South Korea and a third Asian entry will vie for a berth in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in an Asian qualifying tournament next June and July, the Japan Rugby Union said Monday.
Japan, eliminated in the first round of the World Cup in Wales in 1999, and South Korea will receive seeds to next year's home-and-away qualifiers and will play the top team from the remaining 10 countries in the Asian Rugby Federation.
Rugby officials also said they had concluded a contract with Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. as an official sponsor of the Japanese national team through February 2004.