Japan's stunning upset proof World Rugby expansionism is working

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  • Japan's victory over South Africa stunned the rugby world.

    The Rugby World Cup is just a matter of days old, but there has already been a massive upset. South Africa, the third ranked team in the world, have lost to Japan. It has produced surprise and delight the world over, but for those that run rugby this is all part of the plan. Their aim is to spread the sport far and wide.

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    Like Japan, the USA in not somewhere that you would associate with Rugby Union. But in November 2014 the USA Eagles hosted New Zealand at Soldier Field, Chicago. A beautiful autumn day saw a sell-out crowd of 61,500 witness the reigning world champions destroy their hosts 74-6. The All Blacks crossed over for 12 tries, the USA only managed two converted penalties. It was not much of a sporting contest, but it was a sporting occasion and one of the clearest examples of World Rugby, the sport’s governing body, successfully expanding its global footprint.

    The next Rugby World Cup in 2019 will take place in Japan. It was a decision derided by many due to the country’s laughable record at the global showpiece. Heading into this year’s tournament, Japan had gone 16 World Cup games without a victory, stretching back to a win against Zimbabwe in 1991. Their record read: P24 W1 D2 L21.

    Japan against-the-odds win is as strong a vindication as any of World Rugby’s philosophy of pushing for growth. Despite people asking if it is all going too fast, there is no getting away from how successful it has been; upsets can still happen and when they do they create great stories and create excitement in new markets. In China, the current Holy Grail for sporting money men, the granting of Olympic status to Rugby Sevens has seen a huge increase in participation and state funding too.

    “We have massive potential to grow the game in Asia,” World Rugby head of development Morgan Buckley tells Sport360. “The win by Japan will inspire great belief and confidence in Asia and the Tier 2 Unions. It will also inspire development of the game in Japan as we build towards 2019. We have launched Get Into rugby in Japan and across Asia and this result will create new respect and interest.”

    The World Cup trophy tour took in Shanghai, where World Rugby are keen to grow the game.

    Twenty teams are currently competing in the World Cup in England and Wales and the number will remain the same for 2019. But for the 2023 tournament there are discussions of increasing the number of participants further. Brett Gosper, the head of World Rugby, said in May this year that a larger event is not off the table. "As the sport grows and we conquer new markets, the discussion is about looking towards expanding [of the World Cup], rather than contracting."

    Like Gosper, Buckley is delighted with the direction in which the sport is heading. The appearance of Rugby Sevens at the 2016 Olympics – the first time it has been included since 1924 – will be a major milestone.

    “The Olympic games are the absolute pinnacle for many sports in terms of broadcasting,” Buckley tells Sport360. “It will be shown next August on every TV. Every country will have access to the Olympic games, and if you travel around in train stations and in public places the Olympic games will be on. So we will see Rugby Sevens in August next year truly global in a way it has never experienced before. We want to be ready for that and make sure that countries have good pathways to get kids started in rugby.”

    Hoping the 2016 Olympics will be rugby sevens' big break in the US https://t.co/Lb5V0HAPLk

    — Bryan Allen (@b_rye) September 15, 2015

    The expectation is that new eyeballs on the sport will lead to a further increase in participation, but the numbers are already impressive. The “Get into Rugby” programme that seeks to spread the sport has already seen an extra 600,000 people take it up. Since 2007 the number of people playing Rugby Union has increased by over five million to a total of 7.23 million active participants. While Buckley says there has not been resistance from member unions to this expansionist agenda there have been some mutterings about the priorities of seeking to expand rather supporting those countries already playing the sport.

    Mat Cole, the founder of the sports recruitment website Sporple, wrote in the Daily Telegraph in June that rugby should build on its existing player base rather than spreading itself too thin.

    “We should support the nations that already excel at playing the game”, he wrote. “By making sure they have proper pitches, top-class coaches and a governing body that means they get their wages, so they don’t have to go village to village to raise the money for their plane tickets to matches. This sort of support will create a better, more skilled and exciting competition.”

    The plan is to use the 2015 World Cup to further increase worldwide participation. World Rugby has done a deal with the English rugby authorities and Sport England to work with 17 European countries to move the game forward there. In China, the hope is that the 2015 World Cup will be shown on terrestrial TV in 80million homes. In Brazil, Buckley and his team have already started working with local clubs in Rio de Janeiro to make the most of the Sevens appearing at the Olympics.

    The revenue from this World Cup is expected to be in the region of £140 million (Dh800m), the most ever made from the tournament and 140 times what was earned from the inaugural edition in 1987. The plan is to invest £8.2 million (Dh47m) in development in 2015 – the second largest spend after arranging tournaments.

    As Cole points out, there are issues with infrastructure and governance in countries where rugby is well established, but to say that this should stop further expansion is short sighted. Any sport needs a constant influx of new participants and fans to avoid standing still, let alone to increase its foothold with a worldwide population that has ever more reasons to be distracted by something else.

    "Any sport needs a constant influx of new participants and fans to avoid standing still, let alone to increase its foothold."

    Buckley says the goal is to be aware of the different challenges in place, and getting the infrastructure right is a priority.

    “We have a team of development officers that visit each of the Unions on an annual basis,” Buckley says. “The challenge is organic growth which takes time and has to be sustainable. In some countries things move slower but there is a sense that the values of rugby and what we offer is of great interest to many countries.”

    If the current rate of expansion is maintained and the upsets keep on happening, by the time the World Cup arrives up in Japan in 2019, rugby could be well on its way to being a truly global sport. 

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