For the first time, Japan is hosting the Rugby World Cup starting on September 20th at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu, Tokyo.
The opening match of #RWC will be between Japan and Russia at 12:45 CEST and broadcasted on: eir sport 1 UK HD, ESPN Brasil, ITV 1, Prosieben MAXX Germany, RTE 2 Ireland, STV, SuperSport 1 South Africa, TF1, UTV Ulster.
After 93 nations in qualifications, there are 20 contenders left for the Webb Ellis trophy.
Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Russia, Samoa
Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Namibia, Canada
Pool C: England, France, Argentina, United States, Tonga
Pool D: Australia, Wales, Georgia, Fiji, Uruguay
All Blacks are coming to Japan with 3 World Cup wins, including the first-ever, back in 1987. and the last one in 2015, while the Irish team is entering the tournament as first on World Rugby Men´s Rankings for the first time in history.
The best possible draw for New Zealand and South Africa is that they are in the same group. They won’t meet in the knock out stage, which is unfortunate for everyone else.
One thing is certain with Scotland – their inconsistency. It will be interesting to see which side of them will show up against Japan, an emerging force in rugby.
While South Africa is coming with a young team, England is facing a tough pool with three big teams. Wales lost their key man, Gareth Anscombe, to injury, but with beating England in the warm-up games and with a Six Nations grand slam at their backs, sports experts say that it is all looking good for the Welsh.
Rugby World Cup 2019 broadcast: UK: ITV, IR: EIRCOM, FR: TF1, IT: RAI, RU: Match TV, USA: Universal NBC, BR: ESPN, JP: DENTSU, MENA: beIN Sport, AU: FOX, NZ: SPARK
The Rugby World Cup finals will be held on November 2nd at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.