Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The Fire Starter

Maybe Rugby isn’t much of a well-known sport for most Asian countries. Of course, the people there know and aware for the sport. But do they play it? Now, that’s another question. Many people must have compared Rugby with Cricket. But that’s not the same since Indian and Pakistani people have completely embraced the sport as one of their own. With the recent winning of Japanese Rugby team in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, is it too much to say that Rugby will take Asia by storm in the next couple years?

Surprise-Winning
When the drawing has been called, many clubs were either able to see it in a positive light or not. This rule applies everywhere, including when Japan has to meet South Africa. The Asian country just made it into the top ten while South Africa never left top five. The difference in power was to be expected. But the result was a different matter. Surprisingly, Japan was able to defeat South Africa with a close margin call 34-32. This winning is not an overnight result. It took years and a lot of practice for them to be considered as a power to reckon with. And even though they won, Japan couldn’t proceed to the next round because they suffered a huge margin against Scotland.

Practices Make Perfect
Looking at the team’s record during the Rugby World Cup, Japan barely made any win. Their best record was this 2015 World Cup with 3 Winnings. However, the surprise win against South Africa put Japan Rugby team in the spotlight. This winning has catapulted their status as well as the sport they’re playing back into public’s attention. The Japanese name team that uses Sakura as their logo has gained a lot of attention in the past week. The final score of 34-32 made all rugby enthusiasts felt a glimmer of hope that their favorite sport will be widely accepted by the Asian. Anyway, this is also a proof that practice makes perfect. Japan was an underdog, but now they are right on the mark. Sides, they will be the host for the next World Cup.


Many people believe that the coverage on the Japanese Rugby team could spark the light to some other people. This is very much understandable. The popularity shows how curious people are. And when you have the chance to check a new sport, there’s always a bigger chance that you will like it so much and voila, Rugby is the new favorite. And it’s okay if you are. You will join a number of rugby fans all over the world. There will come a day where you can easily talk about Rugby with your close friends because that’s their new favorite sports. Hopefully, there are more Asian countries that would follow Japan’s step and make their own history in this sport.