Japan’s shock defeat of South Africa highlights how the gap between top sides and the rest is closing,yet there is still a lot administrators could achieve“If there was a Richter scale for sporting earthquakes,” wrote Hugh McIlvanney after the tectonic spite of a James “Buster” Douglas right uppercut and left hand had crumpled Mike Tyson – and the jaws of those watching – to the floor, or “what happened would occupy to be considered two or three points clear of any other shock in 20th-century boxing.” While Tyson fumbled for his gumshield the rest of us did much the same for suitable adjectives. The usual failsafes – staggering,incomprehensible, unbelievable – felt inadequate. A 42-1 no-hoper had just destroyed the baddest man on the planet.
Twenty-five years later, and where should we plot Japan’s daring and nerveless defeat of South Africa on the sporting Richter scale? Everyone agrees it is the greatest upset in Rugby World Cup history. But that still underplays it. Bookmakers generally made Japan 50-1 outsiders before the match.
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Source: theguardian.com