Four years after it hosted, in Bill Beaumont’s words, “probably the greatest” Rugby World Cup, Japan’s meeting with England could be a similarly pivotal moment for the country’s relationship with the oval ball. Many of the fans lucky enough to have travelled to the tournament’s 2019 incarnation will recall six weeks of often scintillating rugby, much of it provided by the hosts, and what turned out to be the last, unconstrained celebration of international sport before the arrival of Covid-19.
The first country in Asia to host the Rugby World Cup has emerged from the pandemic with its credentials as a knockout-round contender just about intact, with an eye on carrying off the kind of upset in Nice that, four years ago, redefined what it means to be a genuine rugby nation.
