Former Australian Rugby Union CEO John O'Neill has urged Australia "to do everything it can to ensure Japan hosts the 2019 World Cup amid fears the tournament will be taken away" from it, according to Bret Harris of THE AUSTRALIAN. Japan's status as host nation has "come under a cloud after World Rugby sought assurances about the successful delivery of the tournament following the loss of the new National Stadium as a venue." O'Neill was concerned World Rugby's "ultimatum" to Japan would be a "precursor to taking the World Cup away from the Japanese, who would be the first non-traditional rugby nation to host it." O'Neill: "And indeed there has been some sentiment out of the U.K. in particular that the decision to award Japan the hosting rights in the first place was one that some would like to reverse. The fact is the ARU, New Zealand and other forward-thinking nations worked very hard to ensure Japan was awarded the rights to host 2019, being the first non-traditional territory to do so and being the first Asian country to do so and the strategic imperative is blindingly obvious that if World Rugby wants to live up to its objective of being a truly world game then every effort and every ounce of energy must be directed into ensuring Japan does host 2019." Former ARU Deputy CEO Matt Carroll said, "What people have got to remember is that when Japan was awarded the tournament there was no new National Stadium. ... The original bid had Yokohamo Stadium as the main stadium, so in actual fact nothing much has changed" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/31).
