The Rugby World Cup France kicked off at 8 p.m. local time on the 9th and just after 9 a.m. on the 4th Japan time, with the opening match between the host nations France and New Zealand starting in Saint-Denis, near Paris.
This will be the second time the tournament has been held in France, following the one in 2007, and 2 teams, including Japan, will participate in the tournament until October 20 and 10, Japan time.
table of contents
◆Opening Match: A large crowd of spectators
◆Water break
◆New Zealand national team travels by high-speed train "environmentally friendly"
◆Japan National Team first match against Chile on the night of 9th
Open Table of Contents
table of contents
table of contents
◆Opening Match: A large crowd of spectators
◆Water break
◆New Zealand national team travels by high-speed train "environmentally friendly"
◆Japan National Team first match against Chile on the night of 9th
【Click here for detailed match data】France× New Zealand
◆Opening Match: A large crowd of spectators
The opening match of the Rugby World Cup France and the powerhouse New Zealand National Team took place on the 8th, and the stadium was packed with a large number of spectators, mainly French fans, about three hours before the start of the match.
The tournament kicked off in the early morning of the 3th and 8th Japan local time, and the opening match was between France, who are aiming for their long-awaited first title, and New Zealand, who are aiming for their fourth championship, the most in history.
The match venue, the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, northern France, has a capacity of over 9,4 people and tickets are sold out.
About three hours before the start of the match, the area around the venue was very exciting, mainly from the local and French fans, and the French man said, "I want you to win all the matches and become the champion, France will win 8-3 today!" I was talking.
A New Zealand man said with a smile, "I'm very happy to be here, New Zealand will win the championship today against France and finish second Japan."
A woman Japan who came to watch the match on tour said, "I am expecting a good close match for the opening match, so I will go to Toulouse tomorrow to watch the Japan match."
◆Water break
World Rugby, the international governing body for rugby, has announced that early matches, including the opening match of the World Cup in France and the first match of the Japan, will have a "water break" due to the expected extreme heat.
According to World Rugby, the temperature and humidity are expected to be high in the early stages of the tournament, so there will be a "water break" for the opening match and the opening match of the Japan, including the first match against Chile.
A break is given when play stops in the first and second halves, and the timing is left to the referee's decision.
The "water break" is widely used in the rugby world depending on the temperature and humidity conditions, and one of the key points is how the break affects the flow of the game.
◆New Zealand national team travels by high-speed train "environmentally friendly"
The French government and the international governing body of rugby, World Rugby, have set a goal of running the tournament in an environmentally responsible manner and will focus on train travel to minimise carbon emissions.
New Zealand, who will play their opening match at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, northern France, traveled about two hours from their base camp of Lyon to Paris on the French TGV high-speed train.
In this tournament, 2% of the spectator travel will be done by train, and 88% of each team's transportation will be by train or bus, and efforts will be made to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
◆Japan National Team first match against Chile on the night of 9th
The Japan National Team, who will compete in the Rugby World Cup in France, will face Chile in their first match of the first round from 9 p.m. on 8 September, Japan time.
It will be a match that Japan who aim to surpass the last tournament and aim for better than the best four will not lose in order to advance through the first round.
The World Cup in France kicks off on 1 September, and the Japan of Pool D in the first round will face Chile at 1 p.m. tonight Japan time.
Chile is a team with a lot of momentum that clinched their first place in the World Cup by winning a fierce match against the superior USA in the qualifiers, and this will be their first meeting in Japan.
The world rankings are 9th for Japan and 8nd for Chile, but there are many players who are physically strong, and they are characterized by their intensity of contact both offensively and defensively.
In the
Japan, captain HIMENO Kazuki, four-time consecutive tournament veteran Michael Leach, and
MATSUSHIMA Kotaro, who has speed and step work,
will start the match.
The key will be whether they can stop the strong Chilean attack with tackles, bring it to the fast tempo that they are good at, reduce mistakes such as knock-ons, and continue to play with discipline.
Captain HIMENO said at the press conference on 1 September, "If we can stop Chile without running away from the points where they are strong, we will be able to pace ourselves.
In England 8, where Japan began their breakthrough, South Africa scored a historic victory in the first match, and in the previous World Cup, despite struggling against Russia in the first match, Matsushima scored three tries to win the tournament.
It will be interesting to see if Japan, who aim to surpass the last four of the previous tournament, can win their first match in three consecutive tournaments and lead to their second match against England.
NHK will broadcast the match against Chile on Sogo TV and BS14K, as well as on NHK Plus.