Shock and awe in the Brighton air, the vacant stares in South African eyes at the final whistle an arresting image as Japan inflicted on the World Cup double champions the greatest upset in the history of test rugby. “I’m glad we’ve managed to not only surprise our own fans back in Japan, but also fans across the world”. The best part: They could have tied with a penalty kick, but Japanese coach Eddie Jones wanted the try and put the ball back in his players’ hands.
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“It was a very humbling experience”.
Form: South Africa suffered four successive defeats, including a 37-25 home loss to Argentina, before responding with a win in Buenos Aires.
Meyer was left to rue his team’s ill-discipline in an encounter strewn with penalties.
Speaking after the result, South Africa captain Jean de Villiers said: “There’s a lot of disappointment”.
The Japanese team scored a last minute try to seal victory in Brighton.
Write off South Africa at your peril.
After an early penalty try, fullback Mike Brown added two more before replacement forward Billy Vunipola settled the game in a dramatic finale.
South Africa’s Zane Kirchner takes on Japan’s Kensuke Hatakeyama. Are Jannie du Plessis and Bryan Habana the forces they once were?
As far as Wednesday’s fixture goes, Japan beating the Springboks was not necessarily a bad thing for the Scots. “I had to look at the score at the end of the game to see if it was true or not”. It can change the face of the sport in Japan (host of the 2019 tournament) because the best athletes might now be attracted to play rugby.
Japan: A Goromaru; A Yamada (K Hesketh 78), M Sa’u, C Wing, K Matsushima; K Ono (H Tatekawa 74), F Tanaka (A Hiwasa 67); M Mikami (K Inagaki 58), S Horie (T Kizu 70), K Hatakeyama (H Yamashita 10-20, 54), L Thompson, H Ono (S Makabe 54), M Leitch (capt), M Broadhurst, H Tui (A Mafi 46).
They never established superiority over a team that had not won a World Cup game since 1991 against Zimbabwe.
The South Africans managed to regain the ball and pressed back.
44′ TRY! The lead didn’t last long for Japan.
It seemed lost, as it looked – momentarily – as if South Africa turned the ball over.
The Springbok defence kept out an onslaught but Hesketh finally got a touchdown in the right corner. Share your stories, photos and videos.
Beaten South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer said the result was “unacceptable – I have to apologise to the nation”.
But relentless pressure from the courageous Japanese paid off when Hesketh scored in the corner to send the crowd wild. We have got to take it on the chin and get back on track.
Much of Japan’s recent progress has been credited to the tactical input of coach Jones and naturalised players such as Leitch, who have boosted the domestic game.
Down 10-7, the Boks hit back nearly immediately.
But the situation at centre represents a broader dilemma for South Africa. Maybe now they would kick on. They could easily have gone for the penalty.
He wrote: “A brilliant performance by Japan, simple as that”.
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Those playing for other countries in the competition took notice of Japan’s exploits too.
