For the past few weeks, about 4 billion viewers worldwide have been captivated by the Rugby World Cup played in New Zealand.

Although the outcome of the game was unknown at the time of the interview, the final match pitted two powerhouses: New Zealand’s All Blacks versus France’s Les Bleus.

Rugby is virtually unknown here in Korea except for games played at the local universities, military academies and expat teams such as the Seoul Survivors Rugby Club.

Yet, the International Rugby Board sees the Asian continent as an area of growth for the sport.

“Japan is already quite strong and getting stronger, they will be hosting the next World Cup, so there is no reason why it won’t pick up in Korea or China,” New Zealand Ambassador and avid rugby fan Richard Mann told The Korea Herald.

To assist the sport in spreading its wings in Asia, the International Rugby Board organizes promotional events paid for by the revenue generated from the World Cup.

“That’s important because at its top level it is a professional sport,” noted Mann.

“Like any sport, you have to build your national strength in it. You have to have good domestic competitions; you have to encourage young people to take-up the sport, particularly when it’s not so well known.

“You develop your strengths, your systems, your coaching ability but the IRB provides that to assist and promote,” he added.

In Korea, particularly Seoul, the seeds have been planted for children to learn and appreciate playing the game through the Han River Pirates volunteer club which is run by families for children to learn and play touch rugby.

The children involved range from the ages of 7 to 14 years, are a mix of girls and boys and are coached by an enthusiastic and friendly parents group and members of the Seoul Survivors.

Plus, Korea does have a national team. According to the IRB, Korea is placed 32nd in international standings.

“It’s a global sport, not every country plays rugby, but it’s a very diverse geographically played sport,” said Mann.

The figures are still being tallied, but the Rugby World Cup is set to have a deep economic impact on New Zealand.

Studies by Britain’s Coventry University Business School and New Zealand’s Reserve Bank estimated anywhere from 85,000-95,000 overseas visitors would spend about $650 million during the six-week tournament.

The long-term legacy of the games would be even more valuable with tourism and business getting a $1.2 billion boost, a welcome prospect as the country struggles with the economic crisis still lingering in its main export markets of Europe and North America and the estimated $15 billion cost to rebuild Christchurch after a devastating earthquake in February.

But showing the games in Korea proved challenging when ESPN STAR Sports preempted the games during the crucial semi- and quarterfinals even though station promos were promoting the game at the regular set time and channel.

The Singapore head-office said the games were still being shown as promised, but without its knowledge, the office in Korea replaced the games with other sporting events, one being the Korea F1 Grand prix the same day as the semifinals.

“We were very encouraged that Star Sports was showing the games but when we got to the knockout phases their programming seemed to change,” he said. “That seemed a bit odd when you get to the knockout phase.”

By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldcorp.com)