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The Front Row: All Blacks’ grieving process and a RWC 'war of attrition' final

October 31, 2019

Kimberlee Downs catches up with a Japanese-speaking Andrew Saville in Tokyo after last week's semi-finals.

There were plenty of surprises in Japan over the last week for 1 NEWS reporter Kimberlee Downs.

The first, and most notable, was the All Blacks' upset loss in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals to England but the second caught her off guard just as much - a Japanese-speaking Andrew Saville.

The 1 NEWS Sport presenter joined Downs for this week's The Front Row special on the streets of Tokyo with their Auckland colleagues still locked out of their TVNZ studio. Together the duo broke down the All Blacks' defeat and looked forward to what the final has in store.

While discussing the England v South Africa match-up, Saville said he was expecting a "war of attrition" with the Springboks winning the battle in the forwards but England's backs likely to cause problems as well.

"From what we've seen, the English team have looked to use their backs - I think their midfield is very good with Owen Farrell and others out wide at pace so the South Africans are going to be in for a tough night.

"But they'll match if not better them up front - that could hinder England."

Saville said he doesn't expect a high-scoring affair like in 2015 when the All Blacks took down the Wallabies 34-17 but that's how the game goes.

Cue the Japanese proverb.

"Sore ga genjitsu sa - as they say in Japan, it is what it is."

The phrase left Downs speechless and Saville looking a bit chuffed before he revealed he'd worked on it for the three weeks he'd been there.

The final kicks off at 10pm NZT on Saturday night but before then the All Blacks, featuring many departing long-time veterans, face off against Wales in the bronze medal match tomorrow night at the same time.

Watch the special episode above to catch a full breakdown.

The RWC Bronze Medal game will be live on Spark Sport and delayed one hour on TVNZ 1 tomorrow. The Final will be live on both on Saturday.

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