Brave and fast ...this was a Japan triumph forged out of tragedy
IT WAS a triumph over adversity, a triumph of endurance, a triumph of wit, and resilience and imagination.
And if all Japan had done, as a country, was just get this game on and maintained the integrity of the Rugby World Cup, it would still have been all of those things.
But they did more. They won it, too. Won it with all the qualities that, as a nation, see them through earthquakes and typhoons and, on the rarest occasions as occurred Saturday night, both at once.
Amid sadness and tragedy this somehow became a great night for the hosts. The solemnity that preceded the match was replaced by a joyous and fervent outpouring of emotion, and a lap of honour in a part of the world in which that concept carries real weight.
This was an honourable win, for it proved that Japan did not, after all, need assistance from the organisers to progress. If there had been talk of not playing in Yokohama it was because typhoons and tremors are finite, vicious beasts, not some fiction created to see Japan through to their first quarter-final.
Scotland’s talk of legal action appeared a little foolish, given that Japan had earned their four-try bonus point three minutes into the second half.
And although Scotland fought back gamely and ultimately lost by the breadth of a converted try, the honour remained with the victors: the honour of winning the match and the pool, of moving mountains so there was no sign of the carnage that befell this area 24 hours earlier.
It was as if it did not happen, Typhoon Hagibis. Bar a limited level of available refreshments in the venue, bar what appeared to be a washed-out electrical advertising perimeter, bar the odd scuff marks in the turf where the scrums had been, this game was entirely as envisaged by the 72,000 fans who bought tickets and whose contract was fulfilled, as promised.
It is the nuances that set this team, this nation, apart. The fact that on the lap around the field, thanking all four sides, the captain Michael Leitch – or Leitch Michael to give him his naturalised name, taken in 2013 – stooped to pick up any litter. A discarded sock-tie, some scrap that had blown.
It was the same sense of duty that had driven volunteers to check structures and ensure this momentous occasion could pass safely. The same attention to detail that ensured all train lines were checked thoroughly, all bridges, all station concourses. And, of course, everyone got here on time and in an orderly manner.
Never has a scrum penalty to the home team been cheered so loudly. Never has 25 minutes of ferocious defence been so enthusiastically appreciated. Japan defended a seven-point lead from Scotland’s third try 55 minutes into the game. For the final minute they kept the ball, burrowing lower and lower as Scottish bodies piled in.
It was the opposite of their freewheeling display in the first half when they played some of the best passing rugby of this tournament, full of sweet little exchanges and conducted at the speed of a Nozomi, the fastest of the bullet trains.
Their mental strength was quite magnificent, too, considering the first major events of the game were a try by Scotland’s Finn Russell, a conversion by Greig Laidlaw, and then a penalty from Japan’s Yu Tamura that fell far too short.
The fear was that Japan were beset by nerves. The occasion, the opportunity and, quite naturally, the burden of the tragedy that had struck the country were simply too great. We are familiar with moments of silence before sports events these days, but here was one for dead they had not even found yet.
Last night there were 35 confirmed fatalities from Hagibis’s journey of destruction, but some remain missing. Japan’s players were on duty for a country in mourning. Nobody would have blamed them for feeling that responsibility.
Yet from these early blows a remarkable performance emerged, one full of flair and cleverness and ambition, lightness of foot, quickness of hands and mind. Rugby can be slow, slow, slow, but Japan are fast, fast, fast.
Jamie Joseph, their coach, has players he calls his Ferraris and Scotland looked like they were towing a caravan in comparison.
They didn’t play badly. They just couldn’t compete with the speed, couldn’t contain it, couldn’t live with Japan for the first half at all. Japan even sprinted past them to the dressing rooms at half-time.
The most wonderful offload from a tumbling Kenki Fukuoka set up Kotaro Matsushima for the first try and Tamura converted to tie the scores. The next try was quite simply one of the best of the tournament, Matsushima’s immense speed, Shota Horie’s smart pass, Keita Inagaki over the line beneath the posts.
On it went. Jonny Gray was quite lucky to survive a high hit on Horie and, with just 30 minutes gone, Scotland had already run up 86 tackles. To no avail, largely. Once again, a minute after Tamura had spurned three points, Japan put seven on the board.
It was a grubber-kick, turned into a thing of beauty by Fukuoka who tore through as if jetpropelled. When half-time came, Japan had scored more first-half points – 21 – than in any Rugby World Cup game in their history, while Scotland centre Sam Johnson had not touched the ball, according to the statistics.
The try that earned the bonus point typified Japan’s dominance to that point. Fukuoka ripped it off Chris Harris, caught the loose ball low, then won the foot race to the try line. By that time, the score could have been anything.
Maybe that thought registered with Scotland too, for they rallied. The game became unstructured. WP Nel, then replacement Zander Fagerson, got over to give Scotland some credibility and feed the familiar narrative of the plucky underdog, falling just short.
Yet wasn’t that what Japan were supposed to be in this group? Isn’t that the narrative of the tier-two nations at this tournament? So near, yet so far?
Scotland knocked Japan out of the last World Cup and they no doubt believed they would do the same here, too; or they would sue, if denied that opportunity.
The news bulletins revealed just how disrespectful that would have been in a country that is still rescuing marooned citizens from the roofs of houses, and identifying those who were not so lucky. The rugby showed it to be an optimistic assessment of sporting reality, too.
Japan defeated every team the pool draw placed in front of them. They beat two tier-one European nations and qualified for the quarter-finals by some distance. They will meet South Africa in Tokyo and the outcome is far from guaranteed.
No one gave them a leg up, no one gave them a helping hand. They helped themselves.
They have forged these victories, as the country will forge its recovery from the ravages of nature. This is a team in harmony with the nation. Brave and blossoming.