Rugby World Cup: Brave Blossoms fairy tale comes to an end

There was never any shortage of courage, but not even the bravest of blossoms could punch through Springbok brawn as South Africa reached the Rugby World Cup semi-finals by beating Japan 26-3 and ending the hosts' dream run at the tournament. In what was a first World Cup quarter-final for the Japanese, neither an entire nation seemingly now besotted by rugby, nor a raucous 50,000 crowd packed into Tokyo Stadium, could carry the hosts to victory on Sunday. Japan's coach, former All Black Jamie Joseph and captain Michael Leitch, spoke to the media directly after their side was knocked out of their home World Cup.