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Japanese club plunged into scandal over bar incident

By Sam Smith
Taiki Kawai (C) of Hino Red Dolphins celebrates scoring his side's third try during the Top League playoff tournament 2nd round between Toyota Verblitz and Hino Red Dolphins at Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground on April 25, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

The Japan rugby side Hino Red Dolphins has suspended its operations following a media report that has accused its players of stripping, groping waitresses, and smashing glasses at a bar in southwestern Japan’s Oita.

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The club – which once boasted All Black No.8 Kieran Read among its number – has withdrawn from its upcoming match in Japan’s second division.

The Red Dolphins issued a statement acknowledging the media attention surrounding the scandal and apologized for causing inconvenience and concern. However, the club did not provide any details about the allegations or respond to the claims.

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According to a report in the Bunshun tabloid, the players, who were allegedly drunk, stripped and harassed female waitresses, damaged glasses and equipment at the bar.

The players attempted to avoid punishment by claiming to be from another club. The bar later demanded JPY 3 million ($23,000), and after receiving it, demanded an additional JPY 3 million, leading the players to hire lawyers.

This is not the first time the Red Dolphins have faced controversy regarding their player’s behavior. In 2020, a player from New Zealand was arrested on suspicion of cocaine use, leading the Japan Rugby Football Union to cancel three rounds of matches and commit to educating teams on drug laws.

Hino Red Dolphins forward Joel Everson was arrested after police saw him behaving in an unusual manner in the early hours of the morning in the central Tokyo district Roppongi, an infamous party spot. In a statement on their website at the time, the club wrote of its “apologies for scandals by our members”.

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The suspension of the Red Dolphins’ activities is effective immediately, and it remains uncertain when, or if, the club will resume operations. The incident has sparked widespread concern and criticism, and the club’s management is under pressure to address the allegations and take appropriate action.

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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