Taking the 2019 Rugby World Cup to Japan was a "small risk" but World Rugby Chair Bill Beaumont "is confident the country will engage its experience" from hosting previous int'l sporting events to make it a commercial success, according to Shravanth Vijayakumar of REUTERS. The 2015 World Cup in England "was the most successful event in the sport's history," with an average of 98% of tickets sold across all venues. Japan's "spirited World Cup run in England last year," when it beat South Africa "but just missed out on making the last eight, has sparked the growing interest in rugby in the country." With attendances dropping in the local Top League, though, "concerns have been raised over the size of crowds that might be attracted to the 12 venues for Asia's first Rugby World Cup." Beaumont: "We don't come in with a stick and say you have to do it this way. It's about trying to engage the local population, the local sports bodies, the local schools, whatever the professional team is in that area. We need to try to work with them and get people to buy the tickets. We're not coming to a tier two nation, commercially. We're coming to a hugely successful, vibrant economic nation" (REUTERS, 10/26).