Netizens have been anticipating the start of the Rugby World Cup in Japan for months now and not just because of the action on the field. While the online masses closely followed and reacted to the Japanese team’s opening match win over Russia — not to mention anything related to the All Blacks’ haka, even if it was just to complain about the camera angles — they were also keeping an eye on the situation outside of the stadium.
One of the bigger viral clips to make the rounds during the tournament thus far took place on a Keio Line train. A group of French supporters appear to be crowd surfing in the middle of the car, presumably after consuming plenty of drinks. The post has been “liked” more than 44,000 times. The Twitter user who recorded it wrote later that the high jinks were fun at first, but they escalated quickly and soon other non-participants were getting kicked. They later updated the post to note that not all French people are like this and some French supporters later left the car to get away from them.
Still, the clip stirred unease. Another Twitter user shared footage of other non-Japanese visitors on the streets throwing flags as if they were javelins. Other videos captured Irish fans singing a song on the Hanzomon Line. While a few more than likely rolled their eyes at this performance, it was generally well-received online, with some praising how nice rugby fans appeared to be compared to soccer supporters.
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