Brave Blossoms' scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka has compared their new found support after defeating Ireland as being akin to “what the All Blacks are in New Zealand”. “Fans gave us a guard of honour inside Tokyo Station and there are many people talking to us outside, too,” Tanaka said when asked about how the side were being treated after the win. World Rugby has highlighted the interest that stemmed from the Ireland match, with early indications that television viewership of the game may have set a record in Japan. More than 25 million people watched the 2015 side’s match with Samoa after they had beaten the Springboks earlier in the tournament. The governing body said the early signs were that the Ireland match had exceeded that.

Source: Irish Examiner October 01, 2019 16:07 UTC