Rob Stevens
BBC Sport at Brighton Community Stadium

"Their fans may have been outnumbered outside the stadium, but Japanese supporters are in full voice inside the stadium. Every turnover and line break is being is being loudly cheered. Most of the neutrals in the ground have been won over by this brilliant start from the Brave Blossoms."

Full-back Ayumu Goromaru has a chance to extend his team's lead, but he hooks his effort wide of the uprights. 

"This tempo is at another level. Every single Japan player knows where they need to be and it is hard for the South African players to keep up."

Image source, Getty Images

Japan hooker Shota Horie showboating, passing with the back of his hand. That's audacious against South Africa. Japan are on the up, showing adventure and recycling possession with confidence. Eddie Jones has set his team up well. And the underdogs have another shot on goal...

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

"Japan want to keep the ball but if they are not going to chase the ball as hard as they can then it's going to be a very long afternoon for them."

You can listen to live commentary by pressing the audio button at the top of this page.

Just to reiterate the scale of Japan's task today...

Full-back Ayumu Goromaru has an idiosyncratic routine, Jonny Wilkinson-esque, and he's as reliable as the former England outside-half on this occasion, booting it through the middle to give his team the lead. 

Japan's scrum retreats but Kosei Ono gets the ball away to the backs and full-back Ayumu Goromaru bursts through midfield in a fabulous break. Wonderful, inventive stuff from the underdogs. He's brought down by his opposite number but Japan have a penalty for their efforts. 

Japan stealing possession with the elan of the Artful Dodger. "You've got to pick a pocket or two," they say in a rousing chorus. They don't of course, because the Brave Blossoms need to continue to be on defensive alert. 

Image source, Reuters

Pat Lambie with a neat touch-finder for the Springboks, taking his team deep into opposition territory. Victor Matfield, who surely started playing rugby alongside Webb Ellis himself given the lock's longevity, rises above everyone else to set up a perfect platform but, once again, South Africa lose possession in the tackle. 

Ominous. Bryan Habana has space down the right, feeds Francois Louw who has Japanese players bouncing off him. The Brave Blossoms steal ball at the ruck, though, which brings a dangerous-looking attack to a halt. 

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

"Sadly it will be a step too far for Japan. These men coming at you time and time again is going to be such a tough ask for these Japanese players."

A toot of referee Jerome Garces's whistle gets the match under way. Pat Lambie kicks it downfield and we're off. 

Image source, Reuters

Ah, Jonah Lomu, the original heavyweight with panther-like speed. As we've mentioned Bryan Habana is closing in on his World Cup tries record, but the New Zealander is not concerned. 

"I'm not worried about it," he said. Told you he wasn't worried. "When I set the record, I did it in two World Cups and he's coming into his third - that's the difference." 

We get your point, Jonah. 

By the way, Habana needs just one more score to become the fourth man to score 60 tries at Test level. Many expect him to achieve that this afternoon. 

Image source, Getty Images

The sun is out, the teams are out and we're ready for the national anthems. South African fans in the majority in Brighton and the stadium looks full to the brim, which is a nice sight.

Oh boy, this next bit doesn't make happy reading for Japan fans either because the Brave Blossoms concede an average of 48 points a game at a Rugby World Cup. 

Bryan Habana -  five tries behind Jonah Lomu's record of 15 Rugby World Cup touchdowns - must be licking his lips.

Image source, BBC Sport

It's a beautiful late afternoon on the English south coast and the players are just going through their final routines before going head-to-head. 

The South Africans are hopping over barriers like rabbits, fearsome bunnies, while the stadium announcer is attempting to whips up the crowd by encouraging them to go "eh-oh". Or something like that.