In 2015, I found a rare pub in the financial district in Lower Manhattan and sat at a table and screamed at the television as the Wallabies strove to grasp points against the other team — England, Wales, Scotland, Argentina — only to lose to New Zealand in the final. My son, who was six years old at the time, watched in bewilderment as his mother repeatedly leapt out of her seat with an aborted curse, a raucous cheer and finally begrudging defeat, in the language of a sport he had yet to comprehend.

In all these places, the Wallabies helped me feel close to home, my friends and the only sport I love to watch. So you can imagine my delight when The New York Times decided to produce a special section devoted to the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in Japan on Friday.

I got to meet the Wallabies squad before they left for Japan — where the home team will meet Russia before crowds that have solidly taken on the sport and are as fanatical as any of us — and talked to the players about the year they’ve had.

It’s been eventful. With the tumult the Israel Folau saga has left in their midst, they discussed how they’ll need to hone their focus when they take on the best of the world over the next few weeks.

For my second story for our rugby special, I traveled to Auckland and saw the way the game is woven into the fabric of the country. Just as Australia’s spirit was forged in the cricket victories against England that spawned the Ashes, so too did New Zealand find its way as a nation in its wins over the mother country in rugby. It was also a revelation to witness the kind of pressure the All Blacks face from their own people, who are so wholly invested in them.