Japanese international back Kotaro Matsushima has signed to Clermont for two years. - Masahiro Sugimoto / AP / SIPA

This is news that will make us look forward to the next season of Top 14. The Japanese back Kotaro Matsushima, one of the revelations of the last Rugby World Cup, has committed for two years with Clermont, the club announced on Tuesday in a statement welcoming "this huge recruitment".

"Tracked by many clubs" on the planet according to the ASM, this versatile player (rear or winger) of 26 years and 36 selections, who currently plays at the Sungoliath Suntory (Top League in Japan), signed until June 2022 and will discover the championship and the Michelin stadium "from next summer".

OFFICIAL KOTARO MATSUSHIMA IS COMMITTED TO 2 SEASONS! 🏈

👉 https://t.co/fTGWnRJ0br pic.twitter.com/MqXbNurRHL

- ASM Rugby (@ASMOfficiel) January 28, 2020

First player in the history of Japanese rugby to register a hat-trick at a World Cup, in the opening match against Russia, Matsushima (1.78 m, 88 kg) was a "real revelation" of the last competition "where its sharp races and its support of fire dazzled the world of rugby", underlines the club of Auvergne.

He had played with the hopes of Stade Toulousain in 2011

He finished third in the competition with five tries in five games. His arrival, which will compensate for the departures at the end of the season from the New Zealand rear Isaia Toeava and English Nick Abendanon, is "great news for the club, our region and our supporters", enthuses Franck Azéma, sports director of the ASM.

“My wish was to join a large rugby team and a club that really wanted to integrate me into its goals. The Clermontois have been in contact with me for a long time and have shown great interest in my coming, "said Matsushima in the press release. Champion of Japan in 2017 and 2018, he scored 19 trials in selection and had already set foot in France in 2011 playing with the Espoirs du Stade Toulousain.

  • Japan
  • Rugby
  • ASM Clermont Auvergne
  • Sport
  • Aquitaine