Rugby World Cup

There are genuine fears that bars and restaurants in host cities could run dry, according to Jiji Press.

Concerns were raised at briefings in Sapporo, Hokkaido and Oita which could host the bulk of the expected 400,000 fans to the tournament that runs from September to November.

Running out of beer would mean the loss of "lucrative business opportunities" and could also trigger bad publicity on social media, according to the local report.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika revealed RA had applied for Australia to wear the hugely popular jersey in two games in Japan in September and October this year.

Test veteran Kurtley Beale, an Indigenous Australian, said last year it could be a powerful weapon for the Wallabies at a World Cup.

"It would be nice to wear it at the World Cup one day.

"Maybe that's something we could talk about in the future.

"You have two playing strips in the World Cup.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says Israel Folau's "disrespectful" comments would currently make it impossible to pick the superstar for Australia at this year's Rugby World Cup.

Folau remains stood down by Rugby Australia over his latest social media tirade, which proclaimed homosexuals, drunks and atheists would go to hell unless they repented.

"Getting out in that disrespectful manner publicly is not what our team's about," Cheika said on Monday.

Nonu was not invited to be part of the 41-man group which assembled in Wellington on Monday, but was offered a ray of hope when head coach Steve Hansen said the veteran midfielder would "be considered like anybody else".

Hansen said the selectors had decided to invite only players involved in the All Blacks' 2018 campaign.

"There are some guys who aren't here that, if you were picking it on form, probably would be here, but the rules are the rules and we are all playing by them."

Leavy suffered the injury during Leinster's 21-18 Champions Cup quarter-final victory over Ulster on Saturday after coming off the bench in the second half.

"Leinster Rugby can confirm that Dan Leavy had an initial scan yesterday on a complex knee ligament injury but needs further assessment this week," the club said in a statement.

"He has been ruled out for the remainder of the season and into next season to include the Rugby World Cup."

Leavy, 24, won the last of his 11 caps against Argentina in November after missing last year's Six Nations with a calf injury.

The union doesn't know when its final World Cup qualifier will be, who it'll be against, or whether it'll be able to call on its top players, all because of a corruption and eligibility scandal in the European group.

Somehow a scuffle between Spain, Belgium and a Romanian referee has created a headache for Samoa.

Their World Cup qualifying pathway is now uncertain and, after a month, there's been anger that World Rugby hasn't fixed the issue at hand.

The problem revolves around European qualifying, at the heart of it – Romania.

The Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) board last month unanimously recommended South Africa to host the tournament in six years' time.

Yet World Rugby Council members on Wednesday voted in favour of the France bid, despite South Africa being picked out as a "clear leader" a couple of weeks before decision day.

France presented the tournament solo for the first time in 2007, having played joint-host in 1991 with the UK and Ireland, and they will also stage the 10th edition of the tournament.

In wet and windy conditions, the French territory scored two unanswered tries and kept the Cookies scoreless in the second half.

The test was marred by ill-discipline, with Tahiti prop Martin Taeae, winger James Tekurio and Cook Islands centre Samuela Longo Leuta sent off amid a flurry of eight cards.

President of Tahiti Rugby Union, Charles Tauziet, claimed the "underdog" tag prior to kick-off but said the visitors ultimately won the game up front.

World Rugby brought in a tougher approach to dangerous tackling this year, with zero tolerance for reckless or accidental tackles that make contact with a players head.

Head coach Gareth Baber said last month the players would have to make adjustments to their tackling technique, to ensure they keep seven players on the field.

Two tournaments on he said it was still a work in progress.

The submissions will be assessed by a World Rugby Technical Review Group and applicants that meet the required criteria will move to the candidate phase on 1 November.