Kai Murase snuck out of bed to watch the match live in the early hours of Sunday morning without telling his mother.
Kai Murase snuck out of bed to watch the match live in the early hours of Sunday morning without telling his mother.
Rugby-mad Japanese ex-pat Miki Murase could scarcely believe her eyes when the Brave Blossoms stunned the rugby world by defeating the once invincible Springboks 34-32.
Mrs Murase, who has lived in Tauranga for nearly 10 years, told the Bay of Plenty Times "I never imagined they would win."
But win they did, and in a style that has set the Rugby World Cup in a spin over what is possible when a coach and his underrated team knuckle down.
Japan's players celebrate after defeating South Africa 32-34 in the Rugby World Cup Pool B match at the Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton.
She was not alone in thinking the Japanese side would ultimately crumble to the highly physical game of the two-time Rugby World Cup champions.
Her son Kai sneaked out of bed to watch the match live in the early hours of yesterday morning without telling his mother, leaving Mrs Murase to watch the replay over breakfast.
Thankfully her son, a hooker for Tauranga's Tai Mitchell Cup tournament squad, was so tired that he could not be woken and so did not have to pretend he did not know the result of the historic encounter.
South Africa's Jean De Villiers stands under the posts during his team's defeat by Japan in a Rugby World Cup Pool B match.
Mrs Murase praised coach Eddie Jones' tactical genius. "He did his best work on that team."
Ironically, the Springboks were her second favourite team. Knowing their strengths and history of producing great players made Japan's win even more remarkable for her.
"Japan, they played very well. I am so proud of them. They waited 24 years for another World Cup win."
She said rugby was still a minnow sport when she lived in Japan but she hoped player numbers would increase with the win over South Africa.
Mrs Murase watched the Japanese commentary on Sky TV and the announcers more than matched her mounting excitement as the game unfolded.
"It was one of the most exciting things I have ever watched," she said.
She knew before the game that Japanese skill at scrum time was increasing thanks to special coaching, but the extent of the improvement astonished her. "I thought, 'oh my god'."
The clincher for her was the try that came from a scrum after time was up on the clock.
Ex-South African and Tauranga property developer Paul Bowker said the win was fantastic for the World Cup.
Mr Bowker, now a fully fledged All Blacks supporter, believed the Springboks might have underestimated the Brave Blossoms and did not play with enough passion.
"But Japan played great, they did not stop."
He said it was fantastic for the tournament when minnows came through like this: "It is just great."
Another ex-South African, Dave Swanepoel of Papamoa, was staggered by the result. However he believed Japan would not have stood a chance without their New Zealand-born players, including captain Michael Leitch.
"Some of those big South Africans would have knocked them into next week."
