Craig Wing has thanked Japan's travelling army of supporters for their "unreal" support throughout the duration of the Rugby World Cup.
On top of their own vociferous fanbase, the Brave Blossoms also won over many neutrals with their thrilling style of play that proved too much for South Africa to handle early in the tournament.
Having rounded off their involvement in the competition with a 28-18 win over USA, Wing admits that only now can he and his teammates look back at their previous triumphs.
"We can finally celebrate our wins against South Africa and Samoa now, so we are all pretty happy," he told reporters. "We'll celebrate with a couple of beers tonight before jumping back on the plane home.
"Most of us will now have a couple of weeks off before jumping back into Top League action next month. In terms of the supporters, we had a load of loyal fans at the start of the tournament and since then it has just blown out of proportion. You can hear them all when you are playing - it's unreal."
Japan became the first team ever to exit the World Cup on the back of three pool-phase victories.
Daniel Lewis
