Wynne Gray: Samurai spirit kicks down history's door

Japan players after the win over South Africa. Photo / Getty Images

A tick over 20 years ago, Japan was the lead sports story on ESPN at the Rugby World Cup in South Africa.

Not for beating their hosts but for the margin of their 145-17 loss to the All Blacks - a team which rested all the firepower of Jonah Lomu, Frank Bunce, Walter Little, Andrew Mehrtens, Graeme Bachop, Josh Kronfeld, Ian Jones, Olo Brown and captain Sean Fitzpatrick.

Japan had a few useful players but they were flogged, munched up front and spat out the back where Marc Ellis hogged the ball and limelight with a record six tries and Simon Culhane kicked 20 from 21 conversions.

The pool match was played at Bloemfontein on a hard and fast track, and the monster defeat curtailed rugby's progress in the country for a number of years.

Japan had a solitary World Cup win in their kitbag, over Zimbabwe in 1991 when many of their current squad were not born.

However, those youngsters kicked down history's door in Brighton and mocked the leaden tread of the Springbok bully boys, who could not shake Japan's will.

They'd been drilled by the mischievously talented Eddie Jones, a man who was a hooker in his playing days when he used iron drive to make up for a lack of bulk.

Jones has instilled those same qualities throughout his squad and given them confidence about their ability to cut it if they use their heads to go with their indomitable spirit.

They kept chipping away at the Springboks, buzzing into contact and away on the edges, changing their lines and methods of attack as they uncorked precision in the tight, loose and open which any top-drawer side would envy.

That attention to detail, unbroken belief and massive hard work gave them their 34-32 victory. The final try to Karne Hesketh, after Japan chose a scrum instead of an easy kick to draw the match, was the best blossom at Brighton.

Discussion will rise about the implications of Japan's victory. What does it mean for their chances of qualifying, and those of the Springboks, Samoa, Scotland and the United States who are in the same pool? It simply means they won't fly under the radar for the rest of those games. Nothing more.

They may qualify, they may still miss out, but they will be watched every step of the way - by Samoa and Scotland in particular, and probably by a lot more spectators after this epic result.