- Title: Springboks delight, Japanese proud after quarter-final battle
- Date: 20th October 2019
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 20, 2019) (AGENCY POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH AFRICA SCRUM-HALF, FAF DE KLERK, SAYING ABOUT VICTORY AGAINST JAPAN: "Overwhelmed with the win tonight and so glad to go through to the semis. Yeah, my first World Cup and we knew it was going to be a tough one tonight and to pull it through against Japan in Japan is an amazing feeling and, yeah, hopefully we'll get a lot of confidence going into the semi-final." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH AFRICA FLY-HALF, HANDRE POLLARD, SAYING ABOUT VICTORY AGAINST JAPAN: "Weren't that nervous, it was just a bit frustrating you know. We created opportunities but just couldn't convert them. I mean, it was like one pass and it was a try or this or that, so we weren't too nervous. We knew if we just stuck to our game plan and forced our physicality and set piece on them we'd be good." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOUTH AFRICA FLY-HALF, HANDRE POLLARD, SAYING ABOUT SEMI-FINAL OPPONENTS WALES: "Yeah, I mean I heard it was a cracker of a match against France. So, I'll have a look at that and do our analysis but Wales are a tough side. We haven't beaten them a couple of times lately, so haven't played them in a neutral ground which is something we're looking forward to. I mean, quality side, it's a tough side to play, it's just a tough, tough side to play. So, we'll do our homework, get fresh and get our bodies ready for another 80 minutes of tough rugby." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAPAN LOCK, JAMES MOORE, SAYING ABOUT THE JAPAN TEAM'S EXPERIENCE FROM PLAYING AT THE WORLD CUP: "It's been incredibly special. There's just five or six different backgrounds of countries and that sort of thing, but we've always had this philosophy of one team mixed with the Japanese players and the international players and we've just bonded really well together and just, yeah, got on really well and we've made history at this World Cup and we're really proud of our efforts. We didn't get the result tonight obviously. Didn't really stick to our game plan. Kind of played into South Africa's hands, but they're a great team as well. They played really well tonight." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAPAN LOCK, JAMES MOORE, SAYING ABOUT WHETHER JAPAN CAN IMPROVE IN FUTURE FOLLOWING WORLD CUP SUCCESS: "Yeah, we've got to build on this. Hopefully we get the opportunity to play more tier one sides. That's going to help us a lot, but yeah I think our performance at this World Cup is going to inspire a lot of the younger players. Guys in high-school, universities, I think we're going to see some Japanese rugby stars. Hopefully they can help us at the next World Cup." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPAN WINGER, KENKI FUKUOKA, SAYING: ''I believe we were able to make a positive impact on young people during the World Cup. I think by more people getting into rugby, we will be able to get better players. Because of the synergy effect, I expect Japan will be able to aim for reaching the final four for the next World Cup to make a new history.'' WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPAN SCRUM-HALF, YUTAKA NAGARE, SAYING: "'We have to aim for reaching the final four in order to do that. We set our goal to be the final eight and we were able to achieve that goal, but I must say we couldn't prepare enough ourselves mentally to reach the last four. We had a plan to win this game and were well prepared, but…we will need to build up our mental to achieve that (to reach the final four) next four years.'' WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPAN SCRUM-HALF, KEITA INAGAKI, SAYING: "'I'm very disappointed right now, so I can't think of anything else. But I want to say that I would like to show my appreciation to our fans because their support pushed us a lot. Although we lost the game tonight, many supporters kept cheering us. We raised a slogan "One Team" in our team, but I believe we were able to became a "One Team" including all our supporters at the stadium tonight.''
- Embargoed: 3rd November 2019 16:12
- Keywords: Japan rugby South Africa Spingboks World Cup
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Rugby Union,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1WGJ0F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: South Africa's World Cup stars Faf De Klerk and Handre Pollard were delighted with their side's victory over the host nation Japan at the rugby World Cup on Sunday (October 20).
De Klerk scored a try in the 3-26 win over Japan and said the 'amazing feeling' of knocking out the tournament hosts would give his side confidence going into their semi-final match against Wales.
Pollard, the Springboks fly-half, described the tight opening half against Japan as 'frustrating' but praised his side for 'sticking to their game plan' to dominate in the second-half.
Pollard said he knows semi opponents Wales will be 'tough' opponents but it is a game the Springboks will be ready for.
Japan's players were tearful at the final whistle as their World Cup fairytale ended against South African brawn, but their lock, James Moore, took heart in how the team have come together to record impressive victories at their home tournament. He also said the performances could inspire young Japanese players to come through the system and end up as stars of the game.
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