This year, a new edition of the Rugby World Cup will be held again in which 20 teams will meet to define the champion of this World Championship. The championship will be developed between September 20 and November 2 in Japan.
For the first time in history, the World Cup will take place in an Asian country from September to November. During this edition, teams and fans will have the opportunity to enjoy the landscapes of Japan in a World Cup where they will see all the culture of this country.
The 20 classifieds that are already in Japan are Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Namibia, New Zealand, Russia, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, Uruguay, United States, Wales and, the event organizer, Japan.
The development of the tournament
Throughout this New World Rugby Championship 20 teams will meet again to define who will be the champion.
The form of confrontation will be given by 2 phases. In the first phase the teams will face each other in a group phase in which there will be 5 teams for each group. In the second phase, the qualified will face each other in quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds in which the champion will be defined.
The quarterfinals will begin to play on October 19, the semifinals on October 26 and 27 and the final on November 2.
The last three championships
The last 3 World Cup tournaments left a great expectation for this new edition due to the great performance of those selected in the past.
During the World Championship played in 2007 which had a joint organization between France, Wales and Scotland left the great surprise of the English victory against Australia leaving fans more than satisfied with the World Cup.
In the 2011 edition played in New Zealand one of the most intense finals in history was lived in which the All Blacks were devoted champions very tightly over France by 8-7.
Finally, in the last edition contested in 2015, New Zealand marked its two-time championship beating Australia demonstrating the supremacy of New Zealanders.
All this background left fans extremely eager for the new edition waiting for an entertaining and very close World Cup among those selected to dispute it.
How to get to Japan
A large number of rugby fans are expected to arrive in Japan to enjoy this Rugby World Championship, and this implies taking into account important details for tourists who enjoy this event.
The sale of tickets for the matches was already open a long time ago and fans already have their travel packages purchased to witness the matches. A large part of foreign spectators will go to Japan through airplanes.
Most of the flights will land at Narita airport which is located a few kilometers away from Tokyo. Another large number of international flights will land at Haneda airport which is even closer to Tokyo than Narita airport since in 20 minutes you can reach the capital of Japan by taking the train.
Other flights will land at airports near other cities in Japan depending on the company chosen to travel.
How to move between cities
To move from one city to another in Japan, it must be taken into account that, among the great transport offers presented by this city, the most efficient way to travel is through the Rail pass.
In Japan, these passes are offered for high-speed trains that allow the spectator to move on this trains to the cities of Japan to watch the games without spending so much money on the trip.
Other spectators prefer to use low-cost flights. Although this option helps to save time, its cost is significantly higher than traveling on the high-speed train making this a much more viable option.
The stadiums of the event
For this edition of the Rugby World Championship, 12 stadiums have been chosen in which this new edition will take place.
The infrastructure work carried out on these stadiums gives it a very great value since the stadiums were specially prepared and improved for this new World Championship:
• The dome of Sapporo: This stadium located in the city of Sapporo has a very important value in this city since there were matches played during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This stadium was used to play football and baseball several times and is noted for having a large dome that covers it.
• Kamaishi Recovery Memorial: This is one of the new stadiums made for this new Rugby World Cup. It is one of the smallest stadiums since it has capacity for 16334 spectators and is located in the city of Kamaishi.
• Kumagaya rugby field: This stadium located in Kumagaya is used for rugby and for some professional football matches. It was founded in 1991 and has a capacity for 25600 spectators. Its design is quite reminiscent of European football stadiums because of the way it is designed.
• Tokyo Stadium: This is the most important stadium in Japan as it is where the national soccer team matches are officially played. Its capacity of 49970 spectators and its great infrastructure makes it one of the most beautiful stadiums in this Rugby World Championship.
• Yokohama International Stadium: This stadium is one of the largest in Japan with a capacity of 72327 spectators. There were important football matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup and football club World Cup matches were played in 2008. Now his playing field was adapted so that rugby matches can be played.
• Ogasayama Sports Park Ecopa: It is located in Shizuoka and was built in 2001. Its capacity is 50889 spectators and it also hosted the 2002 World Cup. Its circular and roofed design makes it impressive when you are looking it.
• Toyota Stadium: This stadium built in 2001 was not used for the World Cup, but it was used for various football matches in 2012. Its capacity is 45,000 spectators and it is located in the city of Toyota.
• Higashiosaka Hanazono: This stadium is exclusively for rugby matches and is one of the oldest stadiums in Japan. It was built in 1929 and has hosted a lot of rugby games since then. It was remodeled several times and its capacity is 24,000 spectators.
• Kobe City Misaki Park: One of the most modern stadiums is the one located in Hyogo-ku which has a capacity of 30132 spectators and was built in 2001 with a series of renovations that made it totally modern. There, the 2002 World Cup matches were enhanced and several matches of the Japanese soccer team were received.
• Hakatanomori: In this stadium several professional football matches were held and now it has been remodeled to receive the Rugby World Cup. Its capacity of 21562 spectators along with its beautiful infrastructure makes it one of the most beautiful stadiums of this edition.
• Kumamoto Prefecture Athletic Stadium: This large stadium in Japan has a capacity for 30228 people and is one of the most modern in this country. Its design reminds baseball stadiums because of its circular shape and is located in Kumamoto.
• Oita Stadium: The Oita Stadium has a really impressive infrastructure because of the way it was designed and was one of the most popular venues in the 2002 World Cup. This impressive stadium has a capacity for 40,000 spectators and a unique comfort.
These are the stadiums that will host this new edition of the Rugby World Championship. Some of them have a long history behind while others were very popular due to the soccer World Cup played in Japan in 2002.
The expectation of the public
All Rugby fans are very attentive to what may happen in this new edition of the Rugby World Championship since everyone wants to see their team lift the trophy.
In all the nations that play the tournament, they are looking forward to seeing their teams play since, lately, a great level of competitiveness is being shown, leaving many teams with a high probability of being champion.
Fans who decided to travel, are already throbbing the first games and are enjoying this great sports show that has Japan and its culture as an organizer.
Three main candidates to win the Rugby Championship
In this new tournament of the Rugby World Championship there are many teams waiting to be able to keep the trophy and consecrate champions. However, there are three of these that stand out from the others selected and have great chances of being champions:
• All Blacks: The New Zealand team has a great history in the sport of rugby and is constantly fighting in the championships. He has won this competition on several occasions and they have high expectations regarding this new edition where they arrive with a large squad ready to fight.
• Wallabies: Australians are highly focused on winning this edition. They had a strong pre-season job where they were measured against great teams to perfect their strategy for this new edition and be able to fight head to head for the championship.
• Springboks: South Africa has a team with great experience in Rugby World Championship and have their faith in this tournament. His team has a high probability of being champion due to his good game demonstrated during the preseason where he defeated the Argentine team by 46-13 demonstrating his great potential.
These selected have a great history within the field of rugby and they have plenty of experience in the World Championship which gives them more than enough chances of the champion leaving these three selected.
Throughout this new edition, we hope that there will be a great sporting show where all the teams demonstrate their great potential within the field of play and can give their fans great games that they can remember with happiness.
