Photo/Illutration South Africa’s Faf de Klerk is tackled by Romania’s Adrian Motoc during the Rugby World Cup at Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux, France, on Sept. 17. (Reuters)

South Africa’s scrum-half Faf de Klerk made a long kick from his own half, sailing the ball to an open space on Ireland’s side of the field.

Teammate Jesse Kriel, center back of the defending World Cup champion, picked up the ball and charged into the defense of Ireland, currently ranked No. 1 in the world.

The action by the South Africans led to the first score of the Sept. 23 match at the Rugby World Cup in France.

But the play could have easily occurred in Kanagawa Prefecture.

De Klerk and Kriel are also teammates on the Yokohama Canon Eagles in Japan’s League One.

Other starting members of the South African squad play on League One clubs, including: forward Pieter-Steph Du Toit, who was named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2019 (Toyota Verblitz); center back Damian de Allende (Saitama Wild Knights); and wing Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath).

At least 20 players on national teams at the World Cup have signed with League One squads, including those who will join the Japanese league after the quadrennial tournament.

From New Zealand, scrum-half Aaron Smith and stand-off Beauden Barrett will join Toyota Verblitz next season, while four others from the All Blacks are set to play for League One clubs.

Players from Australia, Tonga, Samoa, Wales and Argentina will also compete in Japan.

League One is considered at a lower level than the world’s top leagues.

But de Klerk explained why many foreign-born players choose to play in Japan.

When he joined the Yokohama team last year, he said there are fewer matches in Japan compared with rugby leagues in Europe and elsewhere. Players have a better chance of remaining healthy in League One.

He said he feels encouraged to remain energetic at all times and play the sport for a long period.

The scrum-half also said it is easy to gain trust from the coaching staff, and that he gets to compete in matches all the time, win or lose, regardless of the team’s situation.

When asked whether playing in Japan could have a negative effect on his chances of being picked for the national squad, de Klerk said the team’s manager selects the best players regardless of whether they play in the Japanese style.

Argentine forward Pablo Matera, a member of Mie Honda Heat, decided to play in Japan after he and his wife became fond of the country when it hosted the 2019 World Cup.

The League One club also provides support for his family to live in the country while his wife, who was pregnant when he joined the team, was given access to medical services.

Matera said he thought he could concentrate on playing rugby in Japan without worrying about his family.

TROUBLED BY WEAK YEN

Club operators often give special perks to their foreign-born players.

For example, players on the Saitama Wild Knights, which placed second last season, can temporarily return to their home countries when their wives give birth.

“It’s an effort that gives priority to the well-being of players,” a League One source said.

The transfer market for top players gets busy immediately following a World Cup.

Next season, players from Europe and the Southern Hemisphere will join League One.

Some are coming from clubs in the Premiership Rugby league in England that went bankrupt during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Players released from cash-strapped clubs tend to transfer to Japanese and French teams with stable management.

“We started seeing the names of available players from the Northern Hemisphere on the list provided by an agent,” said a senior official of a Japanese club.

Although the world’s top-level players bring a positive effect to League One, team operators are suffering from increased labor costs caused by the weak yen.

“Each team wants to secure good players from outside Japan, but the weakening yen is quite a headache because much of their salaries are paid in dollars,” the senior official said.

(This article was written by Ryusaburo Matsumoto and Shuhei Nomura.)

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