Jeremy Wells a mischief-maker in Rugby World Cup Mega Store in Tokyo

September 21, 2019

Wells couldn’t resist a bit of retail therapy while he’s on assignment.

Jeremy Wells has been making a nuisance of himself at the Rugby World Cup Mega Store in Tokyo, teasing South African fans that they poisoned the All Blacks and brushing a Japanese man in the face with a soft toy.

The Seven Sharp host took up co-host Hilary Barry's offer of a day off to do some shopping yesterday after his busy week chasing quirky stories in the Japanese capital ahead of the World Cup opening.

"What I didn't suggest was that you get in the way," Barry told him from the Auckland studio after seeing his antics in the store.

Wells first showed viewers some of the merchandise on offer in the store, or as he put it, "all of the clobber, all of the everything to do with the Rugby World cup, badges, wrist bands".

But then he met up with a group of South African fans and told them, "You poisoned us of course."

"We should have won that. It would have been a much better story."

It was all a reference to the infamous episode back in 1995 when about two-thirds of the All Blacks squad fell violently ill ahead of the World Cup final against the Springboks in South Africa. The All Blacks lost 15-12.

Moving on, Wells continued his shopping expedition in the mega store, checking out a "Japanese sort of smock thing" before bamboozling a Japanese customer by asking him, "Are you a supporter of the Brave Blossoms?"

Then he spotted some soft toys and brushed a man next to him in the face with one.

From the Auckland studio, Barry was outraged.

"In some countries that would have been considered assault, Jeremy. Were you thrown out of the store?" she asked.

"No," Wells replied. "But let's just say when we did come back in to get our bags a little bit later on - the store became very, very busy actually - they were very, very pleased when I didn't do another story in there. 

"I just grabbed my bags and left. I could see people very kind of bowing you out, just to sort of 'away you go, let's not have any more of that soft toy sort of action'."

Jeremy Wells will soon head home from his Tokyo assignment, no doubt to the relief of many residents of the Japanese capital.

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