Unfortunately for Japan, their quarter-final against South Africa proved to be a bridge too far for the Rugby world Cup hosts as they fell to a 26-3 defeat in Tokyo.

The brave Flowers have delighted Rugby fans around the world over the past month but the power of the Springboks game, especially in the second half, was too much for Jamie Joseph’s side to deal with.they had their moments, including at the scrum, but it was an imperious second half from South Africa.

We rated all 23 of Japan’s players below, in what was a valiant but disappointing end to their Rugby world Cup campaign.

Yamanaki’s positioning at the back was solid for Japan and as the game went on he became more involved as an attacking influencer. His footwork and soft hands helped find openings in the South African defence and link play with those around him.

Not the most free-flowing offensive performance Matsushima will ever have, although his defensive and aerial work in a game as tough as this one has been influential. He won a number of aerial contests, forced a knock-on in tackles and was clever in tackling defence, denying South Africa a three-on-one try in the first half.

Lafaele had several flashes of his slick handling and sharp carry and passing ability, although they were isolated in the first quarter of the match. He kept quiet from suffocating the South African defence put on channel 13 and made a couple of poor reads in defence.

– RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 20, 2019

The inside centre changed a couple of times with Yu Tamura to perform well and his soft hands created moments for Flowers. He drifted out of the game the longer it went on though.

Fukuoka’s speed and footwork were electric in Tokyo, though in limited opportunities he got to showcase it. If Japan could have produced more room for Fukuoka in the first half, it might have been a different story.

It was a nightmare start for Tamura, who was fortunate his underfoot cross-field kick was not returned for a try, as well as throwing a forward pass and missing a tackle on Makazole Mapimpi for South Africa’s first try, all within the first five minutes. He had some effective moments with the ball in hand, although he was also guilty of overplaying at times.

Loose contributed to an effective scrum against the Boks, including a quick hook on the attacking ball. In free, he demonstrated his good handling skills by regularly shifting the point of contact close to the contact.

Not the best game Horie will ever have on a set piece, missing his jumper on four occasions, although his working hook in the scrum was solid. He couldn’t quite get his game in free going as he was usually met by powerful Springbok tackles once he got the ball.

After taking a bit of shunting in the first scrum of the game, Koo went to work for the South African unit, including running back Steven Kitshoff. He was a willing carrier, too, as he helped Japan stay competitive in the power stakes close to cancer.

– RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 19, 2019

Castle has contributed on the line and in the defensive line, without him being one of his more influential performances.

Moore was primarily a jumper on defensive lineouts for Japan and given the success the Springboks had with driving the mole, lock’s ability to disrupt on 2 or 3 throws was important for Japan.

Typically hardworking and all performance action from Japan mascot back rower. He was the primary holding and line option for the Blossoms, and also contributes significantly to the breakdown and offload to keep the phases alive and stretch the South African defence.

Jimeno was one of the few Japanese forwards to involve the force in the game. He had moments of success and failure in what, while it was a solid performance overall, with his handling skills and work rate suited to a high-tempo game.

Replacements

Not been on the field long enough to affect the game, unfortunately.

The converted No 8 was given a tough time in the scrum by Vincent Koch and coughed up an unnecessary infringement from him, too.

Added a powerful carry threat, though it was too little, too late for Japan.

Looked physical after coming on, although was not able to affect the game too significantly, in a similar fashion to the starting look.

The loose forward was physically on the defensive, though not adding the attacking momentum Joseph had hoped for.

Like Sakat, Tanaka came too late to have a real impact on the game, with South Africa already cemented as comfortable winners.

Matsuda succeeded despite being in control of the game at the time of his arrival. He didn’t make Tamura’s mistakes by overplaying.

Tried to add anything after replacing Yamanaka, although the momentum shifted in favour of South Africa at that point.

Watch: Rugby world Cup Memories: Matt Giteau

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