Special guest's 'powerful' pregame speech inspires Japan to record win

Japan produced a powerful performance in their Pacific Nations Cup semi-final win over Manu Samoa, and key to that performance was the heavy dose of inspiration the team received pregame.

In the blistering heat of central Tokyo, a Paralympic gold medalist took to the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium field to a chorus of rousing applause. Meanwhile, in the Japan locker room, the players were digesting a remarkable story of courage, resilience and determination.

Yukinobu Ike made history in Paris just weeks ago when he captained Japan to their first wheelchair rugby gold medal at the Paralympics, besting USA in the final 48-41.

The 44-year-old joined the Brave Blossoms in Tokyo on Sunday, giving a speech that loose forward Tiennan Costley said the side found "seriously moving."

"He's got one leg, he's got one arm that he can control, and the fact that he's been able to overcome those challenges and thrive and become a gold medalist, that gave us some serious motivation and power as well," the 24-year-old reflected.

"I spoke to him, just the two of us, afterwards. What he has achieved is amazing."

Ike delivered an emotional message about chasing dreams in a half-hour pregame speech, before taking the field to give the Tokyo fans some moving words as well.

We are honored to have with us Yukinobu Ike, the captain of Japan's National Wheelchair Rugby team who won a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympics 🥇👏#Paris2024 | #JPNvSAM

pic.twitter.com/MTP7zexuNi

— Japan Rugby (@JRFURugby) September 15, 2024

After winning two bronze medals in the previous Paralympic campaigns, Ike's confidence in his team's ability to win gold never wavered. 27 years after the car accident that left him with severe burns and an amputated leg, the captain was influential both on and off the court in getting this side the result.

The Brave Blossoms would go on to record their biggest-ever margin of victory over Samoa and qualify for the Pacific Nations Cup final where they'll face the Flying Fijians in Osaka.

Following the semi-final, head coach Eddie Jones shared his thoughts on the importance of bringing Ike into the environment and what he personally took out of the speech.

"I think sometimes young people can lack a bit of gratitude about how lucky they are. For our players in Japan to train in a world-class training facility, be able to compete in Japan is a wonderful opportunity and we want to make sure they realise what a wonderful opportunity they've got in front of them.

"For a guy like Ike-san to come in, he lost his two or three best friends in a car accident, he's lost a leg, he can't use one arm and he's still trying to be good every day. Every day he's trying to find something good.

"I think that was the strongest for message, certainly for me, was that in every day find something good because there is always something good. What's good today and how can we find it?

"He was such a humble, sincere man. The humility and sincerity just oozed through him and the players for 30 minutes were just transfixed by his speech."