As the countdown clock has started showing exactly one year to go for the much-anticipated 2019 Rugby World Cup, all eyes are on the hosts, Japan. 

One of the most watched sporting events after the Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup football is setting its foot on the Asian soil for the first time in its history. 

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont believes that Japan 2019 will be “a very special and game-changing Rugby World Cup” as the one year to go milestone was marked with a series of celebrations across the host nation.  

The quadrennial marquee event, featuring the world's top 20 teams, will get underway on September 20, 2019, in the “Land of the Rising Sun” and the Japanese are leaving no stone unturned to make the sporting extravaganza nation a mega success ahead of the much-awaited 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

“World Rugby selected Japan as we believed in the tremendous opportunity to further the sport across Asia, and I am delighted to say that with a year to go, we are confident that Japan 2019 will be a very special, successful and game-changing Rugby World Cup.”

Quite interestingly, rugby, a sport that originated in an eponymous Victorian-era school in the UK, has been a moderately popular sport in a multi-sports nation like Japan and their national team, nicknamed The Cherry Blossoms, is ranked 11th in the world. 

The contact sport, over the past few decades, has witnessed the emergence of a slew of countries in the British isle, France, South Africa and the island nations from Oceania, led by New Zealand and Australia, as its main powerhouses. 

In Japan, rugby union falls far behind some of the other team sports like baseball, football, basketball and volleyball, and even though the Japanese have been taking part in every World Cup edition since its inception year in 1987, their second-ever victory in the tournament's history came against the mighty South Africans in 2015 when the minnows, spearheaded by Ayumu Goromaru and under the coaching former Australian boss and current England coach Eddie Jones, caused the biggest upset in the history of professional rugby history with their 34-32 win over the Springboks. 

However, unlike the past editions which saw some of the former winners of the Web Ellis Cup like New Zealand, England, South Africa and Australia, playing the host nations, Japan is arguably the host country with the least amount of success in the rugby union. 

Beaumont, a member of the World Rugby Council that selected Japan as host nine years ago, however, is confident that the organizers are making good in their bid promises. 

“It will be the most impactful Rugby World Cup ever, attracting and retaining more than one million new rugby players in Asia.” 

In terms of economy, the mega event may see a windfall as more than 400,000 visitors set to travel to Japan for the six-week tournament. “Japan 2019 will also benefit the whole of the nation from Sapporo in the north to Kumamoto in the south, delivering rugby and sports facilities for communities to enjoy, while pumping ¥216.6 billion added value into the economy,” he added. 

An upbeat Akira Shimazu, the CEO of the Japan Rugby 2019 Organising Committee, mentioned: “Rugby World Cup 2019 will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the people of Japan and rugby fans from across the world. Hosting Asia's first Rugby World Cup is a dream come true for millions of Japanese rugby fans and a wonderful opportunity to showcase Japan to the worldwide rugby community.” 

However, the biggest challenge for the Japanese will be their performance on the field and all eyes will be on whether they can join the league of the greatest rugby nations, featuring the invincible All Blacks, the indomitable Boks, the mighty Wallabies, the impregnable Les Bleus and the flamboyant Los Pumas or remain a rank-outsider in the big league of rugby union with almost negligible success.