Japan sets out to

Deciding to stage the World Cup in the Far East was a bold break from tradition, yet so far the signs are promising that it will be embraced passionately.

Rugby’s new frontier is bracing itself for unprecedented levels of scrutiny as well as for a nasty belt of weather heading its way on the opening weekend of Rugby World Cup 2019.

But neither the skies above nor the sceptics and naysayers below can put a dampener on the obvious relish in this country ahead of the opening ceremony this evening at the Tokyo Stadium. That serves as a prelude to the main event as we get our first sight of the Brave Blossoms in action when they look to show they can build on their heroic exploits of 2015 with an upbeat performance against Russia.

It is game time in this sprawling metropolis and rugby’s mission is to make an immediate impression.

There has been an outpouring of hyperbole in the build-up as to how ‘‘ground-breaking’’ this World Cup will be, with figures bandied about to suggest that the opening weekend will reach into more homes than there are to infinity and beyond. While we may smile at the excess, the figures are eye-watering – 1.8 million new participants in Asia, 43.1 per cent of them female, with 112 million fans spread across the continent.

This, then, is the vast territory to be seduced, to be persuaded here in Japan first that there is sporting life beyond sumo and baseball, and then on for years to come as rugby’s missionary work spreads into the East with all its people and all its money.

‘‘A step change’’ was the phrase used by Brett Gosper, the World Rugby chief executive, as he sat at the top table alongside several of those in the Japanese community who had helped make all this happen from the moment the decision was taken in 2009 to break with convention and look outwards by awarding hosting rights to Japan. This is to be the inclusive World Cup, a tournament of open doors and warm embraces.

It is the moment of revelation, a time to reflect on the wisdom or otherwise of that decision, an opportunity to see if the exuberant masses that have serenaded and applauded teams the length and breadth of this fascinating country at training bases from Miyazaki to Kitakyushu will stay with the oval-ball curiosity once the circus has left town.

There are reservations even within the Japanese rugby community as to how well formed the legacy programme will be, given that even the president of the organising committee, Shigetaka Mori, admitted that they ‘‘hadn’t