Rugby World Cup live stream: How to watch Japan vs Russia online and on TV
The tournament kicks off in earnest on Friday with the opening ceremony
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The 2019 Rugby World Cup begins today.
The tournament begins in Tokyo with hosts Japan taking on Russia in the opening game of Group A.
That comes after the opening ceremony, however, which promises to be a celebratory affair as ever and will surely come with one or two surprises too.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the big kick-off:
When does the tournament start?
The traditional tournament curtain-raiser is the opening ceremony, which is set to begin at about 10.30am on Friday 20 September.
The opening match follows the opening ceremony, with hosts Japan opening the tournament against Russia.
The match will start at 11:45 BST.
Where can I watch in the UK?
You can watch each game on ITV, while Indy Sport will have you covered with live blogs if you're on the move or at your desk. You can also stream the game on mobile devices and on your computer via the ITV website.
When will England begin their pursuit of the Webb Ellis trophy?
England kick off their Pool C fixtures against Tonga.
The game will take place on September 22 at 11:15 BST.
Who is playing and what are the pools?
There are 20 teams competing in Japan and they are divided into four pools, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals.
Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Russia, Samoa
Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Namibia, Canada
Pool C: England, France, Argentina, United States, Tonga
Pool D: Australia, Wales, Georgia, Fiji, Uruguay
The favourites
New Zealand 5/4
South Africa 4/1
England 4/1
Ireland 9/1
Wales 9/1
Australia 12/1
France 33/1
Argentina 40/1
Scotland 50/1
Japan 150/1
Latest updates
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load
And that looks to be that. The performers head back into the bowels of the stadium as the white canvas is cleared from the pitch. Shorter than I expected admittedly but nonetheless had everything you'd expect from an opening ceremony. Fireworks? Tick. Dancers clad in masks and ancient-looking robes? Tick. Richie McCaw? Tick.
I'll pass you back into the capable hands of my colleague Harry who'll be providing minute-by-minute updates from this evening's opener. Any complaints you may have regarding tonight's coverage so far, please direct in his direction. Thank you kindly.
Here's New Zealand legend Richie McCaw playing his part in this morning's opening ceremony:
Which brings us to...
There is a rugby playing Tom Brady, with the silver-haired wing most prominently of Sale and Leicester a fine player, but I doubt he'll be getting any love from the World Cup Twitter account during the course of the tournament.
Unlike New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, he of the six Lombardi Trophies, who has sent his best wishes to South Africa ahead of their mouthwatering World Cup opener against New Zealand tomorrow:
Half-an-hour to go until the World Cup gets underway...
Here's a reminder of the two teams:
Japan starting XV: Tupou; Matsushima, Lafaele, Nakamura, Lemeki; Tamura, Nagare; Inagaki, Horie, Valu; Van der Walt, Moore; Leitch, Labuschagne, Himeno.
Replacements: Sakate, Nakajima, Ji-won, Thompson, Tui, Tanaka, Matsuda, Yamanaka
Russia starting XV: Artemyev; Davydov, Ostroushko, Gerasimov, Golosnitskiy; Kushnarev, Dorofeev; Morozov, Selskii, Gotovtsev, Ostrikov, Fedotko, Zhivatov, Gadzhiev, Vavilin
Replacements: Matveev, Polivalov, Bitiev, Garbuzov, Sychev, Perov, Gaisin, Sozonov
This World Cup starts as the last one ended from a refereeing point of view, with popular Welsh referee Nigel Owens the man with whistle-in-hand today after overseeing the 2015 Final at Twickenham. Owens is very much of his own style, and tends to let more go than most, particularly at the breakdown. His games tend to be open affairs.
There was a bit of a scare over his fitness, with a bothersome lower leg injury leaving him hobbled in the lead up to this game. He's passsed his fitness tests, though, and is good to go. Matthew Carley of England is one of his assistants along the touchline, with Ben Skeen in the truck ready to step in should a trip to the TMO be required.
Talking of the whistle, it was delivered to Owens by two remarkable men who have made the 20,000 mile journey from London to Japan by bicycle in the lead up to the tournament.
James Owens and Ron Rutland have pedaled their way right across Eurasia and were given the honour of handing the referee his whistle for today's fixture.
I'm imagining the "I cycled 20,000 miles and all I got was a whistle" t-shirt has already been commissioned.
It is not raining in Tokyo, which is pleasing after all the pre-match bluster of baby oil, shampoo and the like, with conditions seemingly set fair at the Tokyo Stadium for some running rugby. Japan will play, but they might just hold a little in reserve as they look for a similarly seismic shock to that of South Africa in Brighton four years ago in the games to come against Ireland and Scotland.
Russia will have to cling on. The start will be crucial, you feel - if Japan score early they might just run away with this.
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