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BORDEAUX - Japan bowed out of the World Cup without winning a game but confident they had provided a lasting legacy for the future of Asian rugby.
Japan are bidding to bring the World Cup to Asia in 2015 and while they failed to win a match in France, they were far from disgraced and hope their performances will be enough to convince the International Rugby Board to let them host the tournament.
Although they were thrashed 91-3 by Australia and 72-18 by Wales, Japan were not out of their depth against other second tier nations and were involved in some of the most exciting matches of the competition.
Shotaro Onishi landed a conversion from the sideline to earn Japan a thrilling 12-12 draw with Canada on Tuesday after replacement Koji Taira scored three minutes into stoppage time.
They were also unlucky not to win their Pool B match against Fiji, going down 35-31 in a see-sawing encounter in which the lead changed several times.
Japan coach John Kirwan, a World Cup winner with New Zealand in 1987, said what his team lacked in size and experience they more than made up for in commitment.
"We have been outstanding in patches but we still have a lot of work to do. I can't fault our passion and courage," he said.
Luck was often against Japan. They suffered badly from injuries to key players and Kirwan was highly critical of the tournament organisers, claiming the draw was unfairly stacked against the lower ranked teams.
Japan fielded second-string teams in their matches against Australia and Wales because they had a short turnaround before their next matches, against Fiji and Canada.
"If we are going to change the structure of the World Cup, we can't forget that rugby is a great game played all over the world," Kirwan said.
"I believe the future of the game is in Asia and it is our responsibility to grow the game and not just save it for a select few.
"Otherwise we'll end up having world championships like baseball."
Despite being outclassed against Australia and Wales, there was never any danger of Japan suffering a repeat of their humiliating 145-17 loss to the All Blacks at the 1995 World Cup.
Japan in 2007 were a much fitter and better organised side than the days when rugby was still amateur and Kirwan said their performances were indicative of the rapid improvement in all of Asian rugby.
"I believe in the Japanese game and the people. We can certainly improve from here," he said.
"We have to keep building and identifying talent. We definitely have walked away from this tournament with respect."
- REUTERS
