OpinionWorld Cup 2019 might boost rugby in Japan, but forget about the rest of us in Asia

Organisers of the rugby showpiece to be staged in four years want to embrace the region, but the stark reality is that the tournament is the host country’s celebration

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Published: 1:15am, 8 Nov 2015Updated: 2:14pm, 11 Nov 2015

Any Homo sapien, regardless of gender, who steps on a rugby pitch is a courageous soul. If you watched the Rugby World Cup final last weekend between New Zealand and Australia, you could not help being overwhelmed by the sheer physicality of the match.

It is a beautiful, gruellingly raw grind and the only sport I get bruises from just by watching. Rugby players and rugby people know this and proudly pin that culture on their chest like a cherished medallion.

Here it is, suck it up and let's get at it. When we are done pounding each other we will celebrate by sharing a beer together because respect for your teammates is as important as respect for your opponents. It's an honourable code, this thing called rugby and for the first time ever it is set to come to Asia. Well, kind of.

This is in every way, shape or form Japan's event. The country just happens to be in Asia

When the final whistle blew at Twickenham, west London's sprawling rugby union cathedral, and New Zealand retained their world championship, all eyes were now on Japan and the 2019 World Cup. There is and will be much talk from World Rugby that this will be Asia's World Cup.

But this is in every way, shape or form Japan's event. The country just happens to be in Asia. In the previous eight World Cups, Japan have been the only Asian team in the event and will have automatic qualification because of being the host.

A boy tries to catch a rugby ball during a one-day kids' rugby class organised by a school in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Reuters

The direct Asian qualifying berth in the event could be scrapped now with the top continental team doing battle with the powerful Oceania region for that spot in the tournament. The second highest-ranked Asian team in the world after number 10 Japan is Hong Kong at 24 followed by South Korea at 25. But don't expect to see either in Japan in 2019, unless World Rugby has a sudden fit of enlightenment.

Far nobler, I guess, to let countries like Namibia and Georgia lose by 60 points than have interlopers like Hong Kong or South Korea suffer a similar fate on Asian soil in 2019.