BRIGHTON and Bloemfontein - two cities worlds apart and with very different stories. The one tells a tale of joy and celebration; the other of pain and humiliation. Japan’s rise in world rugby has been quite the journey.
Guided by experienced coach Eddie Jones, Japan also pulled off wins against Samoa and the USA but sadly the world’s latest favourite team failed to progress from their pool, finishing behind South Africa and Scotland. Their performance at the at the 2015 Rugby World Cup was a triumph, and they would go one step further four years later, when they hosted the 2019 showpiece in their own country and qualified for the knockout stage - for the first time.
Japan have shown in the last two World Cups that they are no longer whipping boys. And not the team that were given a record 145-17 hiding by New Zealand in South Africa at the 1995 World Cup - now 25 years ago. In their last two tournaments, Japan have played nine matches and won seven - an excellent turnaround and an achievement brought about by the influx of foreign coaches and players in the last 10 to 15 years.
“The game was still semi-professional when I got there and there were very few foreigners, compared to now,” said Van der Westhuyzen. Looking back at his time spent in Japan and how the Brave Blossoms have progressed gives Van der Westhuyzen a huge amount of joy. “I was in grade 11 in 1995 when Japan got that hiding in Bloemfontein. I remember it well, so to see how far they’ve come to beating the Boks in 2015 and reaching the quarters last year fills me with happiness. There’s an emotional connection I have with the country and I’ll certainly always root for them, but not when they face the Boks,” he said.
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