Japan gets set to impress the world
It is early days but the Japanese intend to make a success of the 2019 Rugby World Cup
There is risk in taking a Rugby World Cup to Japan but there is also immense reward in prospect. That much is already clear after a tour around the country’s southern island of Kyushu. Rugby may not be on many people’s lips but a sense of possibility is evident. The 2019 World Cup will be first and foremost about the winners and losers, the teams and players, but it will also be about transcending rugby’s hidebound frontiers.
Rugby is a niche sport. Olympic Sevens has given it extended status. Japan offers a more heightened global profile. One Million Asia is a project in full swing as a target for attracting new players in the region – RWC 2019 is a mission statement as much as it is an event. That is the theory.
The reality at this stage is no more than fledgling. But the intent is clear on a whistle-stop trip by Shinkansen bullet train from Fukuoka down to Kagoshima across by hydrofoil to the beautiful National Park island of Yakushima and up through mountain hotspring Onsen retreats to the surreal, Dutch-themed Huis Ten Bosch hotel staffed by robots in Nagasaki prefecture. It is a kaleidoscopic sensory experience.
England will be based at surf-beach Miyazaki in Kyushu for their pre-world Cup training camp in early September 2019. Eddie Jones has the drop on all other coaches as he knows the country better than anyone given his roots and several stints working in Japan. He recognises climatic conditions will be variable and, at this time of year with temperatures in the low 30s and humidity at 90 per cent, challenging.
He is aware, too, of the Japanese temperament, deferential to the point of potential confusion, saying yes to things when it probably means no, bowing at every turn. There is an understandable desire to do things their own way, with hierarchy all-important, when the reality is that such tournaments need a collective approach to meet the standards that have been the norm at all recent World Cups. Some things work brilliantly, such as inter-prefecture transport, some things take more time. But who cheered at the prospect of getting in and out of Cardiff for night games in the Millennium Stadium at the 2015 Rugby World Cup? And the food is not bad either. The cuisine alone is worth the trip.
Above all there is determination to make it happen. That much is on view in Kumamoto, a city hit hard by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in April 2016 that claimed the lives of 110 people and made many thousands homeless, destroying swathes of the revered 15th-century castle. On the fringe of the city, though, stands the impressive 100 hectare multi-sport complex that houses the 32,000-capacity stadium that will host several World Cup matches. The fixture list will be revealed on Nov 2, but there is a chance that one of the home nations will find themselves here. The 2011 World Cup was affected by earthquake issues, with Christchurch devastated by the deadly upheaval that struck six months prior to the event. There are still no major Test matches played in that rugbycentric city. The Kumamoto Stadium normally plays host to football. As with four other stadiums on the 12-strong list of venues, there is a running track around the pitch, which can dilute the atmosphere. However, the facility is ringed by trees and has a bright and breezy feel. There are three dedicated rugby stadiums on the list, all to be given a makeover.
One of several unknowns is just how much the success of the tournament will depend on how Japan perform. With Ireland and Scotland also in Pool A, reaching the knockouts will be improbable.
Jones helped give the sport an enormous boost in Japan with the exploits of the Brave Blossoms in 2015, responsible for the greatest upset in World Cup history with the victory over the Springboks. Former All Black flanker Jamie Joseph has taken over and the team’s form is middling.
Kumamoto hosted Japan v Romania in June while Australia will play Japan at the venue for the 2019 final, the 72,000 capacity Yokohama Stadium, in early November. By then much will be known as to where teams will be and so where the thousands of fans might make plans to head.
The official two-year countdown begins next week on Sept 20, the date of the first fixture in 2019, with a 46-day tour of host cities showing off the Webb Ellis Cup. The aim is to engage local communities.
Japan is even considering lifting an edict banning tattoos (with their mafia overtones) in hot springs as a sop to western visitors.
It’s a small gesture of welcome. There will be many more to come.
Rugby is a niche sport. Japan offers a more heightened global profile