FUKUOKA -- As Japan aims for the last eight at the Rugby World Cup Japan 2019, a Fukuoka boy who stood on the pitch with the national rugby team before the start of one of the most storied matches in RWC history is praying hard for the Brave Blossoms' success.
In the previous RWC, Japan's national squad captured the rugby world's attention with its upset victory over South Africa (See below) in its first game of the Rugby World Cup 2015 in England.
Shintaro Nakano, the only Japanese chosen as a child mascot for that match, witnessed that historic victory four years ago. Now 17, Nakano says, "I want to feel the sensation and excitement I felt at that time again."
On Sept. 19, 2015, Nakano, then a first-year junior high school student, waited for the start of the game against South Africa at the side of the pitch in Brighton, England. Next to Nakano was Japan captain Michael Leitch. As Leitch loosened up by wiggling his 190-centimeter-tall frame, Nakano felt his tension and excitement for the game. Nakano could not talk to Leitch.
As Nakano bowed and entered the pitch, deafening cheers came from about 30,000 spectators in the stands. The "Kimigayo" national anthem was played. Nakano sang the anthem together with the Brave Blossoms, who locked arms around each other's shoulders, thinking that he wanted to play rugby in such a wonderful place in the future.
He watched the game from the stands. Japan had a tight contest with the two-time world champions. The stadium was filled with excitement and calls shouting "Japan" filled the air. Three points behind South Africa in the second-half added time, Japan scored a try to earn five points and nailed the win. Nakano was so excited that he held his head in his hands in joy. "The players shined brilliantly, and I was proud of being a Japanese," Nakano recalled.
Walking out the stadium, Nakano was approached by other fans who said such things as "Japan was great." Everyone was basking in the afterglow of the game regardless of friend or foe. Nakano renewed a love for rugby: "How strongly rugby stirs people's minds."
On his father's recommendation, Nakano began playing rugby when he was a first-grade elementary school student. When he watched Japan's victory over South Africa four years ago, he was about 160 centimeters tall and slender. So, he was encouraged by the Japanese players, who were small but faced up against larger opponents.
Subsequently, Nakano entered the prefectural Fukuoka High School, from which Kenki Fukuoka, 27, a member of Japan's national team, graduated.
Now, Nakano is a second-year high school student who stands at about 170 centimeters. He plays the scrum-half position, which is responsible for coordinating the offensive strategy, and is aiming for the high school national tournament at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture.
In the Rugby World Cup 2019, Nakano will watch two of three matches between foreign teams to be held in Fukuoka. "I hope Japan will advance to the knock out phase.I look forward to seeing them score tries," Nakano said.
-- Japan's victory over South Africa
While Japan was ranked 13th in the world, it defeated champion hopeful 3rd-ranked South Africa 34-32 at the Rugby World Cup 2015. It was Japan's first World Cup victory in 24 years, and regarded as the greatest upset in Rugby World Cup history, bringing excitement to Japan. Catching the momentum, Japan won three matches in the 2015 tournament for the first time, but failed to progress to the knockout phase.
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