An inconsistent season for the All Blacks continued last night as they battled to an uninspiring 38-31 win over an inspired opposition in Tokyo.

Japan were a try away from a stunning upset in the final moments, after Brodie Retallick had been sent off for a dangerous cleanout with 15 minutes to play.

Here’s how the world reacted to the result.

‘All Blacks shaken’

Japan Today

The All Blacks were shaken by a superb 80-minute performance by Japan and had to find depths of character and resolve to beat the Brave Blossoms 38-31 in Tokyo on Saturday in the first match of their northern hemisphere tour.

With defense which was far more rigid than the score line suggests and which hurried the All Blacks and forced them into errors, Japan made a massive imprint on the match and undoubtedly was the better team.

Japan disrupted the All Blacks lineout and attacked with class and skill to suggest New Zealand was lucky to escape the fate of South Africa, Scotland and Ireland who recently have suffered defeat at the hands of the Japan team.

New Zealand captain Sam Cane and coach Ian Foster after the game. Photosport

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Japan head coach Jamie Joseph, who won 20 caps for the All Blacks in the early 1990s, said Japan went into the match “with full confidence” that they could win.

“Everyone is thinking about the All Blacks and that’s part of their armour, really,” he added.

“Having played for the All Blacks, one of the things we used to talk about 25 years ago was that everyone was a wee bit scared of us.

“Perhaps that’s not the case anymore, I’m not sure.”

Japan loose forward Michael Leitch, who was also born in New Zealand, believes the All Blacks’ air of invincibility has gone.

“In the past, teams have come up against the All Blacks and psychologically you think they are unbeatable but now those cracks are showing,” he said.

“It’s doable, and we showed that today. Give us an extra 10 minutes and who knows what would have happened.”

Japan beat South Africa at the 2015 World Cup and then reached the quarter-finals four years later on home soil, after taking down Ireland and Scotland.

Captain Atsushi Sakate said he was “frustrated” after failing to add the All Blacks to their list of scalps.

“We went into the game looking to win it and we’ve [been] preparing for that all week,” he said.

“When I looked at everyone’s face during the warm-up, I could see that we all had a lot of confidence. So, to end up losing means that we fell just short.”

Jamie Joseph twists the knife

Joseph made it clear they will face better opposition when they head to Twickenham in a fortnight.

“The key for us really is to go to England now and replicate that performance against a better side,” he told media after the test.

“The guts of it really, we just made too many mistakes at the wrong time. Everything else around the game in terms of how we wanted to play and what we needed to do is really really good. Our scrum went well but we gave penalties at the wrong time. Our lineout was very good, we created a lot of momentum because we won the ball at the backend of the lineout, we got over the gainline and then we were able to actually do some really good moves, on the opposition we shut their lineout down, shut their maul down but it still wasn’t enough and that sort of tells you how good the All Blacks are as a team.”

Stephen Perofeta in action. Photo / Photosport

Ian Foster: ‘I liked the way we played’

“It’s our first game after a bit of a break and we were a bit rusty, but they played really well and it turned into a really tight game,” said All Blacks head coach Ian Foster.

“We got put under a lot of pressure but I really liked the way we played. Japan came back very well before halftime and really turned the game into a tight contest.”

“It was a very tough match today, we got what we expected, we knew the Japanese are a very tough, skillful side, and they put us under a lot of pressure,” said All Blacks captain Sam Cane.

“I think our composure kept us in the fight, and we’ve got guys who can score tries quickly.”

‘All Blacks were hanging on’

Gregor Paul, NZ Herald

The All Blacks knew Japan were a serious threat long before they left New Zealand, but it is unlikely they imagined their test in Tokyo would end up as tense and fraught as it was.

After half an hour, when Japan scored two brilliant tries in quick succession, the prospect of the home side making history was all too real.

Once again, New Zealanders were bracing for another unwanted first – another unbelievable defeat to an opponent many would never have imagined the All Blacks losing to.

The All Blacks were hanging on. They weren’t in control of the test the way they wanted to be, couldn’t build the pressure they thought they would and simply couldn’t break the spirit of the Japanese, whose defence was magnificent, as was their ability to counter punch.

Hoskins Sotutu is tackled. Photo / Photosport

‘A first hand demonstration of defensive resilience’

By Kris Shannon, NZ Herald

The Brave Blossoms were a try away from a stunning upset in the final moments, after Brodie Retallick had been sent off for a dangerous cleanout with 15 minutes to play.

But Richie Mo’unga’s penalty sealed the result after the All Blacks defence had done just enough to survive - having received a first-hand demonstration of defensive resilience throughout the match.

The Brave Blossoms, whose previous best result against the All Blacks was a 38-point loss the last time these sides met in 2018, impressed with and without the ball.

Considering their quality in all facets, Japan will now be hopeful of adding the All Blacks to a list of scalps that includes South Africa and Ireland.