Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 03:18 pm
Japan: (3) 3
Pens: Tamura
South Africa: (5) 26
Tries: Mapimpi 2, De Klerk Pens: Pollard 3 Cons: Pollard
South Africa ended Japan’s dream World Cup run to reach the semi-finals after a bruising 26-3 win against the hosts.
The Springboks led after a powerful run gave Makazole Mapimpi a try, but went a player down when Tendai Mtawarira was shown a yellow card for a tip tackle.
Japan could only take a Yu Tamura penalty from the man advantage, making the score 5-3 at half-time in Tokyo.
Second-half tries from Faf de Klerk and Mapimpi plus Handre Pollard’s 11 points put the Springboks out of reach.
The tries put paid to any hopes of a repeat of Japan’s 2015 World Cup win against the same opponents and brought to an end a fairytale four weeks for the hosts.
The Springboks will now play Wales in the semi-final on Sunday, 27 October, with the winner facing England or New Zealand in the final.
