Friday, 22 September 2017: The director for the 2019 Rugby World Cup says hosts Japan need to start getting their training grounds up to scratch.

Japan has been delivered a hurry-up by rugby's bosses as they prepare to host the 2019 World Cup.

A World Rugby review of Japan's preparations for the tournament was mixed, calling on organising committee to "accelerate" progress.

Less than two years out from the first World Cup in Asia, tournament director Alan Gilpin found a lack of provision for training grounds for the 20 teams.

"There are some areas where the organising committee has not progressed as much as we would expect by this stage," Gilpin said.

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"The Japan Rugby 2019 organising committee recognise that they need to accelerate the selection of training venues.

"The next few months will be critical to the ultimate success of the tournament."