Photo/Illutration Ayumu Goromaru, playing fullback for Yamaha Jubilo, in 2018 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japanese rugby union player Ayumu Goromaru, whose heroics were key to Japan's shock defeat of South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, dubbed the “Miracle in Brighton,” will retire after the 2021 season.

Goromaru's current team, Yamaha Jubilo, announced the news on Dec. 9.

Japan’s Top League is scheduled to open its new season on Jan. 16 and continue until May.

Goromaru, 34, will hang up his boots after the tournament concludes, the team said.

The fullback became a household name when the Brave Blossoms under Eddie Jones defeated South Africa’s Springboks in a nail-biter at the World Cup hosted by England.

Thanks to Goromaru’s superb penalty kicking, the team won three games but missed the chance to advance to the final eight.

The trademark pose Goromaru assumed during his kicking routine became popular to the point that children and adults in Japan mimicked it.

Goromaru signed with Australian Super Rugby team, the Queensland Reds, in February 2016.

In June the same year, he signed with Toulon of France’s Top 14 league but didn't get a chance to play in any games.

He returned to Yamaha Jubilo in June 2017.

Goromaru was first selected as a member of the national team at age 19 when he was a student at Tokyo's Waseda University. He has earned 57 caps since then.

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