European players need to start considering Japan if they want to extend their careers
How long is it till Japan becomes an in-demand destination for European rugby players?
South African Willie le Roux and New Zealander Kieran Read are the latest two global stars to agree moves to the Japanese Top League, with both players set to join up with Toyota Verblitz following the Rugby World Cup later this year.
Verblitz, who finished the 2018/19 Top League season in fourth, are currently led by former Rugby World Cup-winning coach Jake White and there is a strong South African contingent at the team, with the likes of Jason Jenkins, Lionel Cronjé and Gio Aplon already on board.
One of the major lures of the Top League to players in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia is the relatively low demands on the body, with teams only playing seven regular season contests, before embarking on a three-match post-season schedule, in the 2018/19 season. In the 2017/18 season, that had been a 13-match regular season, but even that extended schedule is still a lot less arduous than the 30+ match seasons that you find in Europe.
Whilst it offers increased earning opportunities for southern hemisphere players, it is not quite the same financial promised land for northern hemisphere players, who already earn significant money in the UK, France and Ireland. That said, the toll on the body is a lot less.
How far away are we from seeing top European players head over to Japan for a couple of years at the beginning of a cycle, save their bodies some punishment, and then return to push for international selection a season or two before the next Rugby World Cup?
Take Manu Tuilagi for example. There are two major schools of thought surrounding his impending decision to either move to France or stay in England with Leicester Tigers.
One says that he should go to France. He has been plagued by injury problems and a rugby player’s career is a short one. His career could end tomorrow in training with the wrong kind of collision or he could spend the next few years continuing to struggle with groin issues and miss out on the lucrative England test match fees which majorly bump up any Gallagher Premiership contract. Take the money and set yourself up beyond rugby.
The other is that he owes Leicester a debt. That the East Midlands club handed him a big contract previously and have stuck by him through all the injury issues and the odd off-field indiscretion. Combine that Leicester contract with his England match fees and he would be earning plenty of money, whilst staying in contention for the national team and potentially the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Then he could take one final big money deal and retire on his own terms.
There’s credibility to both arguments, but why isn’t Japan in the mix? It’s surely something that his agent would potentially want to guide him towards.
Tuilagi could make major money as one of the star players at a Top League club, earning, per game, a figure likely higher than he would warrant in England or France. Factor in again that there are restrictions in the Top League in terms of foreign players in the matchday squad and he may not even find himself playing in every game of the season that he’s fit for, with other foreign players rotated in and out of the line-up.
A couple of years in Japan are not going to tax his body in the same way that two seasons in England or France are going to, and then he could, if he still had international ambitions, move back to England and try to force his way into contention for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
There have been examples of European players going to and having success in Japan, albeit in short stints.
James Haskell spent a season with the Ricoh Black Rams, Geoff Parling played for the Munakata Sanix Blues and current Saracens lock Dom Day was a member of the Verblitz, whilst former Wales wing Shane Williams spent a few years with the Mitsubishi DynaBoars.
For Haskell and Parling, it was a bridge to stints in Super Rugby, whilst Williams was at the end of his career and setting himself up for retirement. For the most part, they didn’t head to Japan with the thought of long stays, but could Japan become a destination for players looking to maximise earnings and keep their bodies in better shape for a longer career?
There’s no reason to doubt it.
The upcoming Rugby World Cup will, hopefully, further embed the game in the country and increase support. That support isn’t too bad at the moment, either, with Verblitz boasting crowds in the high 20,000’s at times, although the competition had an average attendance this past season of just shy of 6,000. Whilst not the highest figure, that is an increase in average attendance of just over 1,000 in the last two years, which is encouraging growth for the competition.
With growing commercial interest from Japan in rugby, including potential acquisitions of player agencies and whispers of a Super Rugby-esque competition based in the country, it is a market whose growth could significantly accelerate in the coming years.
Whilst European markets will still more easily be able to hold their own, financially, in a battle against player drain than the southern hemisphere, it does offer a potentially beneficial path for rugby players in the Premiership, Top 14 and Guinness PRO14.
Watch: Kieran Read confirms a post-RWC deal with Toyota Verblitz
Comments on RugbyPass
Absolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
5 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
5 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to comments