Jones looked on in delighted disbelief, along with 30,000 mesmerised spectators at Brighton’s Amex Stadium, as the players who were 40/1 outsiders to win the match stunned mighty South Africa 34-32.
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The result will also have rugby-mad South Africa reeling as the two-time World Cup champions attempt to resurrect their campaign.
“I have massive respect for Eddie as a coach and for what he has done for the Japan and the level of professionalism in their rugby that has increased dramatically over the last years”. “A pretty humbling experience”.
But after Japan refused to kick for a draw, persistence and ambition was rewarded as the ball was swept from right to left, and Hesketh squeezed through.
Leigh Jones said South Africa will be wary of the chop tackles.
Both sides exchanged a series of penalties before the Springboks snatched another try when replacement Adriaan Strauss burst through the defence.
“I think it is the tightest one ever”. We played with passion, for the country.
“We are a team who have not won at the World Cup in 24 years”. Japan have the least winning record in the World Cup and have the smallest team.
“Matsushima has an association with South Africa”.
“This is a very big wake up call”, said Meyer. The try was not given, but Japan had another scrum.
“It was a below-par performance and not good enough by our standards”, Springbok captain Jean de Villiers said.
Kirchner will start at full-back in the most experienced Springbok Test side of all-time – there are a total of 880 caps in the starting XV. But Japan’s confidence soared as the majority of the crowd threw their backing behind the most outside of outsiders.
And despite us just being a couple of games into the tournament, that yet could have a knock-on effect to Wales’ chances in the knock-out stages. The powerful Bismarck du Plessis scored the Springboks second to give them a 12-10 half time lead.
Dave Kearney crossed twice for the Irish, while Jonathan Sexton notched three conversions and a penalty.
Having soaked up seven minutes of South African pressure, the minnows set the tone for a gripping afternoon when they suddenly broke through and had the audacity to score first.
The final match between England and South Africa on 20 October saw a powerful South Africa win by 15 points to 6, with Jake White as coach of the Bokke.
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An 84th minute try by Karne Hesketh in the left-hand corner sparked scenes of delirium by Japanese players and fans alike who were each incredible throughout the game.
