National Team
The national team (which is named "The Cherry Blossoms") is ranked 13th worldwide by the International Rugby Board (IRB) as of 14 May 2010 (IRB World Rankings)
With Asia's relative weakness at rugby union, Japan struggles to get serious competition. The result is that Japan is caught in the middle: a big fish in the small pond of Asian rugby union, but still at present a relative minnow in the vast ocean of international rugby union.
The national team is also usually reinforced for the World Cup by one or two foreign-born players who qualify under IRB regulations. Of these Andrew Miller and Andrew McCormick, both from New Zealand, and Sinali Latu from Tonga have been the most successful.
Read more about this topic: Rugby Union In Japan
Famous quotes containing the words national and/or team:
“Let us put an end to self-inflicted wounds. Let us remember that our national unity is a most priceless asset. Let us deny our adversaries the satisfaction of using Vietnam to pit Americans against Americans.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“Relying on any one disciplinary approach—time-out, negotiation, tough love, the star system—puts the parenting team at risk. Why? Because children adapt to any method very quickly; today’s effective technique becomes tomorrow’s worn dance.”
—Ron Taffel (20th century)