Last September commenced the start of the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Tokyo, Japan, where the top twenty countries battled it out for a claim of the title. The tournament is rugby’s centrepiece event, becoming the big stage that rugby players from all over the world dream of reaching.
This was the first year where the tournament would be hosted in an Asian country and the Japanese succeeded in proving their place amongst rugby’s top nations. Dominating over top performing countries, such as Ireland and Scotland, the Japanese team rightfully earnt their place in the quarter-finals, which was seen as a significant achievement for the host nation. A lot of admiration can be taken from the fighting spirit of Japan, from entering the tournament as historically not the strongest team but fuelled from the encouragement of its home crowd spirit and pride for its nation- Japan preserved through some challenging matches in the group stage.
Despite not making the semi-finals, the Japanese performance should be seen as the silver lining of the tournament. Immense amount of pride and honour should be taken away by the Japanese players, as their performance has inspired a nation to take a love to the sport and hopefully promise a successful new generation of boys and girls for the future of rugby for Japan.
written by Lucy – hockey rep