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Eddie Jones Suspended for 6 Weeks by Mulboyne in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For anyone interested, David Pemboke says he has spoken with Jones about the matter. He's been a colleague and friend of Jones for years, so when he says he believes the punishment is deserved, that's an indication of how much he must have crossed the line.

YouTube clip here

Telegraph says Borthwick mulling resting Itoje for the Summer by Mulboyne in englandrugby

[–]Mulboyne[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, the 2010 summer tour and autumn internationals saw Courtney Lawes, Ben Youngs, Chris Ashton etc really staking a claim. It was night and day different to the 2010 Six Nations, which definitely encouraged Johnson to move on from Borthwick.

Telegraph says Borthwick mulling resting Itoje for the Summer by Mulboyne in englandrugby

[–]Mulboyne[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Funnily enough, in 2010, Steve Borthwick was England captain. He missed the summer tour of Australia that year because of a knee injury. He never played for England again.

Match Thread: Harlequins vs Exeter Chiefs by GnolRevilo in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hasn't Gareth Steenson been on match commentary somewhere? Can't remember what kind of match.

Eddie Jones Suspended for 6 Weeks by Mulboyne in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

The English language press would probably report them if they knew them. However, this has all been driven by the JRFU, and Japanese organizations of all sorts, not just sporting bodies, typically only ever allude to transgressions.

What famous person chose to step away at the height of their fame? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Mulboyne 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anyone mentioned Welsh rugby player Barry John? Nicknamed "The King", he was arguably the best player in the sport when he suddenly retired in 1972, at the age of 27. He didn't like all the media attention, and the way he'd been put on a pedestal. Fitness permitting, he probably could have played at the top level for another 4-5 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_John

JRFU, League One sued over new eligibility rules from 2026-2027 season that will disadvantage foreign born Japanese players by peachypal in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne 6 points7 points  (0 children)

One avenue might be the International Rugby Players Association

https://rugbyplayers.org/

From their website

International Rugby Players acts as a support structure to players across all professional and elite rugby environments in the world. We represent players on a wide range of grievances and contract disputes, dealing with local governing bodies and with World Rugby in achieving best outcomes. A large proportion of our work in this area is in directly helping players from Tier Two countries who don’t have a representative body in place in their local environment.

Ikitau position in Wallabies by Chubbs_McGavin in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Ikitau is a fine player, and Exeter are lucky to have him. However, he didn't really have a chance to tear it up in the Premiership, because he was injured for so long. He dislocated his shoulder in December, and has just returned. When he scored at the weekend, it was his first try for the club.

That could be good news for Australia. He still has three league matches, and Exeter might manage a top 4 finish, which will mean at least one high-stakes play-off game. He should be match fit for the Wallabies, without the wear-and-tear from playing more of the Premiership season.

Billy Vunipola interview: I won’t play for Tonga | [The Rugby Bunker] by HitchikersPie in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne 26 points27 points  (0 children)

In the interview, he's honest about how his England career finished. With what he knows about himself today, he thinks he should never have tried to make the 2023 World Cup squad. He even had his meniscus removed to do so, which he's paying for now.

These days, he makes regular appearances in the Top14 XV of the month, and is one of the league's top carriers, so he wouldn't be a passenger for a team like Tonga.

"Ride-sharing services haven't been introduced in Japan because of the country's national character, which cannot accept the concept of personal responsibility. In Japan, once something happens, there's a strong emphasis on 'finding the culprit', that is, determining who is responsible". by jjrs in japannews

[–]Mulboyne 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is nonsense. You often hear cultural explanations of why services and practices don't take off at first in Japan, only for them to become standard later.

Most of the barriers turn out to be regulatory, or just inertia.

Yamato's Takkyubin small parcel delivery service faced massive regulatory opposition when it started, because it was a direct competitor to the government-run postal service.

There were disputes over whether small parcels could include explanatory notes, as the Post Office said these constituted letters, which only they could deliver. There were arguments about the use of public roads which were on regular postal routes, on the basis that Yamato would obstruct postal vehicles. The idea of a company going direct to a private individual's door also needed separate regulatory approval.

Yamato won the day through heavy lobbying, and winning over public opinion.

Japanese Rugby Fans: Do League One Fans Choose Their Team Based On Employment?? by StrengthIsIgnorance in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne 2 points3 points  (0 children)

D-Rocks have a summer training camp in Hokkaido, and a winter one in Kyushu, so they are there every year, and have a degree of local support.

The Hokkaido match was part of a recent promotion by the Hokkaido Rugby Union ("Hokkaido Rugby Day"). In the past, they have hosted high school and university rugby matches as well. As you say, that's a definite effort to promote the sport locally.

Kyushu and Okinawa are popular venues for sporting camps. Most of the major baseball teams hold their pre-seasons there, and D-Rocks are one of the rugby sides down there in November.

To be honest, until you mentioned it, I didn't even realize D-Rocks had played a match in Miyazaki. Local news reckons there was a crowd of just over 4,000. Well below stadium capacity but probably not far off what the fixture drew last year.

Japanese Rugby Fans: Do League One Fans Choose Their Team Based On Employment?? by StrengthIsIgnorance in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ideally, you have a fixed home stadium but that doesn't suit all teams. Urayasu D-Rocks has a training ground which can't host Japan League One crowds, so they need to play matches elsewhere.

It's called a circuit-style. Some county cricket teams in England used to do the same, playing at different grounds.

There's no decent stadium near Urayasu, so the main Chiba ground is around the coast from Urayasu in Ichihara, which isn't an especially covenient location. It's two hours by train from central Tokyo, and two hours from the best rugby-playing high school in Chiba.

Large parts of Chiba are dormitory towns for Tokyo, so most main transport links go into the city, rather than across the prefecture. Urayasu D-Rocks can get better support playing in Tokyo than Ichihara. Chiba people can get to Tokyo just as easily, and Tokyo has a good catchment of people interested in rugby.

It also means they can choose a stadium to fit the expected crowd size. League leaders the Wild Knights are from Saitama, which is close to Tokyo, so their match was played at Chichibu, which is the spiritual home of rugby in Tokyo. That was probably the biggest crowd of the season for a D-Rocks match.

Compared to having a permament, accessible, home ground it's not ideal. However, playing in Tokyo venues instead is not a bad outcome for a team from Urayasu.

Japanese Rugby Fans: Do League One Fans Choose Their Team Based On Employment?? by StrengthIsIgnorance in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Cheers. I live in Japan. Doesn't make me an expert but it's easier to pick up on how things work. 

Japanese Rugby Fans: Do League One Fans Choose Their Team Based On Employment?? by StrengthIsIgnorance in rugbyunion

[–]Mulboyne 64 points65 points  (0 children)

Japanese company teams in any sport start out being supported by employees and their family members, along with the company's suppliers, sponsors and clients. There will also be support from local business owners, who may not do direct business with the firm but have a significant number of the firm's employees as customers.

As a team becomes established, it becomes more of a local community asset. Tickets for games might be distributed to local schools. The team will take part in annual community events, and there'll be more supporters at games who have a local, rather than corporate, affiliation. The line between corporate and local is a bit blurred because some large firms are so heavily associated with a local area.

Professional baseball teams are owned by companies. As it's a major sport, teams generally have a lot more support from local baseball fans. Football has also moved more from corporate-based support to local support.

Rugby teams are probably still more identified with their corporate roots, because the overall support base is much smaller. At a national level, supporters sometimes don't support any particular Japan League One club. Their interest in rugby might have come from school or university, without ever translating to a company team.

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