Fans warned of beer shortage at 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan

Fans planning to travel to Japan for the Rugby World Cup this autumn could face longer than a wait for a beer in the country.

World Rugby’s organising committee has urged business across the host cities of Tokyo and Osaka to increase their stocks of alcohol ready to welcome the 400,000 fans expected to travel to the tournament.

20 nations will converge in Japan in September, with Japan and Russia kicking off a tournament which follows the most lucrative in World Rugby’s history when England was host nation in 2015.

As the All Blacks made it back-to-back World Cup triumphs and England were dumped out in the pools, 3.34m pints of beer (1.9m litres) were drunk across the country.

Temperatures in Japan during the autumn typically tend to stick in the low 20s, ideal for England fans who will travel through Sapporo, Kobe City, Tokyo and Yokohama City for their pool matches.

England head coach Eddie Jones has implored his players to ‘buy into the culture’ of Japan, a country where he coached the national team between 2012 and 2015.

Bringing a feast of sushi to the team’s training headquarters during last year’s autumn internationals.

The committees warning comes after discovery that many bars and restaurants in Japan draw customers into their establishments with an all-you-can-drink special rate deal, known locally as nomihoudai.