Fleeting or forever? How will the greatest upset in Rugby World Cup history impact on Japan?
Greatest upset in World Cup history should be springboard for growth, but doubts remain over their role as hosts in 2019
It was the rarest of moments and one that immediately begged for historical perspective. Japan's 34-32 victory over South Africa in their opening match of the Rugby World Cup is without doubt the greatest upset in the 28-year history of the event. But is it, as some insist, perhaps the greatest upset ever? Ever is such a long time.
Some 140 years ago General Custer's advance team told him he would have no problem against the Indian tribes led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at Little Big Horn. Massive upset there. And, of course, if we want go back even further, like 490 BC, then the Battle of Marathon where the woefully undermanned Athenians defeated the vastly superior Persian forces has to be right up there as well.
But for the sake of simplicity let's stick with the past 100 years and the upset that seems to be on the minds of most commentators, particularly in the US, is the "Miracle on Ice" when the US hockey team defeated the omnipotent Soviet National team at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
How Japan, and Asia, capitalises on the momentum from that result remains to be seen
As great a victory as that may have been, it pales in comparison to Japan's victory because 13 of the 20 players on that US team would go on to play in the NHL with some enjoying long and productive careers. There is not a single player on the Japanese rugby team who could make one of the top four teams in the tournament. Not a one.
In the seven previous World Cups, Japan won one game, scoring 428 points and giving up 1,159. South Africa are a two-time World Cup winner and were the third-ranked team in the world coming into the match.
This is by any standard an epic result and the far more pertinent question becomes how fleeting was this victory? Because the game was played in the early hours of Sunday morning, it was hardly a must-see event and with Japan featuring one of the oldest populations in the world, most of the country was already tucked in.
By the morning though word had spread and the afternoon sporting shows were not only showing highlights of the great victory, but also featured Japanese commentators explaining some of rugby's myriad rules.
Rugby in Japan thrives on the collegiate level, but is still far behind baseball, soccer, sumo and golf in the collective consciousness. All over Tokyo, there are banners proclaiming the hosting of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, but none whatsoever for the next Rugby World Cup in 2019 in Japan.
Japan has basically been doing all the heavy lifting for rugby in Asia since day one. They have won 23 of 28 Asian Rugby Championships and are the only continental squad to compete in a World Cup. If ever there was a rugby team that Japan could fall in love with, this was it.
Their venerable coach, Eddie Jones, was born in Tasmania to an Australian father and Japanese mother and his tactical manoeuvres in bypassing a kick in extra time to tie the game and going instead for the win was admirably chivalrous.
Team captain Michael Leitch was born in New Zealand but has been in Japan since he was 15 and not only graduated from ultra-prestigious Tokai University, but claims he is more comfortable speaking Japanese than English.
In a country that is decidedly not multi-ethnic, the national rugby team, with a mixture of indigenous and foreign players, is a breath of fresh air. They should be an inspiration to a nation that has been going in reverse for over 25 years.
But the recent announcement that the building of a new national stadium has been considerably scaled back and will not be ready before 2020 has put organisers of the 2019 World Cup in a bind. They have no proper venue to act as a hub and, apparently, little political power to accelerate things. There is even talk of another country hosting the event.
To top it all off the governing body for the sport, World Rugby, has shown its lack of respect for the Asian region by forcing Japan to play only four days after their seminal victory, while South Africa got a week to rest their bones.
Not surprisingly, Scotland pulled away from an exhausted Japanese team with five second-half tries in winning 45-10. But neither that result nor the disdain from World Rugby or apathy for the team from the country's leaders changes a thing. Their victory over South Africa is the greatest result in the history of rugby.
How Japan, and Asia, capitalises on the momentum from that result remains to be seen.
