Efficient hosts Japan relish tackling rugby’s biggest tournament
Wales were in town to train and a staggering 15,300 fans descended on the stadium before belting out a rendition of the Welsh national anthem.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my career,” said former Wales captain Ryan Jones, who is now performance director at the Welsh Rugby Union. You expect many more will utter similar words over the next two months as the World Cup embarks on a journey into the unknown.
Never before has the tournament been held in Asia, as it has always been hosted by one of rugby’s powerhouse nations.
However, as part of World Rugby’s desire to grow the game, Japan has been given the chance and the initial impressions are the country will make the most of their opportunity.
Japan is a country famed for its hospitality and that is perhaps best summed up by 38,000 offering their services as volunteers when only 10,000 were required. Those helpers will be looking to make sure the World Cup runs smoothly and they are backed up by one of the most efficient transport systems in world (the average delay for a bullet train is 54 seconds) and stadia to rival any in the world (just google how the Sapporo Dome transforms from a baseball pitch to a rugby one).
All that explains why ticket sales are so strong, with more than 90 per cent of the 1.8million on offer sold.
While it is clear Japan have bought into hosting the World Cup, uncertainty and unknown comes in the form of the weather. Typhoon Faxai disrupted England’s arrival and further storms could have a serious impact — particularly in the pool stages, where a cancelled match shall be declared a 0-0 draw. When games do go ahead, conditions will be testing given the humidity. It is why England twice went to Treviso for camps this summer and why Wales have been covering balls in baby oil during training.
Japan themselves are, of course, braced for all that and it is why there is genuine hope they will get out of their pool given the advantage they have of being used to conditions. They also have a favourable schedule, with their matches against Ireland and Scotland coming after eight-day breaks. England, by contrast, have four days in between their games with Tonga and the USA.
Japan have never had a better chance to make the quarter-finals.
