HOSTS JAPAN SHOCK IRELAND IN RUGBY WORLD CUP STUNNER
Another stunning Cup upset shocks Ireland and may blow this tournament wide open
AFTER the fireworks above Shizuoka Stadium had subsided, Johnny Sexton and Bundee Aki walked on to the pitch with sheer shock written across their faces. What the hell just happened?
Not since Japan’s win over South Africa four years ago in Brighton has rugby witnessed a result that will resonate around the world like this one will.
In front of a riotous crowd against the world’s No 2 ranked team, Japan delivered a performance that their country deserved. Their people have been nothing but hospitable across the country, but their rugby team gave Ireland absolutely nothing.
Ireland were hit harder than one of this country’s high-speed bullet trains and looked utterly rudderless for the best part of an hour. For 58 minutes, Joe Schmidt’s men failed to register a point as waves of feral Japanese defenders scythed them down.
They were holding on for dear life at the end for a losing bonus point, against a side eight places below them in the world rankings prior to yesterday’s events.
When Ireland toured here in 2017 — shorn of 11 Lions on duty in New Zealand — they beat Japan by an aggregate score of 85-35 across two Tests. Do not forget this was a Japan team that struggled to shake off the threat of Russia on the opening night, a side which had lost to English second-tier outfit Jersey Reds and shipped 40 points at home to Connacht in recent weeks.
Yet here was Ireland looking an absolute rabble in the dying moments as substitute Joey Carbery hoofed the ball into touch as the full-time gong rang around the stadium.
‘I suppose we were under pressure and there wasn’t too much happening at the time,’ said Carbery.
‘The ball kind of came quickly to me. We were still in with a losing bonus point and I didn’t see too many other options on, so I just put it out.’
There may have been only four survivors in Japan’s matchday 23 from the Brighton Miracle four years ago, a day when the Brave Blossoms shocked the world with that triumph over the Springboks, but they had plenty of personnel who could trouble Ireland.
The master of that seismic win, Eddie Jones, is long gone with two Kiwis, Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown, in charge these days. Joseph, the former All Blacks blindside, said afterwards his squad have been preparing for this game for the best part of three years. It looked like Ireland may have taken their eye of the ball here. There has been a lot of talk about a quarter-final with the Springboks. Now, Ireland are scrambling to get out of the pool and could end up facing New Zealand if they do.
For the Japanese there was time for only the briefest of celebrations as they keep the pedal to the floor, mindful of what happened at the 2015 World Cup where they became the first team not to advance from the pool stages despite winning three matches. ‘We can be in a situation where we win tonight and lose to Scotland and miss out,’ Joseph said. ‘That’s what happened last time. We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves.’ Japan captain Michael Leitch added that last night’s celebration would be a short one. ‘It starts and finishes in the locker room,’ he said. ‘Fifteen minutes in the locker room, have a few beers and that’s it, get back to the hotel.’ Japan were bullish all week. Heck, their winger Lomano Lemeki boldly stated his side would beat Ireland. He even predicted a score. ‘We’ll win 33-20,’ he said. In a strange twist of fate, Lomeki would end up starting when William Tupou withdrew due to a late injury. His replacement on the bench, Kenki Fukuoka, would end up scoring the match-clinching try for good measure. It had all started so well for Ireland here, with Jack Carty pulling the strings and Garry Ringrose carving up the hosts at will. Tries from Ringrose and Rob Kearney laid the foundation for a 12-3 lead. That is as good as it got, though.
Slowly but surely Japan eased their way into the contest. The host nation let the occasion get to them during the curtain raiser in Tokyo. This time they fed off that energy, attacking in waves with pace and invention. In the humidity, Ireland wilted and their opponents grew with every big moment or blast of referee Angus Gardner’s whistle.
Schmidt’s men looked shellshocked and devoid of ideas. There has long been a template to beat Ireland, which England and Wales used to chilling effect back in the Six Nations: shut down Ireland at source and there is very little else in the locker to fall back on.
As the second half wore on and the Brave Blossoms grew in stature, there was a sense of inevitability about the whole thing.
At one stage the TV cameras flashed to Schmidt in the coaches’ box, his foot tapping nervously. His players looked exhausted and short of inspiration. For once, Schmidt looked helpless as well.