Japan sentenced to the touchline by the powerbrokers

Japan submitted a tantalising bid which opened up a host of possibilities, but what swung the delegates was the ethos of rugby, pure and simple. Jock Hobbs, the chairman of the NZRU, said: "We brought to life one of our campaign themes - that a tournament in New Zealand would be hosted in a stadium of four million people." He was referring to the fact that the entire population in the Land of the Long White Cloud are rugby fans, whereas Japan, with a population 30 times larger, have no such tradition or legacy.

The IRB voters were asked: "How many New Zealanders are in your country as players, coaches and administrators?" Aside from the temptation to reply "too many", it struck a chord. The Japanese enlisted considerable support, not least in Martin Johnson and Nick Farr-Jones, who had captained England and Australia to the World Cup, but not even they could match the impact of Colin Meads and Tana Umaga when New Zealand made their final presentation in Dublin on Thursday.

"Tana gave a wonderfully powerful and emotional address," Hobbs said. "He spoke about being both a Samoan and a New Zealander." Hobbs added: "It will be a World Cup that can only benefit the Pacific Islands. It's going to be in their backyard." If that is the case, perhaps one or two of the 48 matches could be played in Samoa or Fiji.

A couple of other factors may have swayed the jury. New Zealand said that if they did not get it in 2011 the growth of the showpiece meant they might never get it. Also they were supposed to co-host the last one with Australia but were stripped of the honour after refusing to go along with the requirement of "clean" stadiums, which means that existing advertisers make way for the World Cup's sponsors. Having swallowed a humble pie the size of Meads, New Zealand are promising the most commercially successful Cup in history.

The Kiwis owe the Springboks big time. After South Africa's bid was rejected in the first ballot they cast their two votes in favour of New Zealand. The Japanese hinted at the influence of what they described as the "old boys' network".

Both New Zealand, who hosted the inaugural event in 1987, and South Africa, in 1995, have lifted the trophy on home soil, and the IRB have missed a great chance to help right an imbalance. Only a handful of countries have a realistic chance of becoming world champions, and the All Blacks are now favourites to win the next two.

Had a Kyoto agreement been reached, at least it would have meant that the finalists would not have home advantage. Japan's strength was in providing modern stadiums with greater capacity than anything in New Zealand. They too had the support of their government and guaranteed not only a money- spinner but exposure of the game in Asia, which has 60 per cent of the world's population.

The fatal weakness of Japan, who co-hosted the 2002 football World Cup, is that in the rugby version they have won only one match in five tournaments.