Out of a clear blue English sky came a thunderbolt to eclipse anything the Rugby World Cup has ever seen. This was the biggest shock in rugby history, bar none, the kind of result that creates ripples beyond mere sport.
The Guardian
South Africa 32 Japan 34. It is the ultimate triumph of the underdog.
The Observer
There is good rugby, there is great rugby, there is rugby for the ages and then . . . then, my friends, there is the rugby match played in the wee hours of Sunday morning between South Africa and Japan.
Sydney Morning Herald
And so it was that a team that is based entirely in Japan, that lost to the United States two months ago, that beat Georgia 13-10 in their final warm-up game, that had won once in 24 matches spanning seven World Cups, shook your windows and rattled your walls.
BBC Sport
Shock and awe in the Brighton air, the vacant stares in South African eyes at the final whistle an arresting image as Japan inflicted on the World Cup double champions the greatest upset in the history of test rugby.
Daily Telegraph
The Rugby World Cup’s biggest shock, on the 2015 tournament’s second day. Wow. There can never have been a din at this stadium like the one raised as Karne Hesketh, a 30-year-old wing born in Napier in New Zealand, scored Japan’s winning try in the left corner to beat the two-time world champions South Africa.
The Independent
Well, well, well now we have a World Cup that's taken a direction no one thought. Magnificent, clever, innovative, brave, brave, brave Japan have pulled off the unthinkable and beaten the Springboks.
The New Zealand Herald
AMAZING! Japan turn the Rugby World Cup on its head by shocking the Springboks
Irish Independent
Nearly four minutes into added time, replacement back Karne Hesketh charged into the edge of the left corner, the crowd’s roar could probably be heard in Tokyo.
The Japan Times
South Africa lost against Japan. Not against the All Blacks. Not against the Wallabies. Not even against Argentina or Wales or England or Ireland. Against Japan. A country that 24 years ago last won a World Cup match (against Zimbabwe). A land that 20 years ago lost 17-145 against New Zealand. A land that last year still lost 21 - 61 against the New Zealand Maori (not the All Blacks). A land that is 13th on the world rankings.
Really a land that was a joke in world rugby. A land that was made fun of over its small players and that could not even scrape together a super rugby team.
But on Saturday, Japan was a giant.
Die Rapport (South Africa)
"YEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Sanae Takahashi (Muroran)
