Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2019 - Quarter Final - Japan v South Africa - Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - October 20, 2019 The Japan players bow in front of their fans after the match REUTERS/Issei Kato
OITA, Japan (Reuters) - Japan were beaten up and bundled out of the World Cup on Sunday but whatever happens over the next two weeks will have to be pretty special for the Brave Blossoms to be displaced as the symbol of the ninth edition of rugby's showpiece tournament.
Their run to the quarter-finals of the first World Cup to be held outside the heartlands of the game has led to an explosion of interest in the game beyond the realms of the imagination of even the most optimistic World Rugby executive.
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