Boris Johnson's rugby spirit looked a bit mean on Thursday after the London mayor lowered his shoulder and bulldozed a 10-year-old Japanese school boy in what was supposed to be a casual game of street rugby in Tokyo.
The informal game took place during Johnson's last day of a three-day trade mission to Japan that included a speech about the benefits of sports events to the British and American chambers of commerce, reported
The Guardian.
Japan is hosting the rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Summer Olympic Games in 2020,
Johnson was playing with the children when he grabbed the rugby ball and jogged to the goal line where he went "beast mode," knocking little Toki Sekiguchi to the ground, said
Sky News.
"It has long been suspected that underneath his affable, buffoonish exterior there lurks a ferociously competitive political beast," said Sky News. "Undeterred by the age of his opponent, the London mayor raced down the mini turf pitch and took out Toki Sekiguchi."
"I felt a little bit of pain but it's OK," the boy said as the mayor shook his hand before posing for pictures with him and the other youth.
Johnson referred to the incident later during his speech to the British and American chambers, noted Sky News.
"We have just played a game of street rugby with a bunch of kids and I accidentally flattened a 10-year-old, on TV unfortunately," Johnson told the audience. "But, he bounced back, he put it behind him, the smile returned rapidly to his face. That is my theme tonight – the possibility that confidence can suddenly and unexpectedly return."
Some had fun with the incident on social media.
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