ラグビー Ｗ杯をスポーツ界の活力に

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Aug. 2, 2009)
2019 Rugby World Cup could give sports fillip
ラグビー　Ｗ杯をスポーツ界の活力に（8月2日付・読売社説）

Japan has won the right to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
　ラグビーの２０１９年ワールドカップ（Ｗ杯）が、日本で開催されることになった。

We hope that hosting the event will invigorate not only rugby, but sport more generally in the nation, which has been suffering during the severe economic downturn.
　Ｗ杯開催を、ラグビー界だけでなく、不況の影響で逆風を受けているスポーツ界全体の活性化につなげたい。

The Rugby World Cup is said to be the third-biggest sporting event in the world after soccer's World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games. Since it was launched in 1987, the Rugby World Cup has been held every four years. But Japan will be the first Asian nation to host the tournament.
　ラグビーのＷ杯は、サッカーのＷ杯、夏季五輪に次ぐ規模の国際大会と言われている。１９８７年の第１回大会以来、４年に１度、開かれてきたが、アジアでの開催は初めてである。

Japan was likely picked in light of the praise it earned for its hosting in June of the Junior World Championship (for players aged 20 or under) among other factors. Also, the International Rugby Board apparently is intent on expanding the rugby business through greater internationalization of the sport.
　日本が選ばれたのは、６月に２０歳以下の世界選手権を開催した実績などが評価された結果だろう。ラグビーの国際化で市場拡大を目指す国際ラグビーボード（ＩＲＢ）の思惑も働いたといえる。

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Long way to go

But the reality is that Japan still has many obstacles to overcome ahead of the tournament.
　だが、現実には、大会までの道のりは平坦(へいたん)ではないだろう。

First and foremost, it is imperative to raise the standard of the national team--a strong team would likely lead to greater public excitement over the tournament.
まず必要なのは、日本チームのレベルアップだ。日本代表が強ければこそ、大会は盛り上がる。

Japan has participated in all six rugby World Cups, but has each time failed to progress beyond the group stage--the national team struggles to compete with the world's top teams.
　日本は過去６回のＷ杯のすべてに出場しているが、いずれも１次リーグで敗退している。世界のトップクラスの国と比べると、大きな力の差があるのが現状だ。

The Japan Rugby Football Union must therefore work hard to come up with effective measures to improve standards with an eye on the next decade.
　日本ラグビー協会は、１０年後を見据え、しっかりとした強化策を練らなければならない。

One way to strengthen the national team would be the fielding of foreign players. Foreign rugby players would be eligible to play for Japan as long as they have not played for any other national team and have played in Japan for at least three years consecutively.
　外国人選手によって日本代表をさらに補強するのも一つの方法であろう。ラグビーの場合、他国での代表経験がなく、日本で３年以上プレーすれば、外国人でも日本代表になれるからだ。

However, if there are too many foreign players in the national team, people may feel the thrill of cheering on their country's own players at the World Cup is diminished.
　しかし、他国の選手があまりに多くては、国旗を背負って戦うというＷ杯の醍醐(だいご)味が薄れてしまうと感じる人も少なくあるまい。

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Investing in success

It is difficult to argue that rugby is particularly popular in Japan, with many members of the public likely to say they only watch the latter stages of the national university championship early in the New Year on TV.
　国内のラグビー人気は、決して高いとはいえない。テレビで見るのは、年始の大学選手権だけという人も多いのではないか。

To broaden the sport's fan base, it is essential that the nation's players improve their skill levels and battle hard in games.
ファン層を拡大するためにも、選手がレベルアップして、迫力ある試合を見せることは欠かせない。

The Japan Rugby Football Union is due to make an about 15 billion yen host guarantee payment to the International Rugby Board. Meanwhile, the construction and upgrading of venue facilities will require huge investment.
　Ｗ杯開催により、協会は約１５０億円の開催保証金をＩＲＢに支払わねばならない。会場の整備にも巨額の資金が必要となる。

A further issue is how attractive rugby will appear to businesses and other groups whose support is being sought.
　ラグビーがビジネスとしても魅力ある競技であると認知されるかどうかが、経済界などからの支援獲得のカギとなるだろう。

The nation also has been bidding to host the 2016 Olympic Games and a soccer World Cup. If Tokyo is chosen to host the Games in 2016, a new stadium with a capacity of 100,000 is expected to be built in the city's Harumi district. Using the same stadium for the Rugby World Cup would save on costs.
　日本は、１６年の東京五輪、さらにサッカーのＷ杯招致にも取り組んでいる。東京五輪が実現すれば、東京・晴海に１０万人収容の新スタジアムが建設される予定だ。ここをラグビーＷ杯でも使えば、施設整備費の節約につながる。

The host city of the 2016 Games will be announced in October. We hope that Tokyo will win, helped on by the successful bid to host the Rugby World Cup.
　１６年の五輪開催地は１０月に決まる。ラグビーＷ杯を追い風に、東京五輪も実現にこぎ着けたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 2, 2009)
（2009年8月2日01時46分 読売新聞）