The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 13, Issue 3 (June 1, 1938.)

Rugby in Japan

Rugby in Japan.

New Zealand Rugby players will, sooner or later, be including Japan in the list of countries to tour. Already a New Zealand University team has played in the Land of the Rising Sun, and on return to New Zealand reported that the Japanese players have a clear conception of the game, but that they

play to a set schedule and do not vary their play to meet the occasion. But Rugby football in Japan is improving, and although the stature of the average Japanese citizen is a handicap, competent observers declare that the day is not far away when Japanese teams will take a prominent place in world Rugby. More than 40,000 spectators recently saw the final of the Eastern Universities championship played at the famous Meiji Stadium and the game is fast being adopted as a national pastime.