There is little appetite in
Japan for
England to exact revenge and genuine affection for the Springboks and their travelling fans
It has been more than a week since Japan exited the Rugby
World Cup, but it is standing room only at the No Side Club, a rugby-themed bar in the Takadanobaba district of Tokyo. Japanese fans have come together, as they do on the last Wednesday of every month to eat, drink and support rugby in Kamaishi, a tournament venue destroyed by the March 2011
tsunami disaster and, more recently, a victim of Typhoon Hagibis.
Through the merry haze emitted by the dozens of drinkers seated among replica jerseys, scarves and player photographs, talk is turning to Saturday’s final and which team, in the absence of the Brave Blossoms and the perennially popular All Blacks, are more deserving of local support.