Japan qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand with an emphatic 94-5 victory over Hong Kong in the HSBC Asian Five Nations Top Five competition in Tokyo on Saturday.A slick Japanese outfit went on a 14-try rampage in their final game in the qualifying campaign to grab the solitary direct entry for the World Cup given to Asia.

There was more heartache for Hong Kong as Kazakhstan clinched the runner-up spot with a 32-25 win over South Korea in Incheon to claim the berth in the cross-continental play-off for RWC 2011 against Uruguay. Flanker Anton Rudoy scored a hat-trick as Kazakhstan scored four tries to secure the crucial bonus point that saw them edge ahead of Hong Kong in the standings.Having posted half-century victories over all its opponents – South Korea (71-3), the Arabian Gulf (60-5) and Kazakhstan (101-7) – Japan continued in their merry fashion in front of a record A5N crowd in excess of 10,000 spectators today as they out-muscled Hong Kong at the breakdown, and pushed their opponents off their own ball in the scrums to stitch together another convincing victory.

“We have achieved our first goal this year which was to qualify for the World Cup,” said a pleased Japan coach John Kirwan. “The players have worked very hard and that was our best performance in the competition so far. But there is a long way to go.”Japan will play in Pool A at the World Cup alongside hosts New Zealand, France, Tonga and Canada.