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Agence France-Presse

Kenki Fukuoka struck the killer blow as hosts Japan stunned Ireland 19-12 on Saturday to take a giant step towards the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
The replacement winger wriggled over on the hour mark to score the winning try of a frenetic Pool A clash as the Brave Blossoms pulled off a breathtaking upset.
Japan’s Brave Blossoms can now add the “Shizuoka Shock” to the “Brighton Miracle” after toppling South Africa at the 2015 tournament.
Ireland, who thrashed Scotland 27-3 in their opening game, had looked in control after first-half tries from Garry Ringrose and Rob Kearney.
But they went off the boil as Japan grew into the match, roared on by a partisan crowd of 47,000.
Fukuoka made the difference, wriggling over on the overlap to complete a stunning team try and put the home side in front – where they stayed, leaving Ireland’s players slumped on the turf in disbelief.

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

Kotaro Matsushima, hat-trick hero of Japan’s 30-10 win over Russia in last week’s tournament curtain raiser, posed an early threat on as Japan edged a cagey opening.
Fly-half Yu Tamura fluffed a makeable penalty, before Ireland took the lead after 13 minutes when the rampaging Ringrose rose brilliantly to snaffle Jack Carty’s hanging kick into the corner.
Carty, stepping into for Ireland’s talismanic playmaker Johnny Sexton, produced another moment of magic seven minutes later, dinking a clever chip that he managed to tip back to full-back Kearney to crash over.
Japan refused to buckle, however, and Tamura kept them in it with three clutch penalties.
Regular captain Michael Leitch’s introduction after half an hour provided an instant impact, but Ireland survived to go into half-time up 12-9.

Tamura missed a three-pointer 14 minutes after the interval that would have tied the game.
But Japan’s swarming pressure soon told, Fukuoka showing superb footwork to sneak over and give Japan the lead, triggering deafening cheers at Ecopa stadium.
Another Tamura penalty extended Japan’s advantage to 19-12 with eight minutes remaining before Fukuoka effectively sealed the result with another tremendous burst that kept the ball in Irish territory until the final gong.

Ireland, who came into the tournament as the world’s top-ranked team but have never won a World Cup knockout match, will look to bounce back against Russia.
Japan, whose target is a first-ever place in the last eight, know they still have no margin for error with games against Samoa and Scotland to come.
Japan captain Pieter Labuschagne was nonetheless thrilled with the victory that would do their confidence a world of good.
“We are really happy, it is difficult to put into words. Proud of everybody, it was a great team effort and really proud of the result. That was a great game and we came into this tournament with a goal and knew what we wanted to do and backed ourselves going into this game.”
Ireland captain Rory Best was crestfallen after the loss but said Japan should be given credit for their shocking victory.

“I think we knew how tough it was going to be, anyone who is utterly shocked hasn’t seen how good they are. We felt prepared but give credit to them and they played very well.
“We made some mistakes and unforced errors. Japan posed some questions and unfortunately we couldn’t come up with the right answers.
“We knew how tough they were going to be and we let them play and when you let a team like that play, they will punish you.

“I’m very, very disappointed but credit to Japan, they attacked us. Won’t be happy with how we played but we have to dust ourselves and play better.”
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt congratulated Japan on their win.
“After we took the lead, we stopped playing. We fell on the wrong side of the penalty count. I do feel that they could have gone either way particularly with some of theirs and that put them on the front foot.
“Congratulations to Japan, what a furious and intense effort it was. We knew potentially it was coming. We are disappointed we didn’t control the end of the game. They are a tremendous team and well done to them.”

Japan coach Jamie Joseph said his team had stuck to the game plan and that his team had produced a great performance.
“We had a game plan and thinking about this game for a long time. It was a great performance.
“We had game plan and knew what we wanted to do. Credit goes to the coaching team, with the set pieces they all put together contributed to the win. We still have another couple of games but we’ll enjoy tonight.”


Japan stun Ireland 19-12 in massive Rugby World Cup upset

Japan players celebrate defeating Ireland in a massive upset at the Rugby World Cup. Photo: Reuters

Japan's prop Isileli Nakajima (L) and team mates celebrate victory at the end of the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Japan and Ireland at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Shizuoka on September 28, 2019. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

Japan's Kenki Fukuoka is tackled by Ireland's Keith Earls during the Rugby World Cup Pool A game at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa between Japan and Ireland in Shizuoka, Japan, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)

TOPSHOT - Japan's players celebrate after winning the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Japan and Ireland at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Shizuoka on September 28, 2019. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

Japan fans celebrate after Japan won the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Japan and Ireland, at a "fanzone" area in Tokyo on September 28, 2019. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Ireland's Garry Ringrose reacts following his teams 19-12 loss in the Rugby World Cup Pool A game at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa against Japan in Shizuoka, Japan, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)

Sport

Rugby


Brave Blossoms pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history
The result emulates their upset defeat of South Africa at the 2015 tournament



Brave Blossoms pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history to match their stunning 2015 victory against South Africa in previous tournament


Japan stun Ireland 19-12 in massive Rugby World Cup upset

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Brave Blossoms pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history The result emulates their upset defeat of South Africa at the 2015 tournament

Brave Blossoms pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history

The result emulates their upset defeat of South Africa at the 2015 tournament