Tears of joy for elated Cherry Blossoms fan

Rugby-mad Tsutomu Takahashi admits he was very surprised by Japan's defeat of the Springboks. Photo / Martin Hunter

Tsutomu Takahashi cried with joy when he watched his national team play their way to a shock victory over the Springboks yesterday.

The 48-year-old Japanese man said he was elated after watching the Cherry Blossoms turn the South African team to biltong 34 to 32.

"I couldn't believe, but it's real. They made it. We cried with joy."

Asked if he had expected Japan to win, he said, with a giggle, "Honestly? No. I was very surprised."

Yesterday's match was described by Herald columnist Chris Rattue as being an 11 on a scale of one to 10 for sporting upsets. Japan had had only one World Cup victory in 24 games until last week - which was 24 years ago against Zimbabwe.

"Now I'm having lunch and drinking [spirit] shochu," Mr Takahashi said.

He spent yesterday on social media and speaking to friends on the phone about the game.

Mr Takahashi, originally from Tokyo but now a travel agent in Christchurch, played halfback at high school and university in Japan.

After travelling to New Zealand in 2000 to watch the "kings of rugby" play live, he decided to move here in 2004 with his wife, Naomi.

He is also a big All Blacks fan, and the couple travelled to watch many of the 2011 Rugby World Cup games -- including most of the Japanese pool matches.

"I love rugby because it has many faces -- like combative sports, tackles, mauls, sophisticated ball game, passes, kicks," Mr Takahashi said. "Also, it is a great team sport. In Japan, rugby's motto is 'one for all, all for one'." Susan Strongman