Japanese Alliance

Just been reading through some Super Rugby liftouts from last year (thanks Coach :approve: ) and came across a Dave Hughes article in the March 20 edition.

In part it is announcing the Yamaha and Toshiba matches however the second half states, "Yamaha centre Yusuke Nakagagi will stay in WA and join the Perth Bayswater club, while Palmyra will host Honda scrum-half Akihiro Yoshimura and centre Yousuke Matsui..."

Fulv, or anyone else involved from either Club, how did this initiative go?
Was it successful and is it likely to happen again?
On the surface it sounds like a great idea for all parties but until it is experienced then I guess it's hard to judge.
Appreciate any feedback

It was a great success for our club, and I believe for Perth as well. Our two players were of a very high standard and both played first grade for much of the six weeks of the season proper they were here. Only problem I think was we came to depend on them and they left a hole when they returned home.

These guys were highly rugby motivated and were obviously club professionals in Japan, sponsored by Honda who I understand covered all expenses of there stay, including two new cars for their use (after they crashed the first one!).

They spoke very limited English but understood rugby terms and picked up quite a bit while with us. A smile goes a long way and they were very popular with the other players.

We were lucky that one of our players and his wife were able to billet them, and that one of our committeemen's wife spoke good Japanese to sort out any problems.

From time to time a Japanese interpreter was provided, I think by Honda, but communication was not really a major issue.

Ihave no doubt Palmyra will participate again if asked and there was some talk last year of it being an ongoing initiative.

That's great news Fulv, thanks for that.
It certainly sounded like a good initiative.
You suggested that Pally "came to depend on them", do you think that it would be better to be hosting lesser development players rather than top level players then or would you prefer keeping the same standard as this year? Aside from the obvious benefit to the Club Win Loss ratio ;)

My understanding is that the players were part of the wider group from their respective clubs, eg, professional players, but not regular 22 players.

I think that for there to be any benefit to the Japanese corporate club (who are picking up the tab} they would have to send potential top flight players, and those players would be the equivilent of our first grade or better.

I think that the Japanese boys are being sent over more for the coaching and "tactical" exposure and knowledge than for what they pick up playing with and against local clubs.
With all respect due to other clubs, it should be noted that the clubs they were sent to by RugbyWA last year had excellent senior coaches.