Oh yes, it did happen. Japan defeated the 1995 and 2007 world champions, South Africa, in the 2015 Rugby World Cup Group B opening encounter, which created shockwaves across the world. No one had seen it coming, especially against a nation like South Africa where rugby is almost a religion. South Africa are one of the favourites to clinch the 2015 World Cup title.
Even the Japanese players might have required some time to settle down and realise the magnitude of the victory. It was indeed a miracle as they won the match 34-32. Japan will be eager to carry the same form further in the competition.
With such a huge victory, the pressure is on Japan, who face Scotland at Kingsholm stadium in Gloucester on Wednesday. Japan were superb against South Africa as they produced very few handling errors and their offensive game was sensational. It was a complete team performance from the Asian team, who started the match on the front foot. All the 15 starting players for Japan delivered the goods.
Japan are aware of the importance of a follow-up victory against Scotland, as otherwise their performance might be considered as a fluke. However, the Scotland rugby team have been closely watching Japan's performance in the last year or so and they have been impressed. The Scots are not going to take Japan lightly.
The Cherry Blossoms have come into the competition not to make up the numbers but to go all the way.
"We have two objectives: reach the quarterfinals and be the team of the tournament. With that in mind we have made a successful start. We did not come here to be one-hit wonders." BBC quoted Japan's coach Eddie Jones as saying.
Japan, after defeating South Africa, have increased their chances of making it past the group stages, though, it is not going to be easy with the US and Samoa being the remaining two teams in the group.
As they did against South Africa, Japan wants to get off the blocks quickly against Scotland.
"We see the start of the game against Scotland as being super-important. We've got to make sure Scotland work really hard and [we] score some points early in the game. If we're in the first 30 minutes of the game I reckon we can do it," said Jones.
