All the Rugby Hype


This year, 2019, Rugby World Cup will be held in Japan. This is the ninth event and will take place from 20th September to 2nd November. It will be a first for Asia. The first match will be at the Ajinomoto Stadium with the finals being hosted at the Nissan Stadium. These stadiums are located in Tokyo and Yokohama, respectively. Rumour has it that the South African team was one of the first teams to arrive in Japan and had been embracing the Japanese culture with respect. Perhaps this will earn them some supporters when they are playing against teams other than the Asian groups.

When the International Rugby Board (IRB) requested applications from any interested unions to host the 2019 World Cup, they received nine letters of interest. Russia and Australia withdrew their apps, so the IRB had to choose from the remaining three hosts who were still in the running, Italy, Japan and South Africa. The IRB announced that the winning bid for hosting the 2019 Championship was Japan.
The IRB and other parties who were involved met the Japanese committee to discuss the wants and needs. Tokyo would host five events, the opening game and the final, both semi-finals and the third-place playoff. The Japanese RFU chose the Nagai 50000 seat stadium. The Osaka municipality submitted the Hanazono Rugby Stadium as their venue. Other venues would be Kamaishi, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Oita, Nagasaki and Kumamoto. The site is to be Ajinomoto Stadium and the Yokohama Stadium. Ajinomoto will host the opening ceremony, and the first match and Yokohama will have the final.

The Venues

  • Chofu 50 000 seat capacity
  • Yokahama 72 000 seat capacity
  • Shizuoka 51 000 seat capacity
  • Hanazono 30 000 seat capacity
  • Fukuoka 22 500 seat capacity
  • Toyota 45 000 seat capacity
  • Sapporo 41 500 seat capacity
  • Oita 40 000 seat capacity
  • Kumamoto 32 000 seat capacity
  • Kobe Misaki 30 000 seat capacity
  • Kumagaga 24 000 seat capacity
  • Kamaishi 16 000 seat capacity

The top three teams from the 2015 RWC qualify for the 2019 Championship. Japan, and the other eight winners of local matches, and Canada in a repechage.

  • Teams that will make up The Four Pools
  • African Region South Africa, Namibia.
  • North American USA, Canada
  • Asia Japan
  • Europe England, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Scotland, Wales
  • Oceania Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga.
  • South America Argentina, Uruguay

The Banding

  • England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand
  • South Africa, France, Wales, Scotland
  • Japan, Argentina, Italy, Georgia
  • Fiji, USA, Russia, Namibia.
  • Tonga, Uruguay, Samoa, Canada

Pools

Twenty teams are split into four pools, each with five teams. Each team will play the other teams in their pool in a round-robin.
Scoring is as follows:

  • 4 points for a win
  • 2 points for a draw
  • 0 points for a team beaten by more than eight or more points
  • 1 point for a team scoring four tries in a match
  • 1 point for a team that loses by less than 8 points