Japan wants to host Rugby World Cup again in 2035

TOKYO – Japan wants to host the World Cup again as early as 2035, the country’s rugby union chief said, potentially bringing it back to Asia for a second time.

Japan became the first country outside rugby’s traditional heartlands to stage the tournament in 2019, when they stunned Ireland and Scotland to reach the quarter-finals.

They were knocked out by eventual champions South Africa.

Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi said on Wednesday that he had told governing body World Rugby that Japan wants to host the men’s World Cup in 2035 and the women’s event in 2037.

Future hosts recently named by World Rugby have been awarded both the men’s tournament and the women’s event, which takes place two years later.

Iwabuchi said the Brave Blossoms “want to be the No. 1 team in the world when we host it”.

“We’ve informed World Rugby that we want to do it then at the earliest (2035), and we will move forward looking at when the conditions allow us to actually host it,” he said.

Iwabuchi was the first Japanese to play professional rugby in England when he joined Saracens in 2000. The former fly-half also previously coached the men’s national sevens team.

The JRFU is also aiming to double the number of registered women players from 5,000 in 2022 by 2050, with the long-term goal of winning the 2048 Olympic Games women’s sevens gold.

Australia will stage the men’s World Cup in 2027 and the women’s event in 2029, while the United States will host the men’s event in 2031 and the women’s tournament in 2033.

France will host this year’s men’s World Cup, which starts in September. Kyodo News reported that the JRFU has set aside bonuses of five million yen (S$49,800) per player if Japan win either the men or women’s World Cup and one million yen if they reach the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, in a blow to the 2019 runners-up, Billy Vunipola will miss the rest of the domestic season after sustaining a knee injury, his club Saracens said on Wednesday, dealing a major setback to the No. 8’s hopes of an England recall ahead of the World Cup.

Vunipola was carried off on a stretcher in the first half of Saracens’ Champions Cup quarter-final defeat by La Rochelle on Sunday. Premiership leaders Saracens did not disclose when Vunipola was expected to return. British media reported he is set to undergo surgery on Thursday.

The 30-year-old will miss Saracens’ last three games of the regular season, which ends on May 6, and their home semi-final a week later.

Vunipola has won 68 caps since his England debut in 2013 but last played in November’s loss to South Africa. He started every match for England at the 2019 World Cup, where they lost to South Africa in the final.

Before the injury, Vunipola’s fine form for Saracens had put him in the frame for a return to the England squad for the Sept 8-Oct 28 showpiece event. AFP, REUTERS