BRAVE BLOSSOMS

The Rugby World Cup is celebrated under the motto “The World in Union”.

This week, the world is indeed in union. In their celebration of the incredible performance put in by Eddie Jones’ Japan.

Do not try and downplay what the Japanese have achieved for even a moment because it is quite simply one of the biggest shocks there has ever been in the world of sport. Imagine Accrington Stanley defeating Real Madrid. Imagine Zebre beating Toulon. Remember the unknown Ben Curtis winning the Open Championship in 2003. Those are the kind of shocks that this result is on a par with.

And to make it even more incredible, the Japanese turned down a shot at goal that would have given them a very honourable draw. It would have gained them respect across the globe, it would have humiliated the Springboks and it most definitely would have been seen as a shock result. The world sat poised on the edge of their seats for the inevitable penalty that would result in honours even.

Instead, Michael Leitch chose history.

Put yourself in the Japanese captain’s place. Would you have chosen to scrum that last penalty instead of kick for goal? I doubt it. But Leitch had the guts to say let’s go for it. We’re a man up, we have the crowd screaming for us and we have the momentum. A draw isn’t enough. We want the win. One move is all that’s needed.

And they got it.

Cue rugby clichés galore from media outlets – giant-killing, David beats Goliath, the minnows triumph. You name it, it was probably published somewhere. That said, the clichés are fully justified – ten places separated the two sides in the World Rankings before the game yet on the day they looked like two sides who were evenly matched.

Put that down to the never say die attitude of the Japanese and the shortcomings of the Springboks. Every time the Springboks took the lead Japan were right back at them hanging onto their coat-tails and bringing themselves back into contention. Not once in the game did it look like the southern hemisphere side were going to get away from their opponents. Many other sides would have given up at several points in the game. But not Japan.

Meanwhile the Springboks were found wanting in several areas, none more so than in their predictable tactics. It is quite telling that, although they scored four tries, not one of them was courtesy of an intelligent break or a clever bit of play, it was simply route one rugby up the middle. Lood de Jager and Adriaan Strauss scored nearly identical tries where they simply flattened all before them – a tactic that will not work in the later stages of the tournament when the Springboks are met with stronger defences.

And it pains me to say this but Jean de Villiers was off colour.

The man has been a remarkable servant for the Springboks over the years, but his inclusion in the team was questioned before the game and is now being questioned even more afterwards. Damian de Allende, who was superb during the Rugby Championship, sat on the bench while de Villiers struggled on the field, further bemusing South Africa fans across the world. Yes, de Villiers brings leadership to that team, but whenever you have your most experienced side ever on the pitch do you really need that leadership over the talent on the sidelines?

Whatever Heyneke Meyer’s logic, he got it wrong and he is paying the price for it. A strong backlash has arrived on the English shores from South Africa (with the harshest criticism coming from their Minister of Sport of all people!) and now they must respond. I feel that the “South Africa are no longer feared” line is a little over the top and I am still convinced they will win their pool, however they will need three big performances to convince the rugby world that they are serious contenders.

As for Japan, I’m inclined to say they’ve spent all of their energy on taking down the heavyweights and probably will struggle for the rest of the competition – I really hope that isn’t the case but it tends to be the case with most of the smaller nations. What we can say with confidence is that their victory on Saturday will go down in rugby history regardless of what they do for the rest of the tournament.

And they have every right to enjoy it.