Ahead of the weekend, there were fears that the final group match of the Rugby World Cup would have to be cancelled.

Scotland was said to be planning legal action if the encounter with Japan didn’t go ahead, but thankfully such measures weren’t required.

The Namibia versus Canada match was called off due to Typhoon Hagibis, which is tragic for our neighbour to the north who would have been hopeful of nicking a win there, but all the headlines today are about the incredible performance by Japan.

No highlights package is going to do justice to their tireless tackling and work at the breakdown, but here’s what you missed if you didn’t catch the game:

Given that Typhoon Hagidis has now claimed at least 42 lives, and that number will grow in the days that follow, the country needed some respite from the bad news, and their rugby team provided it.

As Rugby Onslaught reports, their fans were delighted:

RugbyPass interviewed fans directly after the match as they left the stadium, and one of the interviews was with three Japanese fans.

We’ve never really seen their fans quite like this before and it’s absolutely hilarious!

It looks like these three lads certainly had a great time watching the match, and this interview surely has to be in contention for the best interview of the Rugby World Cup so far?

The interview with the three fans is interspersed with other fans, so you’ll have to wait that out:

They have every reason to celebrate, with Japan becoming the first Asian team to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Also worth a look is a moment involving Schalk Brits, one of the more popular Springbok players at the tournament, during our match against Canada last week.

How’s the little bow to the lady handing him the ball? A touch of class…

How can you not love Schalk Brits? #Respect from r/rugbyunion

He did it quite regularly, it seems:

Schalk Brits, an all-time legend. #RSAvCAN #RWC2019

Find out where you can watch at https://t.co/z0BgdPH0sf pic.twitter.com/zB9bfdv2RL

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 8, 2019

Impossible not to love his energy.

Let’s take a look at next weekend’s quarter-finals, then:

Your times as follows:

Saturday, October 19

England v Australia, Oita – 9:15AM, and New Zealand v Ireland, Tokyo – 12:15PM.

Sunday, October 20

Wales v France, Oita – 09:15AM, and Japan v South Africa, Tokyo – 12:15PM.

Good luck getting anything productive done.

[sources:rugbyonslaught&