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Tim Noonan

It’s a good day for facts and not the alternative variety. Cold, hard, indisputable facts is what we’re serving up today and foremost among them is that rugby is a real game.
Raw and primal but steeped in honour and integrity, rugby is a blissful misnomer in an age of shameless self-promotion.
None of the players are dating a Kardashian, pulling in US$30 million per year or have a couple of billion Instagram followers.
We desperately need rugby and its core values now, which is why pure joy is seeping through my veins because here it is baby, finally: the 2019 Rugby World Cup.


In Japan, no less. A country that is also steeped in honour and integrity. You’re damn right I want to be a part of this.
Japan versus Russia, game one of 47, it’s on and all this talk about whether Japan, technically a tier two rugby country, would embrace the World Cup seems absolutely frivolous because you can taste the enthusiasm outside Tokyo stadium a few hours before the match.

It’s here FINALLY #RWC2019 TV time in Ajinomoto ⁦@SCMP_Sport⁩ pic.twitter.com/8gHKWRDHQA
— Tim Noonan (@T_NoonanEast) September 20, 2019

And lucky for me, a Canadian scribbling for a Hong Kong paper – which basically makes me a tier two writer squared – I’m not only going to get an education but a primo seat in press row.
Of course primo is all relative, isn’t it, because when I arrive to take my seat it’s a tight squeeze up in the crow’s nest.
There are a tonne of tables and work spaces all around but not for me as I will be even hard pressed to put my laptop on my lap in these tight quarters.

Hello, excuse me, Mr Tier Two here reporting for duty. There must be a mistake as I had requested a work station to do things, like plug in my computer and file some copy. Well, no that is not the case, I am told, as a group of volunteer workers huddle around.
Another 15 minutes or so go by before one of the volunteers re-emerges with Greg Thomas, the media and communications director for World Rugby.
He’s a pleasant chap who takes the time to explain to me that the allocation for work stations is based on the two teams playing followed by all the other media from the remaining 18 teams in the pool.
“Because Hong Kong is not here,” he adds, “I hope you understand.” Yeah I do, it’s probably not his decision but the message is still fairly clear: stay in your lane, junior.

Still, these are the moments that define you as a journalist. To be a pro’s pro, you can’t make your sense of indignation personal here.
You cannot write that aside from Nelson Mandela’s iconic appearance and support at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, few events have done more to grow the game of rugby than the Hong Kong Sevens.
It’s a global event that crams 120,000 people into Hong Kong stadium over three days and this newspaper is the official media partner of that event.


And yes I know it’s sevens and this is the maximum gravitas of 15 a side, but no less than World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper told me a few days earlier that, “We have seen in all of the emerging markets and countries that actually sevens has driven the growth of 15s”.
It might also follow that if you really want to grow the game that growth will be in tier two markets hence you might want to be a bit more accommodating to those markets.
But, no, you have to be a pro so you can’t write any of that, you can’t even think it so I won’t. Just suck it up and head back to your seat, which I do.

As far as the match goes, Japan emerged victorious 30-10. They were always going to play tight in the first half with so much pressure and they did.
But by the second half, behind the exhortations of a boisterous and electric home crowd, the Brave Blossoms were much more fluid and their dangerous speed on the wings took over.
The Russians don’t have a lot of imagination or flair but not only do they absolutely punish you on tackles, they seem to enjoy it immensely.

Taking backstreets to Main Street and #RWC2019 big night for japan ⁦@SCMP_Sport⁩ pic.twitter.com/HoFLoMwVf1
— Tim Noonan (@T_NoonanEast) September 20, 2019

And Japanese Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Akishino along with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also seemed to enjoy themselves.
But the VIP life was not for me and in the best tier two fashion I decided to slink home through the backstreets and alleys to help keep it real.
I stumbled across a tiny joint called the Healing Bar, where they were selling beer off a hastily made table that looked more like a 10-year-old’s lemonade stand. I was told in no uncertain terms that “the Healing Bar will make you feel happy”.


But will it heal the soul of a forlorn tier two hack? Damn right it will because beer is rugby and rugby is beer regardless of your tier.
Ah well, onwards and upwards to Yokohama for the battle of the behemoths, New Zealand’s All Blacks versus South Africa’s Springboks, where I will likely have a prime vantage point to write something on the aesthetic values of the loading dock at Nissan Stadium.
But you have to roll with it and be grateful that you are part of the show. So on behalf of all the tier two rugby writers and fans – the engines of growth for your great game, rugby – here we are now, entertain us. I feel stupid and contagious … hello, hello, hello, how low, how low.


Could Japan join Rugby Championship? Michael Leitch talks tier 1, Asia and Eddie Jones

Oxford v Cambridge: winning Blue in Varsity Match a ‘dream come true’ for Hong Kong’s Alex Post

Japan responsible for ‘representing Asia’ amid Covid-impacted rugby stagnation, says star Kazuki Himeno

Japan’s Brave Blossoms to face France in two games in July, officials hoping to revive spirit of 2019

Rugby World Cup 2019

Rugby World Cup 2019 is about growing the game – which means you need to know your place

Japan’s Kotaro Matsushima (left) fends off Russia’s Vladislav Sozonov to score his third try during the Rugby World Cup pool A game at Tokyo Stadium. Photo: AP

TOPSHOT - A young Japan fan cheers on the team before the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Japan and Russia at the Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo on September 20, 2019. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

TOPSHOT - Japan's flanker Michael Leitch fails to catch the ball during the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Japan and Russia at the Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo on September 20, 2019. (Photo by Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP)

TOPSHOT - Japan's wing Kotaro Matsushima dives and scores a try during the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Japan and Russia at the Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo on September 20, 2019. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Rugby World Cup 2019: aerial errors plague Japan in nervy opening win against Russia

Japan’s Kotaro Matsushima (right) jumps for the ball during the opening match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Photo: AFP

Rugby World Cup 2019: Japan’s moment in the sun begins now as country enters crucial phase as modern nation

Japan is about to have the international spotlight shone on its itself, for better or worse. Photo: EPA

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2015 file photo, Japan's Amanaki Mafi is tackled by Scotland's captain Greig Laidlaw during the Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Scotland and Japan at Kingsholm in Gloucester, England. Their Super Rugby future may be in doubt, but the Melbourne Rebels are certain they want Tonga-born Japan international Amanaki Mafi back for next season. The Rebels announced Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 that Mafi, who has played 16 tests for Japan, would return in the backrow. (AP Photo/Clint Hughes, FIle)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks at the Webb Ellis Trophy during a courtesy call by World Rugby officials as part of the Webb Ellis Trophy tour, at Abe's official residence in Tokyo on September 12, 2019, ahead of the start of the 2019 Rugby World Cup on September 20. (Photo by ISSEI KATO / POOL / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 07, 2018 a soldier of the Armed Forces, backed by armoured vehicles, aircraft and heavy engineering equipment, takes part in an operation in the violence-plagued favela of Vila Kennedy, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. - December 31 marks the end of the federal and military intervention for public security in Rio de Janeiro state. The controversial intervention period saw some categories of crime drop in number but also saw a rise in the number of shootings in Rio. (Photo by Mauro PIMENTEL / AFP)

Rugby World Cup 2019: official fanzone in Central Harbourfront will broadcast all games on 10-metre big screen

Hong Kong Rugby Union chief executive officer Robbie McRobbie and Hong Kong national team member Matthew Rosslee at the Hong Kong Observation Wheel in Central where the fanzone will take place. Photo: Tory Ho

Rugby World Cup fanzone.

***PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE REUSE*** Rosslee

(L-R): Rugby player Matthew Rosslee and Robbie McRobbie, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Ruby Union at the Hong Kong Observation Wheel in Central. 16SEP19 SCMP / Tory Ho

Rugby World Cup 2019 wallchart: download your free printable predictor with the schedule and pools in Japan

Rugger fans can rejoice, the Rugby World Cup 2019 is finally here, and so is your free wallchart. Photo: World Rugby

Rugby World Cup 2019 schedule.

Sport

Rugby

Fifteens


If you’re a reporter for a tier two nation, don’t expect the VIP treatment
But tournament opener between hosts Japan and Russia is still a blast



If you’re reporting for a tier two nation then don’t expect the VIP treatment, but the big tournament opener between hosts Japan and Russia is still a blast.


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

In the scrum

In the scrum | Rugby World Cup 2019 is about growing the game – which means you need to know your place

If you’re a reporter for a tier two nation, don’t expect the VIP treatment But tournament opener between hosts Japan and Russia is still a blast

If you’re a reporter for a tier two nation, don’t expect the VIP treatment

But tournament opener between hosts Japan and Russia is still a blast