TOKYO (AP) — Japanese fans celebrated their team's stunning upset of Ireland at the Rugby World Cup with everyone from the prime minister to rivals paying tribute to the historic win.
A day after the hosts toppled Ireland 19-12 in one of the tournament's greatest upsets , Japan was basking in the glory of yet another historic win at rugby's showpiece event.
"It was a big victory made possible by teamwork," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wrote in a Twitter post. "Thank you for a tremendously thrilling game."
Japan captain Michael Leitch, who came on as a replacement against Ireland, said the atmosphere at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa was unrivalled in his career.
"I've played in a few stadiums, won in Brighton against South Africa and also played in Twickenham but that was the best stadium I've played in in my life," said Leitch at a news conference on Sunday.
In addition to the sold-out crowd at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, thousands of supporters crammed into fan zones around the country to witness the match. Bars and restaurants in Tokyo's bustling Roppongi entertainment district were overflowing with fans wearing the red-and-white jersey of the Japanese team.
The largest-ever single-day Rugby World Cup fanzone attendance saw more than 120,000 fans witnessing the match while millions more watched on TV and followed the game on social media.
Ireland was ranked No. 1 coming into the tournament so Saturday's win mirrored Japan's famed defeat of two-time champion South Africa at the 2015 World Cup, dubbed the Miracle of Brighton.
The result saw the host nation jump to a record-high of eighth in the World Rugby rankings.
Japan won three games at the 2015 tournament under Australian coach Eddie Jones, including the stunning 34-32 victory over the Springboks, and narrowly missed out on a place in the quarterfinals.
Japan has set a goal of making the top eight for the first time in the history of Japanese rugby. After wins over Russia and Ireland that now seems well within reach for Jamie Joseph's team.
Players and coaches in rugby's top tier also took note of Japan's upset win.
"It is really important for Japan to effectively back up 2015 and their coaching team has done a great job building that team over the four years," said England's forwards coach Steve Borthwick.
"There is a lot of competition for sport in Japan and every time I have come back since 2015 you see the growth of rugby and popularity. There is an expectation they can win and that is great credit to the coaching team. It's good rugby to watch and they play to their strengths."