Japan, having been thwarted at the death in their efforts to stage RWC2011, finally achieved their aim in 2019 and made a splendid job of the task on and off their field despite nature doing its worst.
First, having been given the go ahead to stage RWC2019 in May 2009, those plans were thrown into considerable doubt in March 2011 when the devastating Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused an estimated 20,000 deaths and devastated the travel infrastructure in some areas of the country.
Some questioned whether Japan, also preparing to host the 2020 Olympics, was a safe destination for...