Hungry fans prompt removal of food ban at Rugby World Cup stadiums

Japan wasn't ready for rugby fans' appetites.

Just four days into the Rugby World Cup 2019 tournament, the organising committee was forced to change its food policy.

On Monday, it was announced fans would now be able to BYO snacks the size of a bento box, following shortages at various stadium stalls.

The change allowed fans to bring in a "reasonable amount of food" for personal consumption so they didn't go hungry, but the committee explained the strict no drinks policy remained in place.

"This decision has been made to ensure the best possible match day experience for all fans," the committee said in a statement.

Despite increasing the amount of food stalls at the stadiums used for the tournament prior to kick off, the demand wasn't able to be met at the weekend.

"The opening weekend demonstrated that service levels were not befitting the high standards of a Rugby World Cup, with some fans experiencing queueing delays and some vendors prematurely running out of some food options."

Fans at the stadiums shared their frustrations over the long queues for food, drinks, and toilets.

"Pretty ordinary this afternoon at Sapporo with long food queues (some ran out of food) and now can't get out of the stadium - massive fire issues! Must improve, no wonder rugby suffering. Poor customer experience," one person wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

"Lovely to see the men's loo queue 20 times longer than the ladies," another tweeted on Sunday.

Another suggested organisers changed the no water rule for future games as there were 45-minute wait times in line for all kiosks.

The change took effect for all games starting Monday starting with the match between Wales and Georgia.