Japan gets the 2019 Rugby World Cup!

Big news for Japan - they will host the Rugby World Cup in 2019! Yeah, it's 10 years from now, but it's a start - hopefully by then rugby will be played competitively by more than 8 nations and we will see an interesting tournament.

Before then, England will host the 2015 tournament, as announced earlier today. Neither award is surprising as Rugby World Cup Ltd. - the IRB-controlled company that oversees each tournament - recently endorsed England and Japan as the strongest bidders. Still, after hosting the Junior World Championship earlier this year, Japan had high hopes and they were rewarded. But it's a long haul until then, so in the meantime I'll be following the sport to see if any new countries can challenge the status quo.

The next World Cup is in New Zealand in 2011 - still too early to plan a trip but with Canada making an appearance, I won't ignore the possibility. If you're not a rugby fan, now is the time to start following. It's a great sport that just needs a few more nations to become competitive to make the World Cup a truly international spectacle.

Best,

Sean