Before Rugby League One's Tokyo Suntory Sun Goliath and the Super Rugby Blues, one of the world's top leagues, played an exchange game for the first time on the 3rd, Blues players who had visited Japan practiced the day before.
This exchange game consists of 4 matches between 4 teams from League One and 2 teams from New Zealand.
In the second half of the article, we will explain in detail the aim and significance of this exchange match.
table of contents
First exchange game, the visiting Blues practice the day before.
◇Schedule of interleague games (total of 4 games)
◆What is “Super Rugby Pacific”?
◆The background behind “THE CROSS-BORDER RUGBY”
◆Main players coming to Japan this time
Open table of contents
table of contents
table of contents
First exchange game, the visiting Blues practice the day before.
◇Schedule of interleague games (total of 4 games)
◆What is “Super Rugby Pacific”?
◆The background behind “THE CROSS-BORDER RUGBY”
◆Main players coming to Japan this time
First exchange game, the visiting Blues practice the day before.
``THE CROSS-BORDER RUGBY'', an exchange match between Japan's League One and the Southern Hemisphere's ``Super Rugby Pacific'', will be held in Japan for the first time this year with the aim of improving the level of players. will be done.
There will be four matches between four League One teams and two New Zealand teams, with Sungoliath facing off against the Blues in the first match on the 3rd.
On the 2nd, the Blues players who visited Japan practiced the day before at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo, the match venue, and the first 15 minutes of the match were shown to the press.
The players made continuous attacks from kicks and lineouts, and were making adjustments in a relaxed manner in the cold climate, which is the opposite of the southern hemisphere.
Blues head coach Vern Cotter said: ``The season starts in three weeks, but tomorrow will be our first game of the year.It will be a great opportunity to test our skills against a team from a different culture. It's a good opportunity," he said.
◇Schedule of interleague games (total of 4 games)
▽February 3rd: Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath vs. Blues (Tokyo Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium)
▽February 4th: Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights vs. Chiefs (Saitama Kumagaya Rugby Stadium)
▽February 10th: Yokohama Canon Eagles vs. Blues (Yokohama Nippatsu Ball Game) Venue)
February 10: Kubota Spears Funabashi/Tokyo Bay vs. Chiefs (Tokyo Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium)
◆What is “Super Rugby Pacific”?
It is a professional league consisting of 12 club teams from the southern hemisphere, including 5 teams from New Zealand
, 5 teams from Australia,
Fiji
, Tonga and Samoa, and is said to be one of the best leagues in the world.
In the past, teams from South Africa and Argentina also participated, and the Sunwolves from Japan in the northern hemisphere participated from 2016 to 2020 with the aim of strengthening the Japanese national team in preparation for the 2019 World Cup.
The new league season is scheduled to begin on February 23rd, and the two teams that came to Japan this time are both strong.
▽The Chiefs made it to the finals of the playoffs last season and were runners-up.
▽The Blues advanced to the semifinals of the playoffs.
The competition against the world's best club teams, which are filled with physically strong and highly capable players, is expected to raise the level of League One and expand its fan base.
◆The background behind “THE CROSS-BORDER RUGBY”
The reason for holding "THE CROSS-BORDER RUGBY" is not only to improve the level of League One teams and players representing Japan, but also to increase each other's fan base by making it an official match across leagues in the future. The aim is to expand.
In terms of improving the level of Japanese teams and players, the Sunwolves, who used to participate in Super Rugby, were excluded from the competition at the end of 2020, and opportunities for Japanese club teams to play against strong overseas teams have been limited.
Against this backdrop, League One, which had set its goal from its inception to compete against the world's strongest teams, was able to hold an exchange match against a team from the "Kingdom of Rugby" New Zealand in its third season.
This time, the four teams participating from League One include many players from the Japanese national team, and it will be a valuable experience to play against the Chiefs and Blues, who have key members of the New Zealand national team.
Although no title or prize money has been set this time, League One Chairman Motoichi Tamatsuka commented as follows.
League One Chairman Motoichi Tamatsuka
: ``This is a memorable first step towards future exchanges and competition with club rugby teams around the world. We are also considering expansion.”
In the future, we are looking to hold an official game in which the winning teams from both leagues will compete against each other, so keep an eye on what will happen next.
◆Main players coming to Japan this time
The Chiefs and Blues players who visited Japan include key players from the New Zealand national team, which finished runners-up in last year's World Cup.
[Chiefs]
▽Damien McKenzie, who played as a stand-off and fullback for the New Zealand national team
▽Anton Leinart-Brown
, a center player McKenzie has experience playing for Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath in League One, and is a popular player in Japan. is.
[Blues]
Seven players who participated in last year's World Cup belong to the Blues.
Winger Mark Telea and
center Rico Ioane
started for New Zealand in the World Cup final.
Patrick Tuipulotu, who will be the captain in the match against Sungoliath on the 3rd, did not play in last year's World Cup, but has won 43 caps for the New Zealand national team.
▽Prop Jordan Ray participated in last year's World Cup as a member of the Samoa national team and played against the Japanese national team in the first league.