In a historic first for the Rugby World Cup, 18 Olympians from nine nations are set to take to the field at Japan 2019, the first Rugby World Cup to be held in Asia, which begins on Friday when hosts Japan take on Russia at the Tokyo Stadium.

Rugby returned to the Games in some style at Rio 2016, in the shape of the men’s and women’s sevens competitions, which threw up no shortage of action and memorable moments.

Fiji produced a breathtaking performance that epitomised the pace, power and skill of their distinctive brand of rugby to become the first men’s Olympic sevens champions on 11 August, giving the Pacific island nation its first-ever Games medal.