Rugby World Cup Takeover!

The Rugby World Cup kicks off in Paris tonight with the hosts France facing the All Blacks so consider this edition of the newsletter a rugby takeover of sorts.  Let's have a look at a couple of key themes from the rugby world which are relevant to the business world.

Diversity

The Japan team’s slogan for the Rugby World Cup in 2019 was “One Team” and this actually became the buzzword of the year in Japan in 2019.  The Japan team brought together a truly diverse playing staff and coaching team and this was held up as a shining example of what a diverse team can deliver in Japan.  The Head Coach was Jamie Joseph, famous former All Black, and he selected a group of players which included players who had qualified to play for Japan on residence rules but who were originally from countries such as New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.  The captain, Michael Leitch, attended Sapporo Yamanote High School and then went on to play for Tokai University.  I was at the Japan v South Africa quarter final game at the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the excited screams of “Leitch” every time he got the ball were deafening.  The team also included Kotaro Munyaradzi Matsushima who was born in South Africa to a Japanese mother and a Zimbabwean father.  He had a stand out tournament in 2019 and in 2021 was signed by Clermont to play Top 14 rugby in France.  The squad this time round is equally diverse, please click here for a great article from Rich Freeman of Kyodo News with player profiles.

International rugby talent is coming to Japan at high school and university level, is there an opportunity for more businesses in Japan to execute a similar strategy to nurture, develop and retain global talent?  There could be a lot to be gained by making your Japan business more diverse.

Boomerang Players

World Rugby recently changed eligibility rules, meaning players can now switch nations if they have been stood down for three years and if they or a parent or grandparent were born in the country they wish to represent.  Experienced high performers like Charles Piutau or Christian Leali’ifano who have previously represented teams like the All Blacks and Australia will be representing Samoa and Tonga this time round.  This rule change could make the gap between “Tier 1” and “Tier 2” nations quickly shrink.  Ireland struggled to beat Samoa last week, in a warm-up game, as an example. Boomerang employees are well worth considering in business too, particularly in Japan where candidate supply is such a challenge.  Does your company have a boomerang employee strategy in place?

The Americas 

One of the key upsets of the Japan World Cup was Uruguay beating Fiji in Kamaishi, a town which had been devastatingly damaged in the 2011 tsunami.  This time round there will be three teams representing South America - Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.  Also this time round there will be no teams from North America.  The USA and Canada missed out this time which is quite surprising especially given the USA will host the Rugby World Cup in 2031 for the first time.  It is also notable that the South American teams have a very high percentage of home-grown talent which is a great sign for the growth of the game.  Expect future growth of the game in The Americas as we build to Rugby World Cup in USA in 2031.  Silver Lake, a US private equity firm, recently bought in to New Zealand Rugby’s commercial arms so expect to see them look to grow rugby and the All Blacks brand in the US and also Japan, both markets have huge commercial potential.

And finally…

Who will win the Rugby World Cup?

So much will depend on injuries and red cards.  It’s incredibly hard to call with New Zealand, South Africa, France and Ireland strong contenders but my prediction is France.  France are the host nation, have the best player in the world in Antoine Dupont, a great squad of players and coaching team.

And how about Japan?

I expect a tough tournament for them after hosting the last time RWC.  There will probably not be emotions to ride on like the Japan versus Scotland game in RWC 2019 the day after typhoon Hagibis.  Also, this will be Jamie Joseph’s last stand as Head Coach with a new coach incoming after RWC 2023.  Look out for the power and passion of Himeno as the new captain, the pace of Osada and possible wins against Chile and England.

The first game is against Chile on Sunday at 8pm JST on NHK.

Enjoy the action.