World Rugby took a risk awarding Japan the hosting of this year’s World Cup, but it has turned out to be a great decision, CEO Brett Gosper said.
Announcing two World Cup hosts as the organization did in 2009 should be something the World Rugby board considers doing on a permanent basis, the 60-year-old Australian added.
Gosper — speaking to reporters with just less than 50 days to go to Japan playing Russia in the opening match in the sport’s quadrennial showpiece — said it had been a courageous decision to go outside the sport’s heartlands in awarding Asia the continent’s first hosting of the tournament.
“World Rugby made a bold decision and as it turned out one of its soundest and great decisions,” Gosper said. “They took a risk with Japan, but it seems to be working out extremely positively.”
“You can be strategic, because by nominating England for the 2015 edition — relatively low risk with promise of high returns — gave us the time and the assurance to delve into the uncharted territory of Japan hosting the tournament,” he added.
Gosper — whose own rugby playing career included time with the flamboyant French side Racing 92, renowned for turning out in pink bowties and toasting each other on the pitch with glasses of champagne — pointed to ticket sales and the level of interest within Japan as evidence.
“The ticket sales are exceptional — 5.5 million applications is a record for a Rugby World Cup, ahead of England [in 2015], while we have sold more than 85 percent of tickets with one sales phase left to go on Aug. 10, which is a great place to be,” he said.
“I would love to say that we knew this would be the case all along, but it was us asking the hosts: ‘Are you going to fill the stadia?’ and in fact it was the least of their concerns,” Gosper said. “The Japanese love big events, they really buy into them and they are definitely proving that.”
A domestic record for a rugby match on TV is expected to be set with an anticipated 40 million viewers due to watch the hosts’ match with Russia, and Gosper believes that interest would not dip, even if Japan bow out in the pool stage.
“We had a trial run in England in 2015 when the host did not get through,” he said. “By that stage we are entering the knockout rounds, so interest is heightened in any case.”
“The Japanese are excellent hosts and they will get behind all the teams, while a third of the tickets have been sold to foreigners in any case,” he added.
Gosper said that the legacy would be judged in key areas such as widening rugby’s appeal and increasing the numbers playing it in Asia.
“The growth in the fan base — presently 330 million — generally grows by 10 percent during a World Cup,” he said. “Over six weeks we would be looking at adding 20 to 30 million, which falls back afterward. However, we would be looking to keep 7 to 10 percent of those on with past experience, the growth areas being Germany, India and China.”
“This one we would hope for particular interest from Malaysia and Indonesia,” he added.
Gosper is especially encouraged having exceeded the target of getting 1 million new participants playing rugby in Asia.
“The key now is retention,” he said. “The World Cup focuses minds on mass participation, whether it be touch rugby or schools.”
“Obviously, if every school child in Japan turned up one morning wanting to play rugby we might have a problem,” he said. “However, we have definitely sparked real interest in playing the game, which was a major goal.”
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwanese martial artists bagged one gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the World Junior Wushu Championships in Brunei, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam said yesterday. Liu Yu-tzu won the gold medal in the girl’s taijiquan A group and also picked up a silver medal in the girl’s taijijian A group. Hu Hsin-ling, Yu Min-hsun and Chen Chao-hsiang each won a silver medal in the girl’s jianshu B, boy’s nangun B and boy’s taijijian A groups respectively. Hu also won a bronze medal in the girl’s qiangshu B group, while Yu and Lin Shih-hung picked up bronze medals
RSS