2023-09-10 10:00:06
Gennosuke Tsuchihashi of Tenri University tackled by Yoshiyuki Koga of Waseda University during the 57th University Rugby Championship final, in Tokyo on January 11, 2021. THE ASAHI SHIMBUN / VIA GETTY IMAGES
In summer, Sugadaira is an island of freshness. Perched in the mountains of the Japanese department of Nagano, the ski resort transforms in fine weather into a vast training camp where nearly 800 high school and university rugby clubs escape the grueling humid heat of the plains. They take advantage of the 108 plots of land developed since the 1920s on fallow rice fields and impeccably maintained.
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Many rugby fans go there to discuss the talent of the young players, future executives of the national championship teams, League One, or even the Japanese team. The current scrum half of the Japanese XV, Naoto Saito, formerly of the prestigious Waseda University, went through Sugadaira.
The popularity of the station reflects that of Japanese university rugby, which today appears to be a weak link in Japanese rugby in full doubts in the run-up to the World Cup in France (from September 8 to October 18). The Brave Blossoms enter the fray on Sunday September 10 against Chile, before facing England, Samoa and Argentina. Four years after a quarter-final, at home, against South Africa – which allowed Japan to join the elite rugby nations in May 2023 – they have lost four of the five preparation matches. Their only victory, snatched at the cost of a last-minute save from winger Kotaro Matsushima, dates back to July against Tonga.
Teams that rely on foreign stars
During this preparation, the Japanese displayed a lack of creativity as well as players who were too respectful of the established frameworks – like opener Rikiya Matsuda – or who had lost their vision. And the team appears less powerful and less competitive. “Our players lack international confrontation, participation in physical championships, at a very high level”, regretted the coach, Jamie Joseph, at the beginning of August after a defeat against Fiji. The New Zealand coach pointed out the difference with the Fijians who have been playing for years at the most demanding level, in Europe or Oceania.
Since “their” World Cup, the Japanese XV have suffered from the coronavirus pandemic which banned them from any international matches for almost two years. The abolition in 2019 of the Sunwolves team – created to play in Super Rugby with teams from the Southern Hemisphere but little supported by a conservatively functioning federation – reduced the players’ chances of competing against the best.
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