World Cup Rugby

Japan beat the Arabian Gulf 82-9 on Sunday in their first game of the Asian qualifiers for the 2007 rugby World Cup.

Japan will play rivals South Korea next week and South Korea will play the Arabian Gulf on May 5.

The top two teams will face the winners of Division Two in November. Division Two is made up of China, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.

The winner of the final round automatically qualifies for the World Cup in France with the runner-up having to playoff against a runner-up from the Oceania region.