NICK CAIN

JAPAN have done it again, giving the 2019 World Cup much-needed lift-off with their brilliant 19-12 victory over Ireland, just as they did in the 2015 tournament by beating South Africa. The Shizuoka Stadium, now ranks alongside Brighton as a venue where planet rugby shifted on its axis, with Japan doing the shifting both times.
The host nation rescued what in prospect had looked a fairly humdrum second Saturday of the tournament with their heroics against the Irish – and although there will be no greenshirted fans thanking them for it, the rest of the rugby world is buzzi...