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Japan League's 'amazing 40 per cent' World Cup final player claim
Japan Rugby’s League One has a dozen Rugby World Cup final starters enrolled to play in the 2023/24 season – more starters in the global showpiece than from any other club tournament.
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Six Springboks and a half-dozen more All Blacks have respectively been named Jacques Nienaber and Ian Foster, a statistic the league in the Far East was keen to publicise in the run-up to the title decider in Paris.
A statement read: “Genichi Tamatsuka, the chairman of Japan Rugby League One, has hailed the performance of the competition’s players on the international stage, with 40 per cent of those announced to start the Rugby World Cup final drawn from the league’s clubs for the upcoming 2023/24 season.
“The 12 players are – South Africa: Franco Mostert (Mie Honda Heat), Pieter Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Faf de Klerk (Yokohama Canon Eagles), Damien de Allende (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights), Jesse Kriel (Yokohama Canon Eagles), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath);
“New Zealand: Brodie Retallick (Kobelco Kobe Steelers), Shannon Frizell (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo), Ardie Savea (Kobelco Kobe Steelers), Aaron Smith (Toyota Verblitz), Richie Mo’ounga (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo), Beauden Barrett (Toyota Verblitz).
“Their selection means that more players enrolled with Japan Rugby League One clubs will start in rugby’s showpiece international game than are drawn individually from any of Super Rugby, the United Rugby Championship, England’s Premiership, or the French Top 14 competitions.
“In addition, Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) starts on the South African bench as does Willie le Roux, who played the last four seasons for Toyota Verblitz, but has opted to return to South Africa for next year.
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“Five others – Handre Pollard (NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes), Eben Etzebeth (NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes), Sam Whitelock (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights), Damien McKenzie (Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath) and RG Syman (Mie Honda Heat) – have also spent time at Japanese clubs in recent seasons. The third edition of Japan Rugby League One starts on December 9.
“The league’s attraction isn’t limited to players, with Six Nations-winning Wales coach Wayne Pivac (NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu), former Wallaby coach Dave Rennie (Kobelco Kobe Steelers), and Italy coach Kieran Crowley (Mie Honda Heat), also joining the competition.
“They will match wits against the likes of the Rugby World Cup-winning All Blacks coach Steve Hansen (Toyota Verblitz), five times-Super Rugby-winning and ex-Wallabies coach Robbie Deans (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights), two-time Super Rugby-winning coach Frans Ludeke (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay), as well as the two-time Super Rugby finalist coaches Todd Blackadder (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo) and Johan Ackerman (Urayasu DRocks).
Tamatsuka said: “The figures are amazing, who would have thought this would be so? Japan Rugby League One was only set up two years ago, with the vision of further developing the club game in our country while providing a springboard to showcase the best of our league on the international stage.
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“To already have more players in the starting teams of a Rugby World Cup final than any other competition in the world is a massive honour.”
“It is a great reinforcement to Japan Rugby Football Union, the staff at Japan Rugby League One, and especially everyone associated with our clubs, that the league is delivering on one of its key goals.”
It's wet and windy in Paris just hours out from the start of the Rugby World Cup final 2023 featuring South Africa and New Zealand. #Springboks #AllBlacks #RWC2023 #NZLvRSA pic.twitter.com/71dWi5b2sq
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 28, 2023
The league’s chief operating officer, Hajime Shoji, added that the competitive performance by Japan at the Rugby World Cup, where they fell just short of the quarter-finals, alongside the influx of World Cup competitors from other countries have set the scene for what will be another highly competitive and exciting league.
“It has taken us just two years to exceed one million in attendance for our league, we had 42,000 at last season’s final, and that public enthusiasm (for rugby) carried over to the Rugby World Cup where Japan had great support from fans at the tournament, but also watching at home.
“I am confident the level of interest in our league at home, but also overseas, is going to continue to grow, especially as we have 24 foreign players from seven different countries who participated at the Rugby World Cup now joining Japan Rugby League One clubs.
“The fact that more than half of them (13) are coming after playing in the final is an indicator of how elite players view the standard of the league, as well as the experience of playing in Japan.
“The input of such elite foreign coaches and players at clubs is also having a huge influence on developing Japanese players for the exciting opportunities that are ahead of the Japan team. We are all looking forward to an exciting Japan Rugby League One season, after what I’m sure will be a special
night in Paris.”
Comments on RugbyPass
A Springbok 2-0 win: haha told you we were champions now shut up An Irish 2-0 win: the referee was under orders from world rugby to cheat us but luckily we don’t care because this is part of Rassie’s grand world Cup plan.
103 Go to commentsI hope they didn’t pay Jones fee?
2 Go to commentsTo be fair, the teams he's had to put out are reminiscent of those available to Gatland during his horrible run at the Chiefs in late 2020. Anyway, he's only got a two year contract and Wellingtonian Tamati Ellison will be ready by then, as will a lot of talented youngsters (like the Chiefs Gatland blooded). The Crusaders are planning for the long term.
5 Go to commentsGreat to see more community spending leading to higher participation in the community. It's a long road but that's a good first step.
2 Go to commentsPoetic justice for trying to sell him to Australia as another kiwi saviour coach, not ! Deans was just as bad actually but McCaw and Carter covered up for him. That’s why they didn’t want him as All Black coach, even after Graeme Henry’s bumbling effort in 2007.
5 Go to commentsSACK HIM !
5 Go to commentsSafas are so triggered by Ireland. 3 consecutive losses, incl RWC. 8 losses out of last 12 Tests. Always excuses, of course, with Bok fans. Now Rassie with his “88%” nonsense, the Claytons Excuse is an embarrassment to Bok teams of the past when every test mattered. Their fickle mojo will be on edge for the Ireland tour. Have the referees been appointed yet ? They will need security. Have WR laid out strict guidelines for TMO’s and replays on the stadium screens ? Will the constant stoppages from Bok forwards for cramps and bootlaces be tolerated ? We’re not talking a dominant Springbok team here, they won the LOTTO Cup and they know it whether they admit it or not. The Disney doco has their fans positively fermenting internally, its going to be a nasty hangover if they get beaten on home soil. What will the excuses be then……
103 Go to commentsGreat role model.
2 Go to commentsOne significant tell, not a single Waratahs player stopped to whinge to the ref about Finau’s tackle. They got on with playing the game. Great tackle.
8 Go to commentsWouldn’t be a bad move if Ireland pulled into SA with a young side. Particularly in Pretoria. Invaluable experience getting thumped in the bosveld.
103 Go to commentsIreland. The Princess Diana of Rugby. I never cheered so much for a team as i did for the All Blacks in that QF.
103 Go to commentsWill be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…
1 Go to commentsLooked up Grant Constable on google and reply was doppelgänger for Ben Smith
103 Go to commentsIt is so good that we now all get excited and debate who is best and emotionally get involved. We all back our teams which is great. Up until about 15-20 years ago, NZ was basically on its own, and then Saffa, Aussie and sometimes French and English were there. We now have at least 5-6 really top sides and another 4 who keep improving. This is so healthy. So we should not resort to rubbish comments and unhealthy debate, but rather all be chuffed that the product we watch is not competitive, exciting and often uncertain. It would be so good if World Rugger could find a way to align the rules to professional players as well as spectators. Live rugby games are SO boring as there is SO much down time as we wait for refs and TMOs and whoever else to look at every small event going back endless phases with the hope of eventually find a minute infringement to then decide cancel what was a wonderful try. This is the ultimate cork back in the bottle moment and feels like every balloon is always being popped. Come on- we must be better with the rules.
103 Go to comments“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
2 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
103 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
103 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
103 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to comments