Why Japan is learning to love rugby
The sport has an opportunity to win new fans as the World Cup begins far from its traditional heartlandsSep 19th 2019THE DUBLINERS, a pub in central Tokyo, is primed for an onslaught of beer-swigging rugby fans. Kegs are stacked behind the counter and flags hang from the ceiling. Foreigners, mostly from Britain, Australia and Ireland, have bought a third of the 1.8m tickets sold for the sport’s World Cup, which kicks off on September 20th. “We’ve heard they drink a lot,” smiles Yosuke Yamashita, a waiter. “We’re ready.”Japan’s opening match against Russia will be the first game in the tournament’s 32-year history to be played beyond rugby’s traditional heartlands. Rugby’s top 20 international teams will compete over the following seven weeks to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. The favourites, South Africa and New Zealand (trying for their third consecutive title), face off in Yokohama on September 21st.Choose us for news analysis that respects your time and intelligenceSubscribe to The EconomistWe filter out the noise of the daily news cycle and analyse the trends that matterWe give you rigorous, deeply researched and fact-checked journalism. That’s why Americans named us their most trusted news source in 2017Available wherever you are—in print, digital and, uniquely, in audio, fully narrated by professional broadcastersThis website adheres to all nine of NewsGuard‘s standards of credibility and transparency.ORContinue reading this articleRegister with an email address