`The pressure is on Japan´: Russia seek upset in Rugby World Cup opener
(The Guardian Sports News)

o `We´ll have enough adrenaline to raise the dead,´ says captaino Friday´s match, in Tokyo, set to be first of 48 sell-outsWhen Japan last played Russia in Tokyo, nine years ago, the attendance was little more than 6,000. On Friday night the Ajinomoto Stadium will be at its 49,970 capacity as the two countries open the ninth Rugby World Cup, the first of what the organisers are confident will be 48 sell-out crowds in a nation where rugby union is far from an institution. Related: Humidity to home heroics: five things to look out for at the Rugby World Cup | Ben Ryan Continue reading...