The 2019 Rugby World Cup Will Be Hosted By Japan; National Team Brave Blossoms Is Called ‘One Of The Great Stories’ By World Rugby Chief Executive
The 2019 Rugby World Cup opening match on Sept. 20, as well as the final on Nov. 2, will be held at Japan following the Brave Blossoms team's success story in the 2015 competition, reported The Guardian.
"The Brave Blossoms, Japan's national team, have been one of the great stories from this year's tournament," noted World Rugby chief executive, Brett Gosper. "With their combination of skill, speed, athleticism and determination, they have won many admirers and they have inspired a nation to follow our great sport. All that bodes well for the next edition of Rugby World Cup."
During the unveiling of the 2019 Rugby World Cup logo, Japan Rugby Football Union chairman, Noriyuki Sakamoto, said, "We are very excited and proud to be the host union for RWC 2019 as the tournament is held in Asia for the very first time."
According to Sport 24, the logo is the first Rugby World Cup emblem following the rebranding of the International Rugby Board as World Rugby, reflecting Japan's most distinct symbols: the rising sun and the Mt. Fuji.
"Possibly the greatest story of 2015 has been the success of the Japanese team," said Gosper. "The Japan-South Africa game, I'm sure they'll make Hollywood films of that one day as they did with Miracle on Ice. This has been the most competitive World Cup ever and I think the performance of the Japanese inspired all the other tier two teams so we had the smallest winning margins in World Cup history.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup opening match is set to take place in Tokyo, while the final match will be held at Yokohama.
"I'm sure 2019 will break records in some areas but it will be ground-breaking," added Gosper. "It will look very different, feel very different and will sound different to any World Cup we have ever had."
The 2015 tournament ended on Saturday with a final match between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham.
