Six examples of how RWC has powered rugby's global growth

Major changes to the hierarchy of international rugby generally occur at a glacial speed. However it is worth looking at some of the biggest success stories of where increases in growth and popularity have happened outside the "foundation Unions" (made up of the old Five Nations and Tri Nations) from over the past 20 or so years.

A common theme in each of these examples is that every single one illustrates the pivotal role the World Cup has had in driving of the sport's growth and expansion in new areas.   

Argentina (1999 & 2007)

Argentina, just like most of the Five Nations, suffered their record heaviest defeat in the early professional era period (where SANZAR professionalised earlier) when in 1997 an amateur side got thrashed 93-8 by New Zealand. It was obvious mostly amateur players would no longer compete with these teams.

Fortunately though a special generation of Argentines born 1973-77 would all emerge at roughly the same time and form the core of the team for the next three World Cups. (Agustín Pichot, Mario Ledesma, Felipe Contepomi, Rodrigo Roncero, Martín Scelzo, Ignacio Fernández Lobbe, Gonzalo Longo, Diego Albanese, Ignacio Corleto, Manuel Contepomi).

Prior to 1999, Los Pumas had disappointingly only won 1 out 9 of their previous RWC games (vs Italy in 1987). This generation changed that. Upsetting Ireland to reach the quarter finals for the first time and firmly putting Argentine rugby on the world map. In the 18 months or so afterwards, the squad was transformed from only having two or three professional players to nearly an entire team playing at a high level in France or England.

Argentina shock France in the opening game of RWC 2007

That first stage of growth led to the second stage when a more experienced team showed up at RWC 2007 and did even better. In a "pool of death" with #1 and #2 of that year's Six Nations, Los Pumas shocked France in the opening game of their home World Cup, then swept aside Ireland to top the pool, and went onto reach the semi finals and win the bronze medal.

Argentina had achieved some big results before (they had beaten all the Six Nations over that four cycle including an away win at Twickenham). However it was this World Cup that captured the public imagination of the country like never before. It was in this tournament this generation confirmed a legacy for future growth.

This is shown today by how the sport has spread across the country. In 2007, 26 of the 30 man squad were from Buenos Aires. Now 13 of the 23 that beat the All Blacks, and all 7 try scorers in their recent record win over the Wallabies, were from other parts of the country. Both those matches were in the Rugby Championship, where the overdue Argentine inclusion was another legacy from that generation's achievement.

Georgia (2007)

To understand how much Georgian rugby has evolved. It always worth going back to this description from The Guardian of their team at the 2003 World Cup.

There was a buzz of excitement in the Georgia camp last week as they rounded off their final training runs at La Grande Motte on the shores of the Mediterranean in southern France.

At last, the 30 members of Georgia's World Cup squad were to receive their first official piece of equipment: tracksuits, paid for by their coach, the Frenchman Claude Saurel, and the other team officials, who had all chipped in to ensure that the players would have at least one piece of equipment in common before they arrived in Australia.

The former Béziers coach and Languedoc winegrower has also forked out for a video camera, computer and tape machine in an attempt to replicate the sophisticated analysis systems now used by major international teams.

"We are light years behind teams like England or France but we realise there is nothing much we can do about it," confided Gregoire Yachvili, the Georgian flanker whose brother, Dimitri, is the scrum-half for France.

"There is no point in our getting obsessed by the logistical and financial difficulties; we just have to get on and do our best. We might not have any tackle-bags, we have no body armour and we have to borrow a scrum machine, but we've got a ball, we've got a pitch to play on, and two teams of players... What else do you need to train for a game of rugby?"

Even more disastrous for the Georgians has been the ad hoc nature of their build-up. A training camp in the mountains of Georgia and a two-match tour of Canada were reluctantly cancelled in July for financial reasons.

At this point Georgian rugby had almost nothing but got by just from natural talent and predisposition for the rough and tumble of the sport along with the helpful generosity of coach Claude Saurel (who used his contacts to first open the doors for Georgian players to play in France - initially in lower leagues but gradually more in higher teams).

Georgia powering to their first RWC win in 2007

Still going in to RWC 2007 there were reports of only eight pitches in the country. But this tournament was a turning point where they most famously came ever so close beating Ireland (indeed they really should won that match). They were also only 6-3 behind vs Argentina at 45 minutes, and resoundingly recorded their first RWC win 30-0 vs Namibia.

It was after this the Georgian government and politicians took notice and started to support the side. In particular from 2008 the Cartu Foundation started investing heavily in improving infrastructure. This enabled the new generation of young kids inspired by Gorgodze to play the sport to enjoy facilities a world apart from what the earlier players in the 2000s had.

The result is Georgia is now one of the leading producers of young talent outside "Tier 1", and have established themselves as the top side of the REC, with a far stronger, more skilled, and professional group of players many of which now star in Top 14 or Pro D2.

Portugal (2007)

Heading into their first World Cup back in 2007. Portugal were supposed to be the exemplar of a team World Rugby wanted to boot out as they planned to cut the tournament back to 16 teams for 2011.

BBC Sport's tournament preview listed their weaknesses as "pretty much everything" and that "hopefully the mismatches they face will not end in serious injury". In The Guardian veteran BBC radio commentator Iain Robertson argued passionately against their presence at the event stating "there is a serious risk to the physical welfare of the Portuguese players" and "it will be an embarrassment for rugby". This was a commonly repeated sentiment at the time among journalists.

Portugal's passionate anthem singing at RWC 2007

In the end whilst they did suffer the largest defeat of that tournament (108-13 against a ruthless all time great All Blacks team), the team won over many spectators with the passion and heart they showed despite their limitations, and their fans in the stands never stopped cheering for them throughout the match. Every single Portuguese player and staff still reflects back on the match as an amazing experience.

Also despite being given least rest time of any team in the tournament they competed above expectation in other matches. They were only 16-5 down to Italy after 65 minutes before fading and conceding two late tries, and led Romania for 71 minutes before losing 14-10 to another late try.

They defied those predictions of how their matches could be "an embarrassment for rugby" and many fans enjoyed watching them play and now argued in favour of keeping sides like them in the tournament. More importantly, their efforts also led to an immediate surge of interest in the sport at home, with large numbers of more kids turning up to play.

Although in the following years they dropped down the rankings, reaching a low in 2016 with relegation from the REC, the legacy of that 2007 World Cup team lived on. As around 10 years later many of those kids who were inspired to take up the sport around that time became part of the growth of Portuguese youth rugby which started performing well above its senior ranking and nearly reaching promotion to the U20 Championship.

A number of those U20 players from 2017-19 were quickly promoted to the senior team, and along with some added French experience, now form the basis of one of the most exciting young teams on the "Tier 2" scene, and who in the past year have nearly upset Japan, Georgia, Italy, and were within 10 seconds of qualifying directly for the RWC ("nearly" is a word they will be so desperate not to hear again this November in the Repechage). 

Japan (2015)

The interest in Japanese rugby had long dwindled in the modern era. When in 2009 they were awarded hosting rights to the 2019 World Cup, there was some concern about whether they could fill the grounds for all the smaller matches. Unless a "Tier 1" team came to visit (which was rare - Japan did not host them a single "Tier 1" test between 2005 and 2013), crowds were usually very modest for their usual Pacific Nations Cup matches.

The moment that changed Japanese rugby forever

Then everything changed in September 2015 when Japan shocked the world with the biggest upset in World Cup history against the Springboks. After many years of humiliation against the leading teams on the big stage, Japanese rugby became an overnight sensation and interest instantly boomed with the Brave Blossoms matches attracting some huge TV viewing figures.

A hypothetical win over South Africa in a friendly outside the World Cup would have been equally shocking, but the magnitude of the enormous effect it had on the Japanese public was so much more for the result coming at the sport's showpiece event when the entire world's attention on that match.

If you ever play the match of your life and stage a monumental upset. It is always best to do it on the world stage with every rugby fan watching. One huge match at a World Cup can change everything and leave a legacy.

Not everything has necessarily been perfect in capitalising on that success. but regardless the level of interest remains miles above what it was before 2015 and that momentous match in Brighton, and in the end nobody needed to have worried about the World Cup as the Japanese crowd enthusiastically packed every stadium for every match.

The impact of this match (followed by the repeated heroics at their home RWC four years later) could still be felt more further down the road if the increase in young kids inspired to start rugby as a result of it later brings its benefits to senior level.   

Uruguay (2015)

Uruguay's win over Russia in 2014 has ended up
being significant for all of South American rugby

Uruguay reached the World Cup in 1999 and 2003, but it was their return to the tournament after defeating Russia in 2014 that led to major growth and change to the sport in the country. Indeed that match in Montevideo may be one of the most significantly important matches in South American rugby history.

Heading into RWC 2015 they proudly talking of their amateur status. Afterwards, with the unlocked funding and ambition they gained from the tournament, they launched a new era under coach Esteban Meneses.

This involved leading players signing up to a more professional High Performance system and better schedule of matches. Although it was not all plain sailing (they had miserable November tours in 2016 and 2018), they arrived at the 2019 World Cup a far better prepared outfit having qualified without needing to go through the Repechage and beaten all the four national teams in the now defunct Americas Rugby Championship that year.

Los Teros played three of the same opponents (Wales, Australia, Fiji) in 2019 as they did in 2015. In every match they were more competitive than they had been four years earlier. Improving from an 166-27 aggregate score against them to an 107-53 aggregate score. This of course included their all time best ever result with the upset vs Fiji.

That improved level Uruguay showed in 2019 would never have been possible if they hadn't qualified beating Russia in 2014 first. Their success then added to the entire South American rugby ecosystem and with that came another bonus bit of growth as well.

If Uruguay didn't reach RWC 2015 it is far less likely the new South American domestic league SLAR would have launched in 2020, and if that league had not launched it is likely Chile would never have been able to obtain a more professional High Performance system of their own, and without that their defeat of the USA to become the biggest surprise qualifier in recent World Cup history would not have likely been possible. 

USA (1999-2019)

This case is a bit different to all the others mentioned here. USA Rugby is far from at its highest point, and cannot be said to have made the level of progress some may have hoped. There is a good chance they may even not qualify for the World Cup next year.

Would USA's historic win over Scotland have
happened if they had missed RWCs for over 20 years?

However they are still a success story of the World Cup in that it has prevented decline as much as helped growth. To understand this you need to ask yourself a counterfactual. What would the state of USA Rugby look like today if the tournament had never expanded and remained at 16 teams and Canada kept the Eagles out of the event for over 20 years? (2019 was the first time USA beat Canada to take the Americas qualifying spot).

My guess is that they would probably be about several years behind where they are now. The Major League Rugby project would be not yet be in existence. Nor would have they got that historic win over Scotland in 2018. And probably can forget about the plan for them to host the World Cup in 2031. Rugby League may have even seen an opportunity to attempt targeting them as a region where Union was weaker.

(Similarly when looking at Italy in the Six Nations. They may not have been great, but in the counterfactual world where they were ignored by the Five Nations like Romania in the 1980s, they would have likely fallen to the level of a mid-table REC side and had none of the money to invest in improving their youth which now so looks to promising for a brighter future).

Some have hypothesised World Rugby expanded to 20 teams in 1999 to keep the USA involved after were left out for the first time in 1995. There are no direct quotes saying this was the reason, and there were plans in the 2000s to reduce the format to leave them out again, but if it was the reason it was a sensible one. Now there is a speculation among fans if them missing out again in 2023 will lead WR to hurry up and increase to 24 teams for 2027 not 2031.

Conclusion: RWC is the key driver of the sport's growth and must be understood as investment for the FUTURE not the just the present

Nothing else over the past 20 years has been as consistently proven to significantly grow the sport outside the old Five Nations and Tri Nations sides as the World Cup.

The most important lesson to learn though is the Rugby World Cup is about the future as much as the present. This is relevant to today's discussions over potential expansion to a 24 team tournament.

For much of the 2000s there were frequent discussions over mismatches at the tournament. In 2002 the RFU bid for the 2007 World Cup with a plan to cut it down to 16 teams. That failed as France won the bid and kept the 20 team format, but World Rugby again initially planned to reduce the tournament to 16 for 2011.

Portugal vs Georgia this year would have likely been
of a much lower standard if the short termist RFU had
gotten their way and cut them both out of RWC 2007

We can now see just how disastrously short termist those plans were. If the RFU had won that bid and enacted their plan neither Georgia or Portugal would have been at the 2007 World Cup. The investment since 2008 in Georgian rugby simply would not have happened. Some of those kids who took up rugby in Portugal and now are playing such good rugby for the national team may have never picked up the sport.

RWCs also serve as a good arena for talent to get noticed. For example USA vs South Africa match in 2007 launched two successful pro careers. Chris Wyles, who was unattached and on the verge of quitting rugby, got noticed by Eddie Jones and signed by Saracens. Whilst Takudzwa Ngwenya famously scorched Bryan Habana for one of the best tries in RWC history which led to a move to Biarritz. Both players went on to strengthen the Eagles across three World Cups. If RFU had their way none of that would have happened.

Similarly if they reduced to 16 teams Uruguay would have never qualified in 2015. Much of their progress over the next four year cycle would not have been possible, nor the improvements that spilled over to Chile over this four year cycle.

Even some of the sides that did still reach World Cups may have been negatively effected as the entire "Tier 2" global rugby ecosystem would have been weakened. A side like Japan would have still qualified, but their preparation for each tournament would have suffered from several of their opponents having made less progress.

Thankfully improved performances from "Tier 2" in 2007 changed minds on this issue. Not many talk of reducing to 16 teams any more, but now World Rugby remain wary of increasing to 24 teams for same reasons they were constantly thinking of cutting back to 16 in the 2000s.

It is true that total wipeouts are not desirable and you don't want to see too many. But fans and administrators also need to understand short term pain for long term gain. Georgia needed to first play 2003 to be the side that recently thrashed Scotland at U20 level. Portugal needed to play 2007 to be the exciting team they are today. Uruguay needed to first play 2015 to be more competitive in 2019 and Chile needed that to qualify for 2023.

Stories of growth like these are why World Rugby should stop being overly cautious about increasing to 24 teams for the 2027 World Cup. The tournament is the vehicle that has produced most of the sport's growth over the professional era and they have to think about expanding for the potential pay off in the future and not solely focus on the present.

Book Review: Eddie Jones Autobiography

Very few rugby people who have spent much time on the "Tier 2" international circuit have written books, so I picked up Eddie Jones' autobiography with particular interest in reading about his time coaching in Japan and memorable four year stint as national team head coach.

Unfortunately, if like me, what you were hoping for was some insight on Japanese rugby and the team that created probably the biggest shock in RWC history vs South Africa, then I cannot recommend this book as it appears clearly aimed towards more of a casual audience in England or Australia, and presumes that few care so much about the details of his work in Japan.

Indeed the section on his years in Japan between 2009 and 2015 is only just a bit longer than the following chapter on just his first few months in England.

You meet no more than just a couple of the key figures in his Japan team. Fumiaki Tanaka, Harumichi Tatekawa, Kosei Ono, Luke Thompson, Shota Horie, Hitoshi Ono, Kensuke Hatakeyama, Male Sa'u, and Amanaki Mafi do not get any mention whatsoever outside of a rehashed match report of the SA game.

He also doesn't even mention in passing a single match from an entire calendar year's worth of international rugby with Japan in 2014, but does go into detail about the time he had coffee with Dylan Hartley and he spoke to an elderly tea lady at the RFU base at Pennyhill Park, or the value of a psychologist who spent a couple weeks with his England backroom staff.

His account includes a handful factual blunders (perhaps his claim that he "won't sleep for more than four or five hours" a night is not helpful for memory). He appears to think he was coaching Suntory Sungoliath against Robbie Deans' Panasonic Wild Knights playing "Crusaders-style rugby" (Jones coached Suntory from 2009 to 2011, Deans only became Panasonic coach in 2014).

He also thinks Japan played Scotland, Russia, and Spain in their November tests of 2014 (that was in 2013, the tests Jones missed after the stroke he had just been describing on the preceding pages).

He thinks when Japan beat 13-10 Georgia in their final RWC warm up in 2015 that "we turned over their scrum and scored a try in the last minute" (simply untrue, they actually conceded five scrum penalties in that match, but won late on with a rolling maul).

Depending on how nit picky you want to be. You could find quite a number more instances of these lapses in Jones' memory and other rather odd pronouncements throughout the book.

According to Jones his match with Wales in 2016 was "rightly billed as a Grand Slam decider" (no it wasn't, because Wales had already drawn their first match), the three time reigning world champions South Africa are "the sleeping giant of world rugby", when he "needed a second row" [at the Reds] he had "the perfect player lined up" in a 185cm Rugby League player Luke O'Donnell, and perhaps most bizarrely of all that before RWC 2015 "few experts had given [Australia] much chance of even getting out of a group that included England and Wales" (at the time Australia had won 10 straight matches in six years vs Wales, and also recently beaten New Zealand and South Africa in the Rugby Championship).

Eddie Jones does talk quite a bit on the politics of Australian rugby and clashes with leaders at the ARU, whilst in the case of English rugby where he switches to give fulsome praise of his employers at the RFU (including their "genuine commitment to expand the global game") and only has some issues with the clubs. But totally ignores this behind the scenes aspect when it comes to Japanese rugby.

On departing his role as Japan coach he writes that:

I had thought I would remain in charge of Japan until the end of 2019. I had even signed a new four-year contract extension early in 2015. But a month before the World Cup I realized I couldn’t stay on. I worried that my coaching would stagnate and I knew that Japan would benefit from a different coach with fresh ideas. I also carried the painful memory of the mistake I made with the Wallabies when I should have moved on after the 2003 World Cup.

This is totally at odds with how the story was told in Japanese rugby at the time, which was that Eddie Jones grew ever increasingly upset with administrators in Japan as his pet project the Sunwolves (which is not mentioned at all in the book) was struggling to get going due to a number of different challenges.

There is also no response at all to the criticism of him from Jamie Joseph who accused him of not leaving the incoming coaches any information about the job (something Jones himself praises his predecessor in the England role Stuart Lancaster of doing with him just three weeks after he took over).

Likelihood here is that Eddie Jones and his publishers decided there was no interest in how Japanese rugby is run so chose to skip over it and just offer some very hard to believe reasoning behind his exit.

Also Jones' account of how he created such a memorable RWC campaign portrays himself as a foreseeing genius in devising a "Beat the Boks" masterplan, but he goes into very little detail so it just looks like something so banal that you could probably find similar advice from a fan on an internet forum. 

We would play the same fast, aggressive rugby we had worked on the past three years. It was vital that we maintained the speed of the ball and kept it in play, staying away from set pieces and striving to keep the score as close as possible so that doubts could begin to fester in Springbok heads. We would take them low and tackle in numbers – with our physical bravery matched by an emotional courage that we would play flat and attacking rugby.

If beating the Springboks were really so simple then anybody could do it. He cannot have seriously just told his team advice so blatantly obvious as "strive to keep the score as close as possible" and thought this some great tactical insight. As opposed to doing what else? Let them get into a big lead?  

Fact is the upset over South Africa came far more out of the blue and was more of a rugby miracle than he makes out. He claims his forwards coach Steve Borthwick would (absurdly) say to his players they had "beaten the Boks" after wins over Hong Kong, Korea, Canada, Uruguay, and Georgia in the months beforehand as they had perfected "the exact style of rugby we needed to defeat South Africa".

A couple of things are forgotten as they don't fit this narrative. Losses to Fiji and Tonga, or shipping 45 points to a "World XV" selection in the warm up matches are ignored, whilst narrowly squeezing past Georgia late on was also hardly suggestive of a "Beat the Boks gameplan we had honed to perfection".

Secondly one of things Jones claims was part of this plan was "staying away from set pieces". Yet he created a side that relied more upon scrums, lineouts and maul than any Japanese side has ever been before or afterwards. If you look back at that period you will find a huge percentage of their points actually stemmed from scrum penalties and pushovers or rolling drive mauls.

Just remember for instance the Leitch try vs South Africa, or the call for more scrums at the end, the scrum penalty try vs Samoa, and other rolling maul tries vs Scotland or USA. You may also recall the warm up match vs Fiji in the PNC where Japan spent a massive amount of time trying to get tries from scrums five metres out. It is far more accurate to say that it was in the Jamie Joseph era that Japan have performed far more twinkle toes fast and creative rugby than they did in the Eddie Jones era.

Jones' coaching wisdom in this book actually comes across as rather unimpressive. There is little tactical rugby acumen offered besides the totally obvious throughout the whole book. For example when talking about devising a plan of how to beat the All Blacks he advises the following:

You have to take their space and hit them hard. When you attack you need to run powerfully to tire them out. You have to get in their heads and make them very uncomfortable.

Instead there is far more of what comes across like some mixture of a "mindset" self-help book and a motivational speaker powerpoint presentation. He cites former Athletics coach Frank Dick's "four fatal fears" (of making a mistake, of losing, of rejection, and of criticism), "marginal gains" gets a mention, and reading this book it comes as little surprise that Jones says he now has a side business project selling "all we have learnt about change, culture and building high performing teams" to the corporate world.

Here is one example of that cutting edge self-help book type insight he is selling to those businesses ...

Courage and humility are required to ask questions in front of your peers. The fear is that you might end up looking stupid. It’s easier to sit back and say nothing. But the best coaches are risk-takers. They are not, however, aimless gamblers. The risks they take are calculated. They are quite happy to ask difficult or seemingly obvious questions to discover something new. It’s the only way to avoid life in the dreaded comfort zone.

In conclusion other than some interesting parts earlier in the book about his upbringing and emergence as a professional rugby coach, this book as a look at Eddie Jones' coaching career it is not great and you'd likely get more from searching for interviews on YouTube. Even the chapters on his time with England are filled with pages of him just quoting himself in the pre and post-match press conferences than offering anything new. It also leaves me more with the impression that his value with Japan was more as a motivational manager with a good eye for searching for new expertise than himself a master strategist.

Jones deserves much credit for appointing Borthwick, Marc Dal Maso, John Pryor, and Leigh Jones who all did phenomenal work improving set piece, fitness and defence. It is in the canny recruitment across various countries of such a well assembled staff that is the main thing than other Tier 2 nations can follow (although the budget for training camps and time spent together cannot be replicated by other Tier 2 nations). His other motivational management speak and rather simple tactical advice like "you have to take [the All Blacks] space and hit them hard" is unlikely to be transformative though.

Japan XV of the 2010s

A selection of Japan's best team of the 2010s, a very memorable decade for the Cherry Blossoms and a particularly fun one to follow as they rose dramatically in popularity both at home and abroad after surprising the world with two amazing RWC campaigns in 2015 and 2019.

1. Keita Inagaki

Inagaki came into the side in 2014 fitting in seamlessly to Marc Dal Maso's scrum, and barely missed in the 5 years since. Whilst the scrum success (which included pushing South Africa about in the final play of their historic upset) faded, he still remained a highly valuable part of the team under Jamie Joseph as a mobile loosehead.

2. Shota Horie

At hooker Horie was first choice for pretty much the entire decade only missing one match of the last three RWCs, surpassing Masahiro Kunda as Japan's most capped and greatest hooker of all time. His career did feature some dips in form and bad injuries, but timed his skilful best form for both of the RWC campaigns of 2015 and 2019.

3. Kensuke Hatakeyama

Hatakeyama was first choice over the first half of the decade and became Japan's most ever capped prop and a cornerstone of their strongest ever scrum as part of the remarkable turnaround under Marc dal Maso from 2013 to 2015. Strangely at just 31 totally fell of the radar for both club and country shortly afterwards.

4. Hitoshi Ono

A tough old fashioned lock from a dairy farm who started at rock bottom for Japanese rugby in 2004, and was the only survivor of that hellish November tour to survive through to the high of RWC 2015 and play under 7 different coaches to finish his career the Cherry Blossoms all time most capped player with 98 caps. 

5. Luke Thompson

Another tough lock from farming stock who kept on playing at international level to age 38. Thompson was a key player under both Kirwan and Jones, and then finally after coming out of retirement under Joseph to become the first Japan player to play four RWCs and cement his place as the Cherry Blossoms best lock of all time.

6. Kazuki Himeno

An immediate revelation when he entered the team in 2017, Himeno has been consistently huge for Japan ever since, and finally at the RWC won the attention of the world press. An unusually aggressive forward for a player born in Japan, the 25 year old is on course to be a leading star of this team for many years to come.

7. Michael Leitch

In terms of performance across the entire decade, Leitch is arguably the player of the decade of any Tier 2 nation, and has been an iconic and inspiring figure for Japan as their captain in the past two RWCs. Not only an obvious pick for a Japan team of the decade, but also an obvious pick for a best Japan team of all time.

8. Amanaki Mafi

Mafi burst onto the scene to make an immediate impact in 2014, and despite some truly mad off field controversies, and being frequently bandaged up and battling injury, he has been without a doubt one of the best ever players to play for Japan, and for two seasons in Super Rugby was one of the best number 8s in the competition.

9. Fumiaki Tanaka

The diminutive scrum half Tanaka was a colourful character and mainstay of the Japan team for virtually the entire decade from start to finish only losing the starting spot definitively to Yutaka Nagare late on when he was age 34. Also became the only Japanese born player so far who had played overseas for more than simply a season or two.

10. Yu Tamura

After Kosei Ono took time off following RWC 2015 success, Tamura moved from mainly being used at 12 to become the first choice 10 throughout the last 4 year cycle. Although he had some lows (one of which cost a win vs France), improved towards the end of the decade with his deft chip kicks and cross kicks being his speciality.

11. Kenki Fukuoka

At the start of the decade Hirotoki Onozawa was still around scoring tries into his mid 30s. After his retirement followed Kenki Fukuoka, who gifted with electric pace grew into a legend of Japanese rugby, the record try scorer of a Tier 2 nation vs Tier 1, and even an ankle injury not stopping him making a big impact at the RWC.

12. Harumichi Tatekawa

Japan have had solid 12s throughout the 2010s. Ryan Nicholas was one of the strongest players of the John Kirwan era, and was followed in the Eddie Jones era by Harumichi Tatekawa, a classy distributor at either 12 or 10 for 6 years up until being axed a year short of the RWC, where the more powerful Ryoto Nakamura took over.

13. Tim Lafaele

Under Eddie Jones the 13 was Male Sa'u, a ferociously strong player in attack and defence albeit with slightly dodgy hands. Whilst under Jamie Joseph it was Tim Lafaele, less explosive as a carrier but full of sublime skilful touches, who fitted well into a side eager to use width and played a key role in Japan's improvement of the past 2 years.

14. Akihito Yamada

It took until age 28 for Yamada to make his debut for Japan, and for a while showed his finishing prowess at a high level, including that memorable spin finish vs Samoa at RWC 2015, and also with a great first season with the Sunwolves. Unfortunately though injuries and Joseph's preference for bigger wingers saw him miss out in 2019.

15. Kotaro Matsushima

Matsushima was the full back for the first part of the Jamie Joseph era from 2016 up to June 2018, and it was in this position along with Mafi he was Japan's best player over a tricky first couple of rebuilding years post RWC 2015, before he was moved back to wing for RWC 2019 where he was on superb form throughout.

An all time Japan XV?

One thing when drawing up this Japan team of the 2010s is it also very close to their probable all time XV. The obvious player from the amateur era who could fit in would be the late Seiji Hirao, but there is so little footage of this very different era which was so different the comparison is almost pointless.

Keeping just to the professional era though the only player from the previous 15 years who would be pretty sure to make this team would be Daisuke Ohata on the right wing.

The Tier 2 teams of 2019

This year's three nominees for 2019 Tier 2 team of the year (not necessarily the best team but one that made most progress and had the most impressive set of results this calendar year).

 Japan

Japan were the sensations of the rugby world this year. All year they played brilliant rugby, which highlights included scoring 29 points in the first 30 minutes in an excellent win over their bogey team Fiji, then of course at their home RWC the huge upset over Ireland, before one of the most complete performances any Tier 2 nation has ever produced in outplaying Scotland in a fantastic match before a joyous home crowd.

The level the Cherry Blossoms reached this year was likely the highest any side outside Tier 1 has ever reached in the professional era. Whilst Japan had signs of promise in late 2017 and 2018 that meant they were not entering the RWC hopelessly. Nobody could have expected quite the quality they reached.

Many new Japanese fans will have been won over the course of this year. Questions remain though of how they follow on from this over the next 4 year cycle. The aftermath of the RWC 2015 success and the Sunwolves project turned out to be a bit of a mess. A lot of the long term future of Japanese rugby still depends on the capability of the JRFU to deliver necessary reforms below national team level.

 Spain

Spain finish this year at an all time ranking high after their best ever run of results. 2019 saw their first ever 4 win REC campaign, including narrow home wins over Russia and Romania, followed by an unbeaten tour of South American Tier 2 nations which notably included a comprehensive 41-21 win over Uruguay. Their only loss of the year came away to Georgia in a competitive wind affected game, one that would have been a lot closer but for the mismatch in scrummaging strength over the second half.

These results have come in circumstances you would not most expect them to. Since their last RWC qualifying campaign, Spain have had significant upheaval in players and highly inconsistent selections. In 2019 they used 56 players in 9 tests (only their neighbours Portugal used more this year) and awarded 16 new caps. This begs the question of how much potential there remains for many further improvements should they ever get a run of games with a settled selection and good preparation.

Throughout the year they showed impressive fight to even whilst not playing breathtaking rugby find a way to get the right side of close matches. It will be interesting to see how they manage playing away from home in Eastern Europe next year and more wins will see better sides start visiting in November.

 Colombia

Over this decade few nations have improved as much as Colombia have done. At the start of the millennium they did not even have an active international team, and by the start of the 2010s they were losing to the likes of Venezuela and Peru and shipping 50+ points against Paraguay. Now by the end of the decade they have put 50+ points on all those sides in their last meetings with them, are not far from a top 30 world ranking, and have a homegrown player playing top level pro rugby regularly in Top 14.

In the Americas Rugby Challenge this year Colombia scored 188 points in 3 matches. They are not an overly flamboyant side, but have solid basics, and this year were by some margin the best Americas side below the Americas Rugby Championship (although still clearly trail Paraguay at junior level).

Next year should they repeat these results next year, Colombia should get an opportunity for the first time against a relatively more established team such as Chile or Brazil. It will likely be difficult at first at a higher level, but will be fascinating to see how they fare, and how much more progress they can make by the time of the end of the next decade.

The best players from Tier 2 nations not at RWC 2019

A look at some of the top players who could have represented Tier 2 nations at RWC 2019 but for a variety of different reasons were not named in the final 31 man squads.

1. Zurab Zhvania (Georgia)

Reason? Seemed a likely selection as a second/third choice loosehead who could also cover as third choice hooker, but had a fall out with coach Milton Haig who uncharacteristically visibly annoyed at a press conference stated "he just wasn't fit enough" and being in a position of such huge depth in Georgia meant he was deemed dispensable.

Another chance? A late injury withdrawal in 2015, now out for 2019, Zhvania risks being remembered as one of the best players never to play in a RWC. Only 27 so certainly not too old, but Georgia are producing so many prospects at prop it will be tough to make it in 2023.

Other notable absentees:
Loni Uhila (Tonga) a 30 year old uncapped player reported to be a target for Tonga having left Super Rugby but appears to have chosen to remain at his club instead.
Karlen Asieshvili (Georgia) an unlucky late cut who would walk into any other Tier 2 side but missed out following an injury limited season and the rapid rise of Guram Gogichashvili.
Alex Hodgman (Fiji) could have been a possible starter for Fiji at this RWC but neither he or another loosehead target George Bower were available due to NZ Super Rugby contract restrictions.

2. Elia Elia (Samoa)

Reason? A young player (who would have been the youngest in Samoa's squad in fact) set for his first RWC, he picked up a hamstring injury in the PNC which ruled him out the tournament.

Another chance? With just two caps over the past two years (neither of them starts), his senior international career cannot be said to have taken off yet as may have been hoped, but still has plenty of time left in his career and could reach at least two more RWCs.

Other notable absentees:
Samisoni Taukei'aho (Tonga) a homegrown Tongan player but again was unavailable (even as the Ikale Tahi had a reported crisis at hooker) in order to keep New Zealand eligibility in Super Rugby.
Badri Alkhazashvili (Georgia) a former U20 captain who led them to the promotion in 2015 and was one Georgia's best young prospects but his senior career hampered by persistent injuries.

3. Lasha Tabidze (Georgia)

Reason? Another former U20 captain long regarded as one of Georgia's best prospects, but in a competitive position Beqa Gigashvili came from nowhere last year to become a certain selection who could cover all of the front row, and his former U20 teammate Giorgi Melikidze got the nod over him for the third tighthead spot.

Another chance? The competition on both sides of the scrum in Georgia is fierce, and all the 2019 squad tightheads should still be around in 2023, plus new prospects like Kharaishvili. So it will not be easy, but Tabidze will be closer to his peak in four years and still has plenty of time to make a RWC.

Other notable absentees:
Mario Sagario (Uruguay) the veteran first choice tighthead for Los Teros retired in May due to off field business commitments which was a big loss for the Uruguayans.
Davit Kubriashvili (Georgia) an old fashioned scrummaging specialist tighthead he missed out to younger, more mobile options and announced his retirement after missing the squad.
Dave Ryan (USA) has no longer been on eligibility dependant contracts for four years now but still never been recalled to a USA squad despite having a lot more experience at a top level than Paul Mullen.

4. Grant Hattingh (Japan)

Reason? Qualified on residency and would have been sure starter Japan at this RWC adding significant height to the second row as their first ever 2 metre plus tall player. However a groin injury suffered in May and a faltering rehabilitation process ruled him out.

Another chance? At 28 Hattingh can certainly still make another RWC, from his quotes it seems he has the desire to do so, and could be a very valuable addition in a weak position for Japan in the 4 year cycle after this tournament.

Other notable absentees:
Samu Manoa (USA) had a very unhappy injury hit time in Cardiff which saw him depart early, returned 6 months later in MLR clearly lacking match fitness, and soon retired from international rugby.
Anton Bresler (Namibia) no longer a Scottish project player since joining Worcester, but still not representing country of his birth who he could have played for at three RWCs at this point.
Brian Alainu'uese (Samoa) the colossal 2.02m 135kg lock still has never got a call up at senior international level but is currently out with a back injury in any case.

5. Rodrigo Capó Ortega (Uruguay)

Reason? He has been an incredibly durable player but 2018/19 turned out to be the most injury hit of his near 400 match 17 season pro career and he was ruled out for 9 months with surgery on a herniated disc last December. He might have possibly made it just back in time for the RWC, but unable to take part in Uruguay's preparation he decided to withdraw.

Another chance? At 38 this was planned to be the farewell in Uruguayan colours for Capó, who will finish his career as a Uruguay great but also one with a mixed relationship with the national team.

Other notable absentees:
Joe Tekori (Samoa) a veteran coming off a successful season with Toulouse, but since the last RWC played sparingly at international level and retired from international rugby before the tournament.
Michael Fatialofa (Samoa) no longer in New Zealand, but like his second row colleague Bresler, has still seemingly not become available since joining Worcester.
Sergei Sergueev (Russia) one of Russia's only three professional players in Western Europe he quite simply has never wanted an international career with all his 5 only caps coming back in 2010.

6. Jordan Taufua (Samoa)

Reason? A player who has been on cusp of the All Blacks but who remains uncapped, it seemed when that cap didn't come and a move to Leicester was announced it might open up his availability for Samoa, unfortunately for them though this was not the case.

Another chance? It still is possible Taufua could have a good 5-6 year career for Samoa if he wants, although if he does want that then it's not clear why he would not start by appearing at this RWC.

Other notable absentees:
Renaldo Bothma (Namibia) retired from international rugby on the eve of the final squad being announced, but coach Phil Davies revealed he was simply dropped, with rumours of some falling out.

7. Giorgi Tsutskiridze (Georgia)

Reason? A revelation of these past 12 months for Georgia, but unfortunately suffered a broken ankle in the first few minutes of the first warm up match vs Southern Kings and now is out long term. Even with Gorgodze rejoining the team, this is still a big blow for Georgia and it is very disappointing not to see Tsutskiridze make his mark as part of the 2016 U20 back row trio on the world stage at this RWC.

Another chance? At only 22 he can certainly come again more than once. This is another position Georgia has quite a few young players coming through, so there will be competition, but if he recovers from injury with his pace intact Tsutskiridze adds an extra dimension to some of the others.

Other notable absentees:
Vito Kolelishvili (Georgia) a mainstay of the Lelos who would have reached a third RWC but after suffering repeated heavy concussions not played since October and now taken a sabbatical to recover.
Colby Fainga'a (Tonga) players' player of the season in his first year at Connacht and with 100 Super Rugby caps may have been a good addition for Tonga but possibly now a "project player" in Ireland.

8. Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco (Japan)

Reason? One of the most dynamic players for the Sunwolves this year, he looked like he could have added to an already impressive list of back rowers for Japan. He was named in the RWC training squad, but then it turned out he fell just short of residency qualifying criteria.

Another chance? If he stays in Japan he could certainly become an international and will be close to his prime in 2023. However there is significant back row competition with other young players like Shota Fukui, Tevita Tatafu, Ben Gunter and the current squad members in contention. Also eligible for Fiji if both parties were interested.

Other notable absentees:
Tevita Tatafu (Japan) starred for Junior Japan with some big performances in the Pacific Challenge, but Jamie Joseph was not considering University players so simply never got a chance ahead of his RWC.
So'oatala Fa'aso'o (Samoa) had a big season for Brive helping them to promotion to the Top 14 but still was ignored by the selectors and yet to make his senior international debut.
Sione Vailanu (Tonga) was overlooked despite a big ball carrying performance in the final game of the PNC against Canada.
Anton Rudoy (Russia) one of the top players for the Bears this RWC cycle and scored a hat trick in a big win vs Canada in his last test in June 2018 but then suddenly disappeared from the international scene.

9. Folau Fakatava (Tonga)

Reason? A homegrown Tongan prospect, who even represented them in touch rugby as a 15 year old at the 2015 Pacific Games, however he is not available for his home country at least not at this stage of his career so not to lose eligibility for New Zealand. Unfortunately his absence didn't come as any surprise whatsoever.

Another chance? He is just 19 so will certainly get another chance, with the All Blacks obviously getting the first pick, and possibly Tonga if he falls short of that and moves to a pro club Europe.

Other notable absentees:
Will Percillier (Canada) scored some brilliant tries at U20 who made his debut in the ARC earlier this year but somewhat surprisingly never got an opportunity in the PNC.

10. Takuya Yamasawa (Japan)

Reason? A hugely exciting playmaking fly half, well suited to Japan's style of play, who is a star in the Top League offering a lot more threat with ball in hand than Yu Tamura. He was noted by Eddie Jones on departure as the young player who could breakthrough for RWC 2019, however strangely simply never been given a chance by Jamie Joseph who has cited his lack of experience as a reason (although this hasn't stopped him selecting a pair of converted 8s as props despite only playing in the position for a couple of years).

Another chance? Certainly at just 24 he can come again for two more RWCs and still the most likely eventual successor for Tamura. However it feels a wasted past year where he could have gained some experience with the Sunwolves and as part of Japan squads even if not ready to be first choice at a RWC.

Other notable absentees:
Peceli Nacebe (Fiji) was emerging on the selection radar, but had an ill fated year in France where he was moved to wing, whilst Alivereti Veitokani took his Fijian Drua place and thrived to surpass him.

11. Nemani Nadolo (Fiji)

Reason? Announced his international retirement following an injury disrupted season saying he was feeling the wear and tear on his body. He is currently out injured again after requiring knee surgery.

Another chance? This would have been a last RWC for Nadolo, it's a shame as last time his only RWC had the regret of missing a key match whilst on great form as WR at the time went super strict on "neck rolls". Although Fiji have depth to cope with absences at wing more than any other position losing a player with such a strong strike rate is still a blow.

Other notable absentees:
Hosea Saumaki (Tonga) no secret of interest from Japan, but he is not eligible due to 7s caps, and doesn't seem to be going through Olympics loophole, but still not featured in the Tongan squad.
Monty Ioane (Samoa) players' player of the season nominee in the Pro14 for his form with Benetton but not called up by either Samoa or Fiji (who he is both eligible for) and a possible project player for Italy.
Tevita Li (Tonga) the record try scorer in the U20 Championship for New Zealand, but at senior level never entered All Black plans, but still not available for Tonga even though he has now moved to Japan.

12. Michael Little (Fiji)

Reason? Had an impressive first season of Super Rugby in 2018 with the Sunwolves, which apparently led to some discussions with John McKee, however his 2019 season got cut short to just 5 games due to concussion leaving him with no opportunity to make the squad.

Another chance? He could possibly have one more opportunity to play a RWC in 2023, but there is plenty of competition from both current players and upcoming youngsters like Vilimoni Botitu, and might be helped if he were to move to a club in Europe where most of the Fijian squad is based, or at least a better Japanese club.

Other notable absentees:
Harumichi Tatekawa (Japan) one of the best players of the Eddie Jones era he was a leader for Japan in the first couple years under Jamie Joseph but got axed in 2018.
Willis Halaholo (Tonga) a former Tonga U20 but now waiting as a "project player" to be eligible for Wales who he qualifies for on residency soon after the RWC.

13. Yusuke Kajimura (Japan)

Reason? Another prospect in Japan who had his early career delayed by University rugby. He finally got into the Top League and had an excellent first season where displaced current Japan incumbent Ryoto Nakamura as first choice at Suntory Sungoliath, but a lack of versatility and experience likely cost him a RWC spot.

Another chance? Similar to Yamasawa, he should be a player who could arrive as an important player for the Japan team over the next 4 year cycle and for RWC 2023.

Other notable absentees:
Tumua Manu (Samoa) one of the few homegrown Samoan players currently in Super Rugby he became first choice starter at the Chiefs but again remaining New Zealand eligible took him out of contention.
Joaquín Prada (Uruguay) offered valuable experience and started every game of the successful ARC campaign earlier this year but withdrew as could not get time off from his doctor studies.

14. Sevu Reece (Fiji)

Reason? In May John McKee said Reece "would love to play for Fiji" but for NZ Super Rugby contract restrictions preventing him. However afterwards his form (14 tries in 11 games for Waikato in Mitre10 Cup, 15 tries in 14 games in Super Rugby for Crusaders) continued to be so spectacular he ended up being an All Blacks call up.

Another chance? An exception the title of this article, he is at the RWC just for the All Blacks not Fiji.

Other notable absentees:
Toni Pulu (Tonga or USA) eligible for two Tier 2 nations at this RWC, however spent his entire career in Super Rugby remaining uncapped to keep eligibility for the two Tier 1 nations he is also eligible for.
Akihito Yamada (Japan) still at 33 has a super try scoring rate in the Top League but omitted as Jamie Joseph said he wanted a bigger wingers to deal with aerial bombardments from Ireland and Scotland.
Eroni Sau (Fiji) part of the squad over this past year but got pushed out by Filipo Nakosi, at 29 and with Fiji producing tonnes of talented wingers this was likely his only chance at a RWC.

15. Melani Nanai (Samoa)

Reason? Much the same situation as with Taufua. Having left Super Rugby for a European club it seemed this could now possibly free Nanai to play for Samoa but this was not to be. He is a third uncapped player at Worcester eligible for a Tier 2 nation (fourth if you also add Callum Black who withdrew from a USA squad shortly after signing for them last year) who could have made this tournament but hasn't.

Another chance? Only just turned 26 so could play the entire next 4 year cycle for Samoa if he wants, but then if he did want to why wouldn't he start at a RWC?

Other notable absentees:

Seta Tuicuvu (Fiji) an ill timed injury last November robbed of a chance to make a strong case as a starter and got little opportunity in the PNC with Kini Murimurivalu the preferred 15.

Divan Rossouw (Namibia) the only homegrown Namibian player currently in Super Rugby and former U20 player for them but never been named in a senior squad (most likely to eligibility restrictions ...).

Chrysander Botha (Namibia) a regular for Namibia for years and on his way to a third RWC, but was another surprise exclusion of a senior player with the rumours of fall out inside the camp.

A look at the RWC 2019 schedules for Tier 2 sides

According to WR CEO Brett Gosper the "goal is to have most competitive RWC ever (T1vT2)" and the "2019 schedule is most balanced RWC ever for Tier 2 countries". He also noted it was "the longest ever T2 rest periods are ahead of games vs T1s".

Japan taking on Scotland in 2015 just
three days after playing South Africa

And it is true at the 2019 RWC fewer of the short turnarounds that Tier 2 sides will have to face seem to involve Tier 1 sides which must have come from feedback from coaches after the last RWC.

In 2015 several Tier 2 sides had to back up against two Tier 1 sides on a very short turnaround (Japan vs South Africa then Scotland, Fiji vs England then Australia, Tonga vs Argentina then New Zealand, Romania vs France then Ireland). That would be tough even for bigger teams with more depth to get optimal results against sides like Australia, Ireland, or Scotland only a few days after playing England, France, or South Africa (the short turnarounds for Tier 1 by contrast all mostly involve one of the lowest seeds in the pool usually after rather than before a big game).

This time there are none of those tight turnarounds against top ranked sides in the tournament, but what this means however is more of the matches with short rest for Tier 2 sides are ones that are the two most winnable in the pool. Notably for Uruguay (Fiji then Georgia on three days rest), Georgia (Uruguay then Fiji on three days rest), Russia (Japan then Samoa on three days rest), or USA (Argentina then Tonga on three days rest) are left with squad management dilemmas.

Within the constraints of five team pools that guarantee some short rest periods, and TV demands that mean matches between the big teams are not midweek games, WR do seem to have been genuine in at least attempting at something a bit better relative to past tournaments. Obviously some teams still have got tough schedules (Canada perhaps the worst), and the only real way to be able to remove the worst of the short turnarounds in scheduling is with 4 team pools in an expanded 24 team RWC.

At RWC 2019 one team in each pool (Japan, Namibia, Tonga, Australia) have got lucky with no really short three or four day turnarounds at all and three of those are Tier 2. By comparison in 2015 five teams had no three or four day turnarounds and only one of those (Samoa, who qualified as second pool seed) were not Tier 1. Also no side in 2019 has to play not just one but two of their matches on three or four day turnarounds, whereas in 2015 five teams had to and all of them were Tier 2.

Here we take a quick look at exactly what each Tier 2 team will have to prepare for next year.

Pool A

 Japan | Russia [7 days] Ireland [6 days] Samoa [7 days] Scotland

As hosts of the tournament the Cherry Blossoms get the best schedule of a 6-7 days rest between each match. What's more is that two of their opponents in Samoa and Scotland play them on a short turnaround (although the latter the match before is Russia so may not have that much impact), whilst Russia also play their most winnable match on a short turnaround after playing them.

This is marked change to some of their previous tournaments for Japan. In 2003 they got rest periods of five, four, and three days and notably faded after a decent start to the tournament against Scotland and for part of the match against France. In 2015 the schedule made reaching the quarter finals very difficult even despite the win against South Africa (especially as the Boks got a double losing bonus point in that match). This time if Japan do not perform it will not be to do with their schedule.

 Samoa | Russia [5 days] Scotland [4 days] Japan [6 days] Ireland

Samoa get the advantage of playing Russia on a short three day rest, but then themselves face the hosts Japan on just four days rest from playing Scotland. Even though recent form would have them firm underdogs, they have risen to big occasions in the past and will be targeting that Scotland match, the result of which would likely determine their approach to the Japan match on short rest afterwards.

 Russia | Japan [3 days] Samoa [8 days] Ireland [5 days] Scotland

In the opening match of the tournament with 50,000 fans and a big TV audience, there is no question that Russia will want to kickoff the tournament with nothing less than their best and after this November will believe they could even cause an upset. The Bears don't have enormous squad depth and the next match is their most winnable but on 3 days rest against a fresh Samoa side which will be hard does reduce their chances of getting an upset and first RWC win in this tournament.

Pool B

 Namibia | Italy [5 days] South Africa [7 days] New Zealand [6 days] Canada

If there was ever a tournament Namibia were going to break their RWC duck it is this one as both pool draw and scheduling has been favourable. Unlike the past two RWCs where the Namibians were simply shot by the end (see Wales 2011 or Argentina 2015) after fielding more or less a full team throughout on some really tight turnarounds, this time they get a much better schedule. Not only do they play the big teams on more reasonable rest, but they have also drawn an off form Canadian side and will have full rest for that too, whilst the Canucks will come into that four days from playing South Africa.

 Canada | Italy [5 days] New Zealand [5 days] South Africa [4 days] Namibia

Unluckily for Canada they are the only team in the tournament who do not get a full week rest once. They cannot play the same team throughout and are the team who the schedule makes possibly most likely to field a weakened side against a major team (probably South Africa) in order to keep something left for the most winnable match against Namibia at the end. This is a bad schedule for Kingsley Jones' team, only consolation is two of the Tier 1 opponents Italy (coming off Namibia) and South Africa (coming off Italy) also play them on short rest as well.

Pool C

 USA | England [5 days] France [6 days] Argentina [3 days] Tonga

Some over the course of this year have started to believe the USA have become overwhelming favourites against Tonga at the RWC. A look at their record against them (and Pacific Island opposition in general) would suggest that is not the case, even less so when you consider they play that match on 3 days rest.

The matches against Australia and South Africa in the past two RWCs with weakened teams were horrible matches for Eagles fans and may have even had the effect to sap morale from the camp and supporters as much as it did to rest players. You get the sense Gary Gold may not repeat that this time around and will aim for strong performances both against Argentina and Tonga. It is a tough challenge to deliver and will test the depth and conditioning done for the tournament next year.

 Tonga | England [5 days] Argentina [7 days] France [6 days] USA

Along with Japan and Namibia, Tonga are one of the three lucky Tier 2 sides who have got a schedule with no really short turnarounds. They also play both their final two fixtures against France and USA against sides on three days rest. The Ikale Tahi could not have got a much better schedule and can really target a good result at every match.

Pool D

 Fiji | Australia [3 days] Uruguay [7 days] Georgia [5 days] Wales

This is somewhat better than the nightmare pool draw and schedule Fiji had in 2015. Their match on short rest this time is Uruguay, a team they have recently obliterated and can likely back the depth of their squad to get a good result whilst resting top players. They also get an advantage of coming from that fresh for their next match with Georgia who will be coming off 3 days rest.

 Georgia | Wales [5 days] Uruguay [3 days] Fiji [7 days] Australia

The pool draw for RWC 2019 was not great for Georgia. The fourth pool seeds have a wide range in quality from Fiji at World Ranking 8 to Namibia at 22, and the Lelos not only got the toughest possible fourth seed but a schedule where they face them only on 3 days rest. This is a tricky test for Milton Haig as whilst Georgia will be favourites against Uruguay beforehand, they are not as strong favourites as Fiji are and have a habit of not looking great against weaker teams (see Namibia 2015 one of many examples) so cannot really afford to take Los Teros lightly either.

However Georgia does have a bit more depth than in previous years, so rotating some frontline starters to get past Uruguay may not carry quite the same risk as before. Certainly Haig has two front rows, back rows, and scrum halves he could swap without losing too much. Georgia will need to produce one of their best ever results to beat a fully prepared incredibly talented Fiji team on this schedule.

 Uruguay | Fiji [3 days] Georgia [5 days] Australia [7 days] Wales

The Uruguayans achieved one of their best ever results beating Canada away to qualify as Americas 2 for this tournament and avoid going through the Repechage for the first time. However this has meant they actually got a much more difficult pool to win a game, along with another hard schedule.

Uruguay have their most winnable game against Georgia on 3 days rest from their second most winnable game against Fiji. Only thing in their favour is that Georgia will have to also deal with a tight schedule playing on three days rest themselves after that match. Los Teros need to be at their very best to get good results from this pool, even against the Tier 2 sides, and they do not have great depth in many positions which makes managing the squad much harder for Esteban Meneses.

Full RWC 2019 schedule of rest periods (chart by @rpetty80)