It is easy to hate Europe. It has the Six Nations that does what it wants when it wants. It has clubs who take all the best players from all over the world.
They are the pack of wolves that most see and don’t trust. When they suggest good things few take them at their word and want to know their angle.
But what about the wolf that no one recognises? While Japan hides in plain sight, they have their eyes firmly on being the powerhouse of the rest of world.
They have been quietly going about their business, climbing one step at a time. But at some point they will show their teeth and bite off the hand that has been feeding them. Maybe a wolf with Eddie Jones’ face might wake people up.
In 1995 Japan were beaten 145-17 at the World Cup by New Zealand. They were well down the pecking order and physically seemed to struggle – which wasn’t expected to get better with professionalism.
But step-by-step they have become less like sheep.
If you hate European clubs who have their private backers put in 5% of the clubs income how do you feel about giant corporations putting in 75% of the money?
In 2003 Japan got the Top League as its first national league – which was a big win funded by the companies who loved rugby. This allowed them improve their national team via residence rules to improve results.
In 2003 Japan had three non-Japanese players in their squad, all New Zealanders. In 2007 it had jumped to eight with more players coming from the Pacific islands who were getting contracts in Japan.
Some changes that show the development of the Top League included going from two to three overseas players on the field for a team at one time in 2008, with an additional Asian player also allowed.
In 2009 one of the three overseas players had to be eligible for the national side, thus helping them to get better players into their national side.
Fast forward three years and Eddie is about to help them make waves.
Eddie Jones, Head Coach of Japan celebrates with Hiroshi Yamashita of Japan after the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Samoa and Japan at Stadium mk on October 3, 2015 in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
At the 2012-2015 World Cup cycle they announced themselves on the international stage, beating South Africa, Wales and Italy. They also broke into the top 10 for the first time, achieving what seemed an impossible task. The national team was now seen as a legitimate force in Test rugby.
In 2016 the Sunwolves joined Super Rugby with the Jaguars and Southern Kings. The Sunwolves were meant to be filled with the top players from the Top League but the Union forgot to tell the clubs. It was deemed the clubs weren’t good enough and the clubs hated that Japanese money was going to other people. 2017 was the only year they didn’t finish last.
A team that was meant to be the best that Japan had to offer were terrible and many called for their expulsion. The Top League announced that as the World Cup was going to interfere with the Top League they were going to move its dates in 2019 and 2020. In the two steps forward they permanently rearranged the league to compete with Super Rugby, meaning any continuation of the Sunwolves was not in Japan’s best interest.
Prior to the change, many players from Super Rugby chose to take paydays in Japan rather than go play international matches. Those not good enough for Test level were no real loss.
The unions didn’t mind losing a few Test players, it wasn’t the end of the world. When the Top League moved to clash with Super Rugby players nol onger could get the best of both worlds.
For Australia and South Africa more players chose Japan, putting pressure on their Super Rugby teams. In 2019 Willie Le Roux became the first player to win a World Cup while contracted to a Japanese team. In 2023 that number rose to eight players. Players like Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete moved to Japan full-time.
In 2019 32 players were contracted to Japanese clubs in the Top League, four years later it is 50 players.
Australia felt this bite the most as those who stayed in Super Rugby but were not Test standard now sat at home for six months waiting for Super Rugby to restart. Now players have to either trust they will get international money or be happy with less wages.
Recently the Top League changed its name to League One with some structural changes. The Union, now aligned with the private Clubs are using the Sunwolves money to bring over teams from Super Rugby. This year has seen Japan sign agreements with Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby separately seeing more games.
The questions fans should be asking at this point is why are A sides and Super Rugby teams worth it. Yes it’s easy money for the Unions but what are fans in Australia and New Zealand giving up for these things to happen? What do Japan think they are getting out of this?
Eddie Jones (R), Director of rugby of Suntory Sungoliath, speaks with Sam Cane of Suntory Sungoliath prior to the NTT Japan Rugby League One match between Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay and Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath at Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground on December 10, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Getty Images)
The Blues and Chiefs are heading to Japan to play the four best domestic Japanese teams team in 2024. Other Super Rugby teams have also been playing them – like the Brumbies. In eight years, teams deemed no more than Shute Shield level are now playing the best Super Rugby teams.
The shift is best summed up in Richie Mo’unga, who at 29 and in his prime, has turned his back on not only Super Rugby but New Zealand for a three year contract in Japan. He will not be the last and with the South Africans wage cap now 60% higher Super Rugby is the last place to fine a bargain.
In 2021 Ben Gunter, Jack Cornelsen (son of a Wallaby) and Dylan Riley all Australian born made their Japanese debuts against Australia. It’s not just the players lost from the Test side, but all the ones who don’t even make it, who are either bypassing Super Rugby or not staying there long enough. At least 19 players have left Super Rugby in 2023 to play in Japan in 2024.
Japan know that Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby are not getting on very well. If Both Unions had worked together they could have gotten a better deal but instead they played them against each other allowing Japan to get the best deals for what they want.
If both Unions had worked together maybe there would be a Pacific Champions Cup that could have been commercialised.
The Champions Cup and Challenge Cups has over 431,000 fans attend over two weekends. While not amazing figures its more than they would have got if it wasn’t on. Investec who recently went on their biggest every sponsorship of Rugby are paying money for the competition, if it didn’t exist there would be no money. Taking money for away games is fine but what are you building for yourself?
You are not helping to tackle the problem of falling crowds in Super Rugby. Instead of games being played around New Zealand or Australia engaging the next generation, these teams are off building up Japanese fans for Japanese teams. A person who comes and watches the Blues play Suntory Sungoliaths and likes the game is going to put money into Japanese pockets. The kids back home will find something else.
How long before all the Japanese clubs are playing all the Super Rugby teams in the mid-season break? They will until they discover that they can make the same money playing each other as they can the Super Rugby teams. The Union will still have the money but can spend it on other things.
We are seeing this happen at Test level too. Argentina got to play their B team against Chile (a World Cup opponent) while Georgia and Samoa were getting the good gigs against the Six Nation sides. The simple reason is that the other teams are cheaper to play but bring in just as much money. 54,000 watched Scotland play Georgia s- imilar to the 57,000 to watched them play Fiji in 2022.
While it’s great to receive money for playing Japan and a Japan XV between July and November all the games are in Japan.
Japan want to be in the Rugby Championship and it’s unclear if that will leave Australia and New Zealand better or worse off financially when it happens. All we know is that it will leave Japan much better off and in turn make rugby in Japan richer. All the fees they are currently paying will just go into something else – maybe player wages.
With the Club World Cup getting closer do we think that League One will take one spot and give Super Rugby seven and Europe eight? If League One suggest it is fiveleagues taking part and each league should get three teams, Europe will agree with them.
If it is suggested there are playoff between League One and Super Rugby for six of the eight places then they don’t need to pay Super Rugby teams to play them.
Currently League One is 12 teams and plays 16 rounds. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the moment League One teams feel they will earn more playing a longer season they will do it and leave Super Rugby and its Unions cut off from all that easy money.
Either Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby work together the tie Japan into a Pacific Cup like the Champions League and grow a competition together or they will be eaten separately.
New Zealand constantly replacing games that were played in New Zealand for games in Japan or the Super Round are not bringing in new fans for them. Going to Japan and growing rugby there is feeding the people who will happily have all the best Super Rugby players in Japan.
Currently Super Rugby still holds the upper hand over Japan but with the Nations League and four more years of growth in Japanese rugby it might be a lot harder to get a good deal.
Kevin
Roar Rookie
Firstly, the unions need to cede some control to allow PE to invest. Then, How about the same format as the Japanese league, 2 groups of 6 playing a 16 match season for the SRP, followed by play offs. Final part would be a Pacific challenge, between the winners of Top League and SRP. This could develop into a full 24 team competition playing a 16 match season.
Rob9
Roar Guru
Sorry Brendan, this is a moot discussion. You’re making up dynamics that either don’t exist or dramatically overstating this impact to breath some life into your weak argument. It’s clear you have little idea of what you’re talking about.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
As I said, try moving into the admin side of the game, seeing you apparently know it all!!
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
NZ media???? Yeh, it has changed, especially when there's been a couple of ' imports', who spout their garbage, as most know. Talk about ' Reason', who is so full of it!!!!!!
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Can you advise what exactly I have wrong please so I can know Aotearoa as rugby seems to work differently there to every other country and every other professional sport in the world. I don't believe all that is printed in the media but it doesn't take a genius to work things out. Seeing how clubs work is important but you discover pretty quickly that without fans/members who use the bar and buy tickets etc you don't have much money to do anything. Once keeping the first team becomes the only priority clubs quickly cut back until people leave as the club isn't looking after all the other things its suppose to. NZR pay 116m in employee benefits, were does all the money go. In 2021 Teams in Black and Competitions cost NZR $137.54m which rose to $214.81m in 2022 that's an increase of over $77m. 2022 saw SR Pacific replacing the domestic SR and Trans Tasman. Black Fern had their home WC. Not sure it would cost $77m to do all of that, if it did then the administrators should be sacked. A large chunk of the rises would have been wages for the Women and extra wages for keeping players at home.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
There was to much England focus when they put the teams together. As all the teams scrapped the 7s during Covid what would you have done, two birds with one stone. If its about winning they would send more players to the sevens.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
They seem to be a very easy target for a easy payday then eh. Smart of the Saders etc to choose them. Another clever move by NZR.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Then why tf did Razor have him in the Saders Jacko? I'd rather back Razor, than that stuff up king we had coaching the AB's. Wasn't he from the Waikato as well as a few others that didn't fare to well at national level?
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Now now Jacko, that's only your opinion of Mo'unga, as many, including his past coach Razor would beg to differ Bro!!
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Then again your knowledge on Seven's is limited, as now in the World Series Seven's tournaments they now have this GB garbage. Previously there were teams from both England & Scotland, in this annual tournament series. So if you reckon, it's nothing to do with winning, then you are sadly wrong. Even the IOC have virtually since it's inception, always boasted, that it's the bringing together of nation against nation, which now has taken away the creditability of the Olympic movement. As it is now, there are other sporting tournaments, on a annual basis that are every bit, or in fact, so much better, & that also includes the Comm.Games which now is seemingly past it's use by date.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Obviously Brendan your another who believes all that's in print as far as the media goes. Try moving onto the admin side of the game as I did in the past, on a voluntary basis, as you just might learnt a thing or two! Also where did I say that Jacko was wrong, as TBH he's making more sense by knowing the systems in Aotearoa than what you are. Being there, seeing what's in place, is so much better than what many rubbish media journo's spew. Well we do have, now an imported Reason, for an example, & he's not the only one.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
NZR doesn't want a longer Test window. They've found that there is a cap on high-quality games: 14-15 a year (all up) of which a three-nation RC could easily account for a third of that never mind if the RC adds more teams. Not even NZ has the depth to field two equally strong teams that could allow to compete at the same level for 15 Tests. The problem for NZ down here is that RA has been found badly wanting in most areas of the game, on and off the field. RA is taking on more loans and withholding payments to its SR franchises while Silver Lake just increased its share of NZ Commercial Rugby by an extra 1.25% adding another $63m to NZR's coffers, which apparently is now back to its pre-pandemic cash reserves of $NZ90m. Six Nations is not our concern (good luck dealing with the South Africans on that at some point!). As for Andrew Mehrtens, he is an ex-All Black who now calls Sydney home! The man has issues!! :stoked: :stoked:
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
No; some of the names may be identical or similar because the companies decided to come onboard with naming rights. Everything in the competition is now handled by the JRFU including signings. And Sunwolves, money or otherwise, were not added to it; it was absorbed into the new JRL, one one-nation competition. This new competition is probably why Japan got the 2019 RWC; WR frowns to 'parallel' rugby competitions it has no say in.
woodart
Roar Rookie
again, you are wrong. their have been many all blacks v aus, and all blacks v s.a.tests played at grounds other than eden park. AND, eden park is NOT owned by rugby. it is used for many other events, so, rugby sometimes cant get it for when touring teams are visiting. you (again) are looking at NZ from far away, through the screen of yr device, thinking you know all, but you dont.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
I have, 48185 does not equal 50000. The belief that the Irish brought tickets and never went either means you don't believe in selling on tickets or you think Ireland had over 10k traveling fans. 47000 does not equal 50000 and it was the last time SA played in EP. Were the missing 3k also SA fans than purchased tickets that didn't travel. If your argument is that there events were sellouts because not all the seats were sold but all the seats that were for sale were sold then why aren't they able to sell the missing seats. We know women's rugby wont fill 50k in Eden Park which is why they only sold just over 40k, and left some of the areas closed. From the NZ media "Eden Park is poised to sell out with an attendance of more than 40,000, albeit not to the stadium’s full capacity of approximately 47,000 because of a stage in the north-eastern corner and other operational areas." Again both your suggestion back up my point that NZ need traveling fans while other Nations sell out to their own fans and begrudgingly give a few tickets to the opposing team.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Woodward I would agree with that except up until 2014 SA and Oz took it in turns to play in Eden Park and the other team traveled the country. 2014 onwards when both SA and OZ have played in NZ OZ gets the EP match and SA doesn't. While its fine to move the game around have you never wondered how much it costs NZR to have 10-20k less tickets sold for an SA game every year. At $20-50 head its the difference between keeping 2-4 players at home. The fact that SA doesn't play in EP to me shows that it is the game they are less likely to sell out. As I said in 2013 they were nearly 3k short or less than 95% full.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
I think NZ has one 1 of the last 3 games v England. They both lost by a point to SA. England though didn't lose a group game so not sure why they are the loser, seems both are.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Jacko nowhere did I say that the money earned by a nations determines their success. What i have said is that because Japan has money they were able to bring in better players which allowed them to compete on the field. Because they have money they can bring in better players on the field and this has seen them improve on the field, The other argument is that money gives you power. NZ have none to spend as it is all being used and the same with RA. Because Japan has the money they have the power to get NZR and RA to do what they want. When the J1 is better they will still have the money and be able to get 50% of any competition of both teams and income. Right now is the only time that RA and NZR have power over JRU to get a 33% split equally because RA and NZR still have some money but that is fast running out. NZ does not have power to make as much money from test in NZ except against OZ which is why they don't play any games above the games they must play at home. England has the money and the power so they can play at home as much as they want and if they refused to tour the WR funding they would lose would not matter.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
So where did they get all their players from Jacko. Based in NZ, funded by NZ. How many of the players have not played in the NPC. How many went from Tongan and Samoan rugby into MP.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
those players were in the lower levels of European Rugby or were released by the URC/Prem/T14 and were not able to get a contract that they felt paid enough. Fiji has always produced players but it has been hard for them to get contracts. Bill Mata being a good case in point as is Botica. Maybe glance over the rosters of the Tel Aviv Heat or Wolves in the European Super Cup so see PI players are all over the world. As we are seeing as the Drua pump out more they will get more players into the URC/T14/ProD2/Prem/J1 and it is the players in those leagues that will make up most of their WC squad, we see the same with Argentina and their SLAR teams (or when the Jags come back to SR). Black Lions made up half the Georgian team as well, the European Super Cup must be as good as the SRP at developing players as must the SLAR. SLAR – Selknam 28, Penarol 21. RESC – Black Lions 15, Lusitanos 15. SRP – MP 18, Drua 17.