set to throw the first pitch on
Tuesday night in Houston. He led the ma-
jors with 326 strikeouts, was second to Ver-
lander in the big leagues with 20 wins, and
topped the AL with a 2.50 ERA.
He also is 19-0 in his past 25 starts. That
includes 3-0 in the playoffs so far, allowing
one earned run in 22^2 ⁄ 3 innings, while fan-
ning 32.
Cole was acquired by the Astros a few
months after they won the 2017 World Se-
ries. He has fit in fine with his Houston
teammates and also has gotten acquainted
with some of the Washington aces – the
teams share the Ballpark of the Palm
Beaches spring-training complex in Flor-
ida.
“I know a few guys in their rotation, and
I’m personally excited that they’re in this
position, and I’m just very excited to get in
there,” Cole said late Saturday night.
“They’ve worked their tails off. I know a
lot of the guys on the team, and I know
how they prepare,” he said. “I’m looking
forward to the challenge.”
Like when he faces Washington’s big
bopper.
“Anthony Rendon is one of the greatest
hitters in the game right now,” Cole said.
“There’s no real way to get him out. You
just kind of hope that he misses some balls
or he scorches them right at your guys, I
guess.”
The clubs saw each other back in Febru-
ary, when they played in the exhibition
opener and Scherzer gave up a homer tothe first batter of the game.
Now, eight months later, they meet for
real. The 107-win Astros trying to capture
their second crown in three years, the wild-
card Nationals making their Series debut.
“The World Series comes through Hous-
ton. I like the sound of that. I think it
should be that way for many years to
come,” Bregman said.
No slight to Bregman and other big hit-
ters here: Altuve, the ALCS MVP, postsea-
son star George Springer, and top short-
stops Trea Turner and Carlos Correa. And
not to overlook the young stars on this
stage for the first time, rookies such as Juan
Soto and Yordan Alvarez.
Yet in an era when teams search for new
pitching strategies – witness the Astros’ pa-
rade of relievers in Game 6 of the ALCS –
the two clubs left figure to rely heavily on
their starters.
Fine by Houston manager AJ Hinch.
“Philosophically, whether it’s about the
new-age opener or pulling guys third time
through, most of the people that support
that haven’t had Verlander or Cole on their
team,” he said.
The Nationals stack up just fine, too.
Consider their staff includes Anibal San-
chez, who took a playoff no-hit bid into the
eighth inning.
For Washington, the city gets its first
World Series since the Senators played in- For the Nationals, the old October
question: rest or rust?
THEASSOCIATEDPRESSJoseAltuveoftheAstroshitsatwo-runwalk-offtowinGame6oftheAmericanLeagueChampionshipSeriesagainsttheNewYork
YankeesonSaturday.AltuveisoneofHouston’sbiggesthittersandtheALCS’smost-valuableplayer.SUEOGROCKI/THEASSOCIATEDPRESS
Astros,Nationalstorelyonstar
rotationsinWorldSeriesfaceoff
Wild-cardWashington
stacksupfineagainstHouston,
whichischasingitssecond
crowninthreeyears
BENWALKER
Canadian Denis Shapovalov has his first
ATP Tour title.
The fourth-seeded Shapovalov of Rich-
mond Hill, Ont., captured the Stockholm
Open on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-4 win over
Serbian Filip Krajinovic.
“I think it’s a big step to win my first ti-
tle,” he said. “Honestly, I think the most
important thing for me is just to keep im-
proving my game.”
Not only was it Shapovalov’s first ATP ti-
tle, but he becomes the first Canadian Tour
winner since Milos Raonic of Thornhill,
Ont., in Brisbane in January, 2016.
It marked the first time Shapovalov had
faced the No. 60-ranked Krajinovic.
The Canadian was ranked No. 34 in the
world prior to this week’s action, but will
crack the top 30 with this result for the first
time since July. In April, Shapovalov jump-
ed to a career-best 20th in the world rank-
ings from No. 23 after reaching the semi-
final of the Miami Open. “I was No. 20 in
the world, but I’m not concerned about
getting back to that ranking,” he said. “I’m
really happy with this week. I’m just going
to try to take it one week at a time.”
This tournament was also a break-
through for Shapovalov, who’d been 0-7 in
semi-finals before beating Yuichi Sugita on
Saturday to advance to the final. And de-
spite the victory, Shapovalov said he’s far
from being a finished product.
“There’s a lot to improve,” he said. “I
think there’s still a lot, not gaps, but areas
where I can get better.
“I can definitely get [cleaner] at the net,
improve my returns, improve my move-
ments. There’s many things I can get better
[at] that will help me for the future.”
Shapovalov didn’t drop a set en route to
becoming the first Canadian champion in
this event.
“He was the better player today, for sure.
He played really well,” Krajinovic said. “It
was a great week for me, I keep going and I
have to work.”
THECANADIANPRESS
ShapovalovearnshisfirstATPTourtitle
STO
KHOLM
ANDYMURRAYWINSFIRST
ATPFINALSINCEHIPSURGERYANTWERP,BELGIUMAndyMurrayhas
wonhisfirstATPtourfinalsincehavinghip
surgeryinJanuaryforaninjurythatleft
himcontemplatingretirementatonepoint.
Murrayralliedtobeatfellowthree-time
GrandSlamchampionStanWawrinka3-6,
6-4,6-4intheEuropeanOpenfinalon
Sunday.“Thisisoneofthebiggestwins
thatI’vehadaftereverythingsoI’mvery
proud,”Murraysaidinanon-courtin-
terviewbroadcastbyAmazonPrime.Itwas
32-year-oldMurray’sfirstATPtourfinal
sinceMarch,2017.Afterundergoinghip-
resurfacingsurgery,theBritishplayer
returnedtothecourtinJuneplaying
doublesbeforemovingbacktosinglesin
August.The34-year-oldWawrinkawas
lookingforhisfirstATPtitlesincethe2017
GenevaOpen.THEASSOCIATEDPRESSBENCICBEATSPAVLYUCHENKOVA
TOTAKEKREMLINCUPMOSCOWBelindaBencicrecoveredfroma
setdowntobeatAnastasiaPavlyuchenko-
va3-6,6-1,6-1intheKremlinCupfinalon
Sunday.Third-seededBencicbrokePav-
lyuchenkovaintheRussian’sfirstservice
gameinboththesecondandthirdsets.
Bencichiteightaces,despitelandingjust
54percentofherfirstserves.She’sthe
firstSwisswomantowintheKremlinCup
since2000.Thewincappedaproductive
weekforBencicaftershesecuredthelast
spotattheWTAFinalsonSaturday.By
qualifyingfortheMoscowfinal,Bencic
overtookSerenaWilliamsinthepoints
rankingforqualificationforthefinalsin
Shenzhen,China.Inthemen’sfinal,Andrei
RublevrecordedhisfirstATPtitlesince
2017,ashebeatAdrianMannarino6-4,6-0.
THEASSOCIATEDPRESSDenisShapovalovofCanadakisseshistrophyafterbeatingSerbia’sFilipKrajinovic,right,to
wintheStockholmOpenonSunday.Withthevictory,Shapovalovshouldmoveintothetop
30ofrankedtennisplayers.JONATHANNACKSTRAND/AFPVIAGETTYIMAGESREPORTONBUSINESS |