Their stunning 34-32 upset win over South Africa sent shockwaves around the sporting world and the Japanese became the first team to exit the World Cup after winning three group games. Wouldn’t they love a rematch against the Scots with equal rest.
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Record ticket sales and packed fanzones have helped World Rugby to hit or surpass most of their tournament targets off the pitch, while officials have been extremely satisfied with the action on it during the 40 pool games.
The courageous Blossoms had previously only won one world cup match, against Zimbabwe in 1991, but Jones says he’s done his job with Japan.
After watching his side grind out a 28-18 victory over the Eagles in Gloucester on Sunday, Jones said: “If anyone comes knocking on my doors, it’s polite to answer and that’s all I’ve said”. One Japan fan had his body painted with a message thanking Jones. “That’s not a bad support base”.
Their early departure is the World Cup’s loss, no more Fumiaki Tanaka scheming around the fringe of rucks, no more Craig Wing haunting defences with his ability to spring into contact and out again and no more Michael Leitch, the captain, hoovering up the mess left by exuberance.
October 12 Rugby World Cup organisers declared the pool phase of the tournament to be a “breathtaking shop window for the sport” on Monday and said the key to its success was the increased competitiveness of the Tier Two nations.
“What a wonderful thing for the team to achieve that”.
Los Pumas played an enthralling style of rugby, with an emphasis on keeping the ball alive, running from deep and a lot of interplay between backs forwards, it led to a very entertaining game at the King Power stadium in Leicester.
But he had only praise for the Eagles for their doggedness. “They play a fantastic brand of rugby and we knew going into it that they were going to be clinical and they were”. “That’s a great result for us”.
“Teams would put out their B team against them and win by 80-90 points”.
The U.S. did not lie down and MacGinty launched a superb long pass out to the right flank for fullback Chris Wyles to touch down.
Try time: Kotaro Matsushima slides in for Japan’s first try v USA. Takudzwa Ngwenya took advantage of a clever pass by Chris Wyles to dive over in the corner.
Within a matter of seconds, brutish No. 8 Mafi ploughed his way through a wall of American shirts and, despite a rare missed conversion from Goromaru, Japan led 25-11. Japan’s youngest-capped wing Yoshikazu Fujita started the move by collecting the ball as the United States of America mistimed the Japanese restart, and then finished it – the 18-year-old crashing over the whitewash at the base of a rolling maul on his World Cup debut.
Ngwenya looked bound for a second try until he was run down from behind by replacement flanker Amanaki Mafi, who scored a try while USA prop Eric Fry was in the sin-bin for a professional foul.
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13 of Japan’s points on the night were scored by the boot of Goromaru, who took away the man-of-the-match award in Gloucester.
