Springboks look to eradicate Brighton memories

TOKYO - The build-up to today’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final between Japan and South Africa has inevitably been dominated by talk of the Brave Blossoms’ famous win over the Springboks in Brighton four years ago.

Japan, under coach Eddie Jones, shocked the rugby world when Karne Hasketh scored a last-minute try to beat South Africa 34-32 in the England 2015 pool stages.

It was a result that put Japan on the map and embarrassed South Africa, despite them going on to reach the semi-finals.

South Africa gained a certain measure of revenge with an emphatic 41-7 win over Japan in a World Cup warm-up last month but knocking the hosts out of their own tournament would be the perfect remedy for four years of hurt.

“It was very tough to lose like that in England, that has stuck with us until the game we had to play when we got here,” Springboks captain Siya Kolisi, who was on the bench that day in 2015, said on Friday.

“It is something obviously we never want to go through again.

“It was good to play that game before the World Cup just to get that monkey off our back.”

Japan go into the match high on confidence having won all four of their matches so far.

“Now it is a different ballgame again, it is playoffs, so we are going to have to be at our best again,” added Kolisi.

“They have really improved as a team. They are a much better team than they were four years ago.”

Handre Pollard is another who remembers how painful that defeat was.