TOKYO: The 2019 Rugby World Cup has kicked off in Japan. Twenty teams are competing for the title.
In the tournament's opener on Friday, host Japan easily defeated Russia 30-10.
The teams are split into four pools, with the top two in each advancing to the knockout stages.
Japan is currently ranked 10th in the world, and will be hoping to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
It is the first time the tournament has been held in Asia and more than 90 percent of the tickets have already been sold.
The next six weeks will see 48 games at 12 venues across Japan as the players compete for Rugby Union's highest honor.
A joint survey conducted by ITWP companies Harris Interactive, a full-service digital consultative market research agency, and Toluna, a leading consumer intelligence platform that delivers insights on demand, found that despite this year’s World Cup taking place in Japan, almost two-thirds (64%) of the native respondents have no interest in the sport of Rugby Union. Instead, the research shows excitement among rugby fans in Great Britain, with 51% of viewers planning to tune in to all matches, and in other regions of the world.
The report targeted 4,400 members of the public, across regions including Europe (Great Britain, France and Italy), Asia Pacific (Japan, Australia and New Zealand), South America (Argentina) and Africa (South Africa). The results found that while one-fifth of Great Britain’s citizens self-identify as “big fans” of Rugby Union, other markets including South Africa (37%) and New Zealand (33%) have an even greater presence of Rugby Union fans. While the host nation, in contrast, claims just 15% of consumers who categorize themselves as “big fans” of the sport. However, overall awareness is high, with 84% of Japanese consumers knowing that the tournament is taking place.
“It’s estimated that more than 6 million people enjoy rugby worldwide. Reaching fans in countries across four continents, in multiple languages and in multiple time zones is a difficult task that requires broad expertise and refined technologies,” said Lee Langford, research director and sports specialist at Harris Interactive UK. “With a panel community of more than 30 million members, Harris and Toluna delivered the thoughts and opinions of these disparate fans in less than 36 hours to arm marketers with a better understanding as to where ad dollars could be best spent during the tournament.”
Over 15% of the public across all markets will likely watch all or most matches, with as many as 44% of viewers planning to tune in to all matches featuring their favourite team. This figure rises to 51% for viewers in Great Britain, where many of the games will be broadcast very early in the morning, and is highest in South Africa (63%). Only 32% of Japanese viewers believe they will watch all of Japan’s matches in the tournament.
Unlike the FIFA World Cup, respondents indicated that global productivity will not take a hit during the rugby tournament. Only 12% of fans overall said they are likely to take a “sickie” (call in sick to work or college), yet this figure rises to 16% in South Africa and 20% in Australia. At only 8%, Kiwis are least likely to call in sick. Interestingly, Japanese workers are also above average on this question, with 14% willing to skip work for a day to support the host nation.
Japanese consumers are quite positive about the impact of the tournament, 22% believing it will improve Japan’s standing on the world stage. More concretely, 17% of survey participants across other markets said they are more likely to visit Japan in the future specifically because it can stage a major global event like the Rugby World Cup. The tournament is also slated to benefit the Japanese economy by around 217 billion yen ($1.5 billion), and the results bode well for the Olympic Games that will be held in Tokyo in summer 2020.
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