Japan and the 2011 Rugby World CupWould it be the worst thing in the world if Japan hosted the 2011 Rugby World Cup?

I mean, really, unlike South Africa, if Japan host it they don't have a hope of winning it, so there's no hometown advantage. And of all the other teams the Japanese might throw their support in behind once their local lads are out, who's it going to be: England, Australia, France, South Africa or the All Blacks? Betcha anything they get in behind the All Blacks in a big way. When it comes to picking a third party to win any competition, you either pick the rank outsiders, or the team that plays the most exciting version of the sport at hand. In soccer it's Brazil, in rugby it's the All Blacks. Thus, once Fiji and Canada go out in the quarter-finals, the All Blacks will be the obvious team for the non-involved to support.

And then, in my ideal world, having won the World Cup in 2011, New Zealand will get the hosting rights in 2015, meaning, naturally, that we'll end up having won the cup three tournaments in a row: 2007 (France), 2011 (Japan) and 2015 (NZ).

Viewing times are pretty good too. A 2pm afteroon kickoff in Japan is 5pm NZ Time, and a 7pm evening kickoff is 10pm. We get to see pretty much every game live, after work.

Ahhhh, these are the sorts of thoughts I have on the bus on the way home...

UPDATE: Although I see now that the NZRU's Chris Moller has said they 'definitely' won't make a bid for the 2015 Cup, so my dream scenario is moot. Dammit.
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