Japan Stages Another Rugby World Cup Upset by Beating Ireland

September 29, 2019

Fukuroi, Shizuoka Pref.- Japan beat Ireland 19-12 in their second match at the 2019 Rugby World Cup on Saturday, scoring another upset win over heavyweights in its World Cup history.

Ireland took a lead with two tries in the Pool A match in the group stage at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka, but three penalty goals by Yu Tamura of Canon Eagles helped Japan cut the losses to end the first half 9-12.

In the second half, Japan topped Ireland thanks to a try by Kenki Fukuoka of Panasonic Wildknights.

It was the Asian country's first win over Ireland, ranked 2nd in the world as of Friday compared to Japan's 9th, after its nine-straight losses to the European rugby superpower. The giant-killing followed Japan's 34-32 victory over South Africa, also a rugby heavyweight, in the previous 2015 World Cup in England.

After beating Russia in their opening match on Sept. 20, Japan marked its first-ever two-win World Cup start and made a big step forward to achieve its proclaimed goal of reaching the last eight in the tournament.

The latest win put Japan to the top of Pool A with 9 points, ahead of Ireland with 6 points.

Japan will take on Samoa at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, on Oct. 5 and Scotland at International Stadium Yokohama in the city of Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Oct. 13. Jiji Press