Rugby World Cup 2019: Japan vs Russia result and latest updates after opening fixture in Tokyo
Follow live updates from Tokyo as the 2019 Rugby World Cup gets underway in Japan
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Your support makes all the difference.Japan launched Asia's first Rugby World Cup with a victory the host nation craved as they beat Russia 30-10 at Tokyo Stadium.
Four years after causing the World Cup's biggest shock by beating South Africa, Japan again took centre stage, but they were made to work hard by an unheralded Russian outfit. Russia, making a first appearance on rugby union's global stage since 2011, led for most of the first half following wing Kirill Golosnitskiy's early try, but hat-trick hero Kotaro Matsushima sparked Japan into life.
The elusive wing claimed a try double before the break, then flanker Lappies Labuschagne dealt Russia a major blow by collecting an opportunist touchdown early in the second half.
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Little headway made as Russia begin their movement, and then a pass goes loose, and into the hands of a Japan player.
That'll do us...
Five points to get the hosts underway, then, but not quite the romp to victory the prognosticators predicted. Russia pounced on an early error to open the scoring, and the errors never truly stopped coming in a pretty lacklustre contest that blustered and blathered and never really found top gear.
Eventually, though, Japan's quality told, with a couple of magical touches capitalising on loose Russian defence and opening space for Kotaro Matsushima to score the Brave Blossoms's first World Cup hat-trick.
Little to take from the game for either side, really, though Russia do appear to be more competitive than some thought they might be. But the World Cup is, officially, underway.
It ended exactly 50-50 in terms of possession, but the difference between the sides is best illustrated by the metres made statistic - Japan made 633, Russia only 284. The hosts are just more dynamic in space, and that meant they could take advantage of the errors more effectively and take the chances when they opened.
"The overall performance itself may not have raised hopes of a romantic World Cup run, but with individuals such as Matsushima among their ranks, Japan will know that a moment of magic is never far away - and, with it, the promise of the unexpected."
Samuel Lovett was at the Tokyo Stadium to watch Japan get the World Cup underway:
That just about does it for our coverage of the opening game, but tomorrow is the most Super of Saturdays, with the World Cup fully kicking into gear with three huge clashes.
The best of them comes at 10.45am BST in Yokohama - it's New Zealand vs South Africa, and, as Samuel Lovett writes, it mustn't be missed:
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