The Rugby World Cup kicked off in Tokyo on September 20 with the opener between the host nation and Russia, but it was the matches the following day which were the bigger draw cards; the 2015 runner-up Australia took on Fiji in Sapporo, France met Argentina in Tokyo and the reigning World Cup champions, the mighty New Zealand All Blacks took on South Africa in Yokahama.
Over the six weeks of Rugby, you will see why they call it “the game they play in heaven”.
The tournament will really heat in the knockout phase, commencing October 19, where the winner of Pool C play the runner-up of Pool D and the winner of Pool B play the runner-up of Pool A.
On Sunday October 20, the winner of Pool D will play the runner-up of Pool C and the winner of Pool A will play the runner-up of Pool B.
If everything goes as planned, the matches should be as follows:
Saturday October 19 England vs Wales – Oita Stadium, Oita Prefecture New Zealand vs Scotland – Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo
Sunday October 20 Australia vs France – Oita Stadium, Oita Prefecture Ireland vs South Africa – Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo
The semi-finals will be played on Saturday 26th of October and Sunday October 27th, with the final being played on Saturday November 2 at the International Stadium Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama City.
