Japan vs Russia live stream: How to watch Rugby World Cup 2019 opening fixture online and on TV
The tournament kicks off on Friday with the hosts taking on Russia in Tokyo
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Your support makes all the difference.Japan and Russia kick off the 2019 Rugby World Cup today.
Six weeks of exciting rugby all starts here with the hosts against one of world rugby's minnows to kick things off in earnest.
They will go toe to toe in the capital city Tokyo on Friday morning.
It promises to be an exciting occasion and not one to be missed.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the big kick-off:
When does the tournament start?
The opening match follows the opening ceremony, with hosts Japan opening the tournament against Russia on Friday 20 September.
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.
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
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81 minutes
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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