Rugby World Cup 2019: Hosts Japan stun Ireland to claim historic victory in thrilling Pool A encounter – The Independent, Independent

History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes. Four years on from their iconic, historic win over South Africa,Japanshowed that they remain a force to be reckoned with as they stunned Joe Schmidt’sIrelandwith a storming display that defied all expectation. Ferocious in the contact, vibrant in attack and instilled with an unwavering sense of self-belief from start to finish, the host nation fought back from two tries down to record a thrilling 19 – 12 victory here in Shizuoka.                                                                                                                                                                                                      

They had come in their masses. From Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and beyond. Filling the Shinkansen trains, seat after seat, row after row, Japan’s fans poured into the local area with high hopes of an upset. For the opening 20 minutes of this encounter, such hope seemed fanciful at best.

But after Ireland’s two-try punch, delivered with precision and power over the course of eight bruising minutes, Japan stirred slowly into life. The resistance they offered was not immediate. It was a gradual process that crystallised with each crunching tackle, each surging wave forward, each defensive turnover. The inner belief had been there from the start – as exemplified by Kotaro Matsushima’s early chance off a smart kick-through – but it took until the closing stages of the first half for the Japanese to truly appreciate what was possible here.                                                                                                                                                                                   

With Ireland struggling to reassert themselves after Garry Ringrose and Rob Kearney’s well-worked tries – both the result of some smart kicking from Jack Carty – the penalties were slowly drawn. Yu Tamura set about his business, kicking three of his four chances. Heading into the break 9 – 12 down, Japan believed.

The Brave Blossoms started the second-half in a similar vein to the first. Ireland were unable to break free of their own half, pinned down by an aggressive Japanese pack that was beginning to hold its own in the set-piece.

And so it showed. After a mix-up between CJ Stander and Chris Farrell off an Irish scrum on their 22, it was Keita Inagaki’s turn to put in. A wall of red and white shirts rolled forward, picking and driving, moving ever closer to the white line before play was whipped left. It went through three sets of hands, quick as a flash, and there, hugging the touchline, with no opposite man in front of him, was Kenki Fukuoka to dot down.

Tumura’s conversion took the score to 16 – 12 before a late penalty in front of the posts extended the lead to 19 – 12. A break from Fukuoka had threatened to rub salt into the Irish wounds but a last-ditch tackle from Keith Earls limited the damage. That the substitute had failed to add a second mattered for little. As the whistle finally blew five and Japan’s exhausted bodies fell to the turf, a sense of what had been achieved washed over the crowd. With this victory, a place in the quarter-finals is now in reach. A fitting reward for a nation that is continuing to thrill and delight at aWorld Cupthat is already shaping up to be one of the most memorable in recent years.