International Club Partnerships Increasing Player Flow to Japan Rugby League One

The recently announced signing of former England Under-20 captain Lewis Chessum by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Sagamihara Dynaboars has highlighted the increasing flow of players from the northern hemisphere into Japan Rugby
League One through partnerships between clubs from the league and their international contemporaries.
The acquisition of the second row forward for the rest of the season by the Dynaboars came as the Kanagawa-based club
announced a partnership with English heavyweights Leicester Tigers, which will see high performance exchanges and
player transactions, along with extensive off-field cooperation in the areas of commercial, community, marketing and
operations.
Leicester’s entry into Japan via the partnership has allowed it to join clubs from around the world who have formal
relationships with teams from League One.
These take the form of corporate liaison and high-performance exchanges but, in many cases, also involve matches
between the clubs, with the annual pre-season clash between the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights and Super Rugby’s
Queensland Reds for the Saitama Shield a high-profile example of cross-border activity.
The Brave Blossoms trio of centre Dylan Riley, and backrowers Jack Cornelsen and Ben Gunter, each schooled in
Queensland before being spotted and picked up by Saitama and former Australian Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
The long-standing relations between Kobelco Kobe Steelers and New Zealand’s (Waikato) Chiefs is another agreement
that has proved beneficial for each.
Players from both sides have spent time with the other, even appearing in matches, while the high-performance
relationships and exchanges have been so in-depth that the Director of Rugby who led Kobe to its most recent title in
2018 was Wayne Smith, who formerly coached at the Chiefs in partnership with the Steelers’ current boss, two-time
Super Rugby-winning coach, Dave Rennie.

Kobe skipper and All Black, Brodie Retallick, and flyhalf Bryn Gatland – the league’s leading point-scorer last season – are
also ex-Chiefs men.

Both Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath and Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo have enduring history with Australian club (ACT) Brumbies,

including pre-season matches, while a partnership with fellow Australian club Western Force is just one of several cross-
border relationships maintained by Urayasu D-Rocks, who have also linked with French Top 14 club Lyon, Hyundai Globals

from South Korea as well as Major League Rugby’s Seattle Seawolves (USA).
While many such relationships are with southern hemisphere clubs, there has been a growing northern mix too, with this
year’s surprise package Shizuoka Blue Revs boasting European champions Toulouse of France among their international
club ties.

Nor is it just Division One clubs who are active internationally, with Kurita Water Gush Akishima of Division Three
formalising an agreement with the (Auckland) Blues of Super Rugby before the start of the current season.
Although the Chessum signing is the first under the formal agreement between Sagamihara and its English counterpart,
the Midlands club has already reaped the benefit from league experience gained in Kanagawa, with current Leicester
flyhalf James Shillcock having spent the 2022-23 season in Japan growing his game, while scoring 84 points from 12
appearances in the Dynaboars’ jersey.
While League One is known for its star-studded cast of international test stars, Chessum adds to the growing number of
non-capped players from the northern hemisphere trying their hand in Japan, many with the blessing of their home clubs.
Other new arrivals from the north this season have included ex-Saracens flyhalf Manu Vunipola (Mie Honda Heat), Bath
second rower Elliott Stooke (Red Hurricanes Osaka), Saracens loose forward Ollie Stonham (Kubota Spears Funabashi
Tokyo-Bay), Connacht second rower Cormac Daly (Yokohama Canon Eagles), Jersey Reds utility back Brendan Owen
(Yokohama Canon Eagles), Munster second rower Jack O’Sullivan (Red Hurricanes Osaka), Bristol second rower Ed Holmes
(Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks) and Ealing Trailfinders second rower Andrew Davidson (Mazda SkyActivs Hiroshima).