The story of the RWC: Springboks time their run to a third World Cup

With just under a week to go until the 2023 Rugby World Cup kicks off in Paris, we're looking back at the history of the tournament from its origins in New Zealand and Australia 36 years ago, to its tenth instalment in France this month.

Our final stop on the journey of previous tournaments brings us to Japan in 2019, where once again Ireland's campaign unraveled in the quarter-final.

South Africa claimed a record-equaling third World Cup title with a dominant win against England in the final in Yokohama, marking a stunning turnaround in fortunes for the Boks under Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber.

The Hosts

Japan's hosting of the 2019 World Cup was confirmed 10 years earlier in July 2009, when they were picked alongside the 2015 hosts England, with Italy and South Africa missing out in the vote.

It was a groundbreaking and progressive decision, with Japan becoming the first country outside the major Six Nations and SANZAAR sides to be chosen as hosts.

With their hosting confirmed so long in advance, the makeup of the host cities was still to be confirmed, and although it was expected that Hong Kong and Singapore would also be included in the final list, that never materialised.

With Tokyo also hosting the 2020 Olympic Games, their new national stadium had been chalked down as the flagship venue for the bid and was expected to host the final, but a delay in construction saw them scrap than plan in 2015. Instead, the Yokohama International Stadium – site of the 2002 FIFA World Cup final – was put up in its place.

Yokohama hosted the final and both semi-finals, with the 50,000 Tokyo Stadium given the honour of staging the third-place playoff, two quarter-finals, as well as the opening game of the tournament where hosts Japan