An absolutely massive upset at Shizuoka Stadium.
Both teams came into the match having won their opening games but Ireland being the 2nd ranked team in the world and having won all seven of their prior Test meetings against Japan were strong favourites.
This turned out to be the third meeting between these two sides at the World Cup with both victories going to the Irish, however, two of Ireland’s previous three defeats in the WC have come against the host nation. This game certainly promised a lot and it didn’t fail to deliver.
Ireland 12 – 19 Japan: Watch highlights below
First Half: Tightly contested
The game kicked off with a prevailing humidity of 66% offering hosts Japan some advantage on that front.
The Brave Blossoms got off to a sprightly start after Kotaro Matsushima chased after a sweet grubber heading toward the Irish try line, which was set off by teammate Lafaele but the chance went begging as the ball bobbled before Jacob Stockdale intervened to quell the danger.
Six minutes in and Japan were awarded a penalty and Yu Tamura promptly stepped up to take a shot at the posts but ended up missing.
Japan looked very comfortable and were moving the ball well but it was the Irish who would land the first try of the game. Following a brilliant cross-field kick from Jack Carty, Gary Ringose demonstrated superb athleticism and acceleration to land his seventh try for his country. The conversion was missed for a score of 5-0 to Ireland.
3 – Garry Ringrose has now crossed for a try in each of his three appearances against Japan, his three tries against the Brave Blossoms are more than he has against any other Test nation. Arigato.#JPNvIRE #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/bUMDr4gpJH
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) September 28, 2019
15 minutes in and CJ Stander was found offside at the breakdown awarding a penalty to Japan. This time, Tamura made no mistake to add three points as Japan opened their account for the game.
20 minutes in though and Ireland pulled away with a converted try. Jack Carty, playing in his first WC start, smartly chipped the ball ahead before climbing highest to push the ball to Rob Kearney who squeezed through to land the try. Carty landed the extras for a scoreline of 12-3.
26 minutes in and Lafaele pulled off a lovely one handed offload and Matsushima found himself in a favourable footrace with Rory Best heading towards the touchline but was eventually denied by Josh Van Der flier who demonstrated great tracking and mobility to douse the fire.
32 minutes into the match and Japan were awarded another penalty after Conor Murray was found to have not released the tackled man and a few moments later, Tamura popped the ball through the posts for a score of 6-12.
As the first half ebbed to a close, Japan rose to to the cheers of the crowd, while the Irish were fading.
Three minutes before halftime, and Japan got their hands on another penalty after van der Flier got an illegal dart on the ball. Tamura landed the penalty to cut the deficit to three points.
As the halftime gong sounded, Japan certainly would’ve felt that the game was within their grasp and there to be seized whereas Ireland might’ve have rued not taking full advantage of their stretches of dominance in the first half.
Halftime stats showed 58% possession was held by Japan who also had 208m made to Ireland’s 166m.
Second half: Japan pull off the impossible
As the second half kicked on, Ireland had work to do to keep Japan at bay.
Six minutes in and Japan had 78% of the possession in the second half so far and were moving the ball with menace and purpose.
Ireland couldn’t really find their momentum and in the 54th minute, Japan had another penalty to their name but Tamura missed to leave the scoreline unchanged.
Japan were knocking on the door, inviting great cheers from the vibrant crowd and 58 minutes in, their efforts were rewarded with a converted try. In what turned out to be a massive moment, Japan shifted the ball wide where Lafaele passed to Kenki Fukuoka who charged over the line to send the hosts into the lead for the first time in the game. Tamura landed the conversion for a score of 16-12. The crowd were going bonkers!
That set the game up for an interesting final quarter. Japan had bossed the second half and were playing at a tempo that Ireland just couldn’t live with.
In the 71st minute, Japan secured a penalty and Tamura stepped up to take a shot from 35m out and he didn’t disappoint the home fans as Japan added three more points to their total haul. The self-belief on show from the Japanese was something to behold; they had played brilliantly for the past hour but Ireland were still only a converted try away from levelling the score.
In the final few minutes of the tie, the noise in the stadium was unrelenting as the Japanese fans were on their feet egging their team towards the finish line.
77 minutes in and Fukuoka found himself free and sprinting towards the Irish touchline but was prevented an easy try after a sound tackle from Keith Earls.
A couple of minutes later and full-time bought unparalleled elation to the Japanese players and fans in a manner which words fail to describe. What Japan had achieved here was nothing short of astounding; people watching within the stadium and around the world played witness to one of the greatest upsets in the history of the Rugby WC and certainly the biggest shock of the tournament so far.
UNBELIEVABLE!
On home turf, Japan have achieved an incredible win over Ireland! Shizuoka is rocking!
FT: Japan 19-12 Ireland #RWC2019 #JPNvIRE pic.twitter.com/ng798ka6gp
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 28, 2019
What.A.Game.
5 – @JRFURugby have won five of their last six matches at the @rugbyworldcup, including two victories against Tier 1 sides, this after winning just one of their initial 24 matches at the tournament (D2, 21). Brave.#JPNvIRE #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/Fv6Pl99JsH
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) September 28, 2019
After the game, Japanese captain Pieter Labuschagne spoke to ITV:
“We are really happy. It is difficult top put it into words but I’m proud of every man and it was a great team effort.”
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt also spoke:
“Congratulations to Japan, what an intense effort that was. We knew that was coming but we are disappointed we didn’t manage to control the end of the game”
For Ireland, there can be no doubt about the despondence and disappointment that will hang over the players and fans after this result. They didn’t score since their first try in the 20th minute and that’s simply unacceptable for a Tier 1 side such as themselves. But all hope is not lost. Ireland sit second in the group thanks to their bonus point and have a clash against Russia coming up next. Schmidt’s side have plenty of time to turn around this unfavourable result and put themselves in a stronger position heading into the knockouts.
As for Japan, the hosts have rewritten history with a first ever victory over Ireland in Test rugby and find themselves top of the group with 9 points. They face off against Samoa next.
1 – Ireland have lost to a non-Tier 1 nation at the @rugbyworldcup for the first time, they’d won each of their previous 15 such games. Shocked.#JPNvIRE #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/PwDExydT4z
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) September 28, 2019
Worthy winners. 👏Congratulations to Japan and their incredible support in Shizuoka.
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) September 28, 2019
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