The 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan appears to be on the road to success after huge numbers of fans have attempted to get tickets in the first phase of release.
Given this will be the first time the tournament will be staged outside of the traditional rugby countries - there had been fears that slow ticket sales could harm the image of the event.
However, those fears can now be put to bed after unprecedented demand for tickets was received for the event.
Over 900,000 applications were received with more than 2.5 millions tickets requested since January 2018.
The 2019 tournament will be the first time the Rugby World Cup will be staged in Asia and commenting on the demand, Akira Shimazu, Japan Rugby 2019 organising committee President and CEO said: "The response from both Japanese and international rugby fans has been truly amazing.
"We’ve seen incredible interest in matches featuring the host nation Japan, top-tier nations New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and England, as well as tremendous demand right across the knockout stages.
"However, my message to those fans who have not yet been successful is to apply again in September 2018 when the next ballot phase opens. There are still plenty of great tickets available and we want to ensure that we welcome as many fans as possible to this once-in-a-lifetime tournament," he added.
Samoa are within touching distance of a place in Ireland's pool at the global showpiece next year when they take on Germany in the second leg of their play-off in Heidelberg this weekend. The islanders take a 66-15 advantage into the match.
The final place at the tournament will be decided when the Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Canada and the loser of the Samoa/Germany clash take part in a round-robin repechage in France in November.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
