Japan eager to scare Boks

Cape Town —Japan lock Hitoshi Ono says they want to instil fear into the Springboks when the teams clash in their Rugby World Cup clash in Brighton on Saturday. “When you step out onto the field at a Rugby World Cup the atmosphere is incredible,” Japan’s most capped player told the official Rugby World Cup website.

“It comes down to how you take it all in. Do you let it get to you and shrivel up, or do you enjoy it and feed off it? “If you learn to have fun, it will fire you up and fired up is what we want to be when we take on South Africa. We’re going to stay low when we tackle, we’re going to keep reloading and push the South African players all the way to the end to a point where they become scared of us.

“If we can do that, I’m sure the fans in England will get behind Japan and we want to use that as motivation.” The 37-year-old Ono is set to appear in his third consecutive Rugby World Cup, hoping to end Japan’s 24-year wait for a win in the competition.

Apart from facing South Africa, Japan will also face Scotland, Samoa and the USA in Pool B. Saturday’s clash at Brighton Community Stadium is scheduled for17:45 (SA time). Meanwhile, Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has apologised for the team not being able to greet Springbok fans at Heathrow airport in London.

The Boks arrived in England on Saturday morning and were warmly welcomed by a delegation led by the South African High Commissioner to the UK, HE Obed Mlaba, as well as representatives from the Rugby World Cup, in the Royal Suite at the airport. However, they were not able to greet the South African supporters who came to Heathrow to welcome the team.

“We are aware there were a lot of supporters waiting for us at Heathrow, but unfortunately the organisers took us via an alternative exit to avert the queues at customs and we did not get to see them. We’re very sorry about it but it was not in our hands,” said De Villiers.

The Boks then set off on a two-hour journey by bus to Eastbourne, where they will be based for the first week of the tournament. “Most of the talk of the last year centred around the Rugby World Cup, so it is great to finally be here,” said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.— Sport24.