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Japan a new playing horizon
By Sean Maloney
foxsports.com.au
May 22, 2008 AS more and more Australian rugby stars look for lucrative moves overseas, the race is on between clubs from the northern hemisphere to make big-name signings. European clubs hold the whip hand, but the new kid on the block might just scoop them all. Japan, long regarded as the innovators of technology and efficiency, has turned its sights on rugby union, and the country is set to make an impact.
Backed by major international companies, the Japanese Top League and second-division clubs are promising big dollars. Throw in the lure of sake, sumo and Sanyo, and the big-name players are listening.
“I think some of the better teams in the top league would match it with the likes of Sydney University in the Sydney club competition” – Nathan Grey The former Australia and New South Wales centre is impressed by Japanese club rugby. Australia's Rugby World Cup-winning centre Nathan Grey, the fourth-most capped New South Wales player in history, made the move to the land of the rising sun three years ago.
"It's just an awesome lifestyle," the-hard running inside centre says. "The foreigners at our club (Kyuden) are the only professional players so we fill in the time with Japanese lessons and the occasional appearance at the company's office. Apart from that, I get to spend a lot of time with my family, which is unreal."
Grey was one of Australia's most physical inside centres of the past decade, but club rugby in Japan does not see him bullying the locals.
"The level of competition is actually really good," says Grey, who is back home on holiday in Manly. "To put it in perspective, I think some of the better teams in the top league would match it with the likes of Sydney University in the Sydney club competition."
The Top League competition consists of 13 rounds of matches in the regular season with a finals series between the top four. The competition runs from October to late February.
Former internationals command the biggest pay packets, but a few lucky Australians without Test caps have already won the equivalent of 'Rugby Lotto'
"It's such a great place to play and live," former Australia Sevens representative Josh Gamgee says. "The culture and the country are great, and there's also some western influence, which makes the transition easier for the players families and partners."
That said, the money is proving to be the biggest lure.
Contracts start around the $100,000 mark with all the trimmings: flights to and from Japan, a car and living expenses. While former Australian club players are taking such deals, former Test and provincial stars are banking phone-number type figures. When Toutai Kefu joined Kubota in 2003, he is believed to have signed a contract worth $1.5 million over three years. He's since re-signed.
“In their culture, being ichi-ban is the only thing that counts, and they'll do anything to put themselves in that position.” – Josh Gamgee The former Australia Sevens player explains the chase for glory in the Top League. Just as lucrative are the coaching roles: assistant Waratahs coach Todd Louden will link with Stephen Larkham at the Ricoh Black Rams for a reported $600,000 a season.
No expense is spared by these cashed-up clubs as they chase Top League glory.
"It's a matter of pride and honour with the corporations," says Gamgee, a former utility back with the IBM Blues.
"In their culture, being ichi-ban (No.1) is the only thing that counts, and they'll do anything to put themselves in that position."
Big-name European clubs with cashed-up owners have long been the destination of choice for professional players, but there's now a definite shift toward Asia. Destructive backrowers Jone Tawake and Troy Flavell have announced they'll head to Japan at the end of the Super 14 season, while Crusaders and former New Zealand back Caleb Ralph will join Fukuoka.
The interest and weight of money behind the game in Japan shows the country is more than ready for a Super 14 team, and Grey thinks such an outfit would prosper. "I think you'd get at least 30,000 people to a game here," he says. "There's so much potential."
The proposed expansion of the Super 14 to a 26-week tournament has been delayed until at least 2010, but Grey's comments nevertheless will come as a boost for Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill as he continues to lobby SANZAR for such an expansion to include 18 teams, one of which would be based in Japan.
"The national team has plenty of promise as well," Grey says. "They just need to make sure they don't fall into a 'club versus country' situation because, as it stands, the clubs have the majority of power."
The Japanese talent pool from which to draw players is also growing deeper, with more than 125,000 players registered in the country.
With so much to offer players and their families, a sports-obsessed public and a ready-made market for the game, the Lotus is set to blossom.
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