YCAC Gents 24, Aichi Shukutoku University 42
Tries: Arnaud, Rafi Khan (2), Fraser
Cons: Fraser (2)

Whether it is politics, business or sport, the moral fibre of the Leader is all-important. The portents looked good as we departed from Tokyo as our bastion of moral rectitude (Slow-Joe Fisher) had not only organised the Nagoya trip immaculately (including breakfast for all of the guys), but had also arranged for his pretty wife to see him off at the station with a kiss. But in Nagoya the entire squad witnessed Slow-Joe literally lose his way. For a man committed to dietary discipline and the half-time banana it was a shock for the troops to be told to go and get a McDonalds on arrival at Nagoya station. It was even more of a shock to catch Slow-Joe waving at a group of 15 year old school girls (and yet more shocking to see their hysterically enthusiastic excitement in waving back to our Dear Leader). But most horrific of all was to discover that Slow-Joe had arranged a fixture for YCAC Gents against a University First Team.

Now, let’s get this absolutely straight at the outset. YCAC Gents is a team comprising guys who have had their better days. We are all over 40, we have pot bellies, we can’t run and we can’t tackle. As the Joy of Sex is now a cuddle and a cocoa with the wife, so the Joy of Rugby is the rumbling of fat bodies in scrum or maul.

Fortunately, the Vicar still has a direct line to God and was able to persuade the Almighty to send a storm of biblical proportions. The humid Summer’s Day was soon transformed to thunder, lightening and hailstones. But this was a minor miracle compared to the way in which Fraser landed a chip-kick on a six pence for Arnaud to gather and score. 7-0 to the Gents after 20 minutes. The squelchy conditions slowed down the 20 year old youngsters, but by half-time their blatant cheating (ie running fast when playing over 40s) had squeezed them ahead 7-14.

The half-time break was less a team-talk than a collective inhalation of breath. It is an understatement to say that the Gents are never at their fittest for the first game of the season and the lack of availability of substitutes (apart from the portly winger Adam Kennedy) brought with it a realisation that there was going to be a lot of running to do in the second half. Conversely, the University side not only had the benefit of six training sessions a week in the run up to the game, but also had a barrage of substitutes. Inevitably, the second half yielded try after try to these wing-heeled youngsters and the Gents’ minds turned away from the match and towards revenge against Slow-Joe.

Fortunately, the vengeful thoughts of a bunch of fat old men jumping up and down on Joe Fisher’s lithe body brought inspiration of sorts and the Gents reverted to the rumbling rugby that is our trademark. With Rafi and Nike leading from the front and Fraser using his full resources of weight and guile in the backs, the Gents steam-rollered through for three unanswered tries. At this point, the Gents were within two scores of the youngsters who were becoming seriously rattled. Unfortunately, the wheels fell off and the gas ran out with the result that the University Boys were able to run in a couple of late tries to flatter the score-line in their favour.

YCAC 1sts 12 Nagoya Barbarians 21 (HT 0-7)
Tries: Maui Magele, Brimman Frazer
Conversions: Rich Watkins

On a wet and wild day at Nagoya’s University of Feminine Virtue (愛知淑徳大学) the YCAC 1st XV kicked off their 2009/10 season with a tough match against the Nagoya Barbarians. The Nagoya Barbarians were established in 2003 and are comprised of mainly foreign players. They had recently put 80 points on the Crusaders and from watching their warm-ups it was obvious to see why – they had considerable size and they were clearly taking things very seriously.
The game was very physical right from the start and it soon became obvious what each team’s strengths and weaknesses were – the set pieces were about even, Nagoya had an advantage at ruck time and YCAC looked more dangerous when the ball went wide. Wingers Maui “Apocalypto” Magele and Eps “Little Cuzzy Bro” Tuibenau in particular looked dangerous every time they got the ball. Maui has clearly spent the off-season teaching Eps the finer points of fast starts both on and off the field as Eps has managed to get his better half pregnant and will soon be joining Maui in the YCAC Young Fathers Club. Unfortunately for us, the torrential rain made it difficult for us to implement our tactic of getting it wide and with the first half scoring consisting of just one try to the Barbarians (slightly against the run of play), YCAC went into half-time in an unfamiliar position – behind.

However, YCAC started the second half stronger due to some inspiration by another who has had a busy off-season (and therefore
another baby on the way) – our touch judge Steve “The Vicar” Lewis. Although it might be a bit of a linguistic stretch to get Vicar included in the Young Fathers Club he once again showed that there is no limit on what he will do for the club he loves. This time, somewhat strangely, he choose to try to inspire the troops by running touch in the second half with no shirt on. This unorthodox tactic immediately paid dividends and a fired-up Maui took full advantage by steaming through several Barbarians players to lodge YCAC’s first try. However, Maui was not the only one impressed by the sight of a half-naked Vicar – YCAC enforcer Erich “Freezer” Friess was clearly paying close attention as he later revealed a well-hidden artistic (or possibly even homoerotic) side by commenting that during this time Vicar’s nipples were “as hard as diamonds”. Given the club’s need for sponsorship this season it was a real shame that veteran prop Scott “Mad Marvin” Sizemore was not on this trip – he has previously paid Y50,000 for the pleasure of twisting the aforementioned nipples and surely the sight of a dripping wet Vicar would have proved too much for him had he been there.
Unfortunately the Barbarians were the next to score, catching us napping when a lineout went wrong. However, YCAC hit back almost immediately with flanker Brimman “Brutus” Frazer running a nice angle to score YCAC’s second try. This took the score to 14-12 with 4 minutes to go. Perhaps showing that we are not used to going into the final stages of matches behind, we tried to push things from our own line and turned the ball over. When the Barbarians scored shortly afterwards that was enough to seal the match for them.

Although a loss, this match was very useful for a lot of reasons. It immediately got us tuned in to this season and demonstrated clearly the areas of our game we need to work on. It also introduced us to the Nagoya Barbarians, a worthy opponent and one who we will hopefully play annually from now on. The tour was also useful for a number of off-field reasons, as Chris “Benedict Arnold” Mander (or should that be Chris “The Alpha Male” Mander) can attest to …

Team Sheet
1. Erich “Freezer” Friess (USA)
2. Dean “Team Player” Stallard (Australia)
3. Leopold “Os” Visser (South Africa)
4. Matt “Posh Spice” Dimond (England)
5. Rafi “Ghengis” Khan (USA)
6. “Slow” Joe Fisher (New Zealand) (c)
7. Brimman “Brutus” Frazer (USA)
8. Tony “Big Daddy” Baildon (Australia)
9. Rich “Fabio” Watkins (England)
10. Ben “Sumo” Patu (Samoa)
11. Maui “Apocalypto” Magele (Samoa)
12. Grant “Mr. Normal” Thompson (England)
13. Tristan “Inside Centre” Fahy (Ireland)
14. Eps “Little Cuzzy Bro” Tuibenau (New Zealand)
15. Willie “Mini Me” Lapthorn (New Zealand)
16. Yoshio “Nike” Naiki (Japan)
17. Sandy “The Comeback Kid” Rose (USA)
18. Chris “Benedict Arnold” Mander

Introduction
My name is Joe Fisher. I have been the captain of the YCAC 1st XV since December 2007 and have been elected captain again for the 2009/10 season. This presentation was given at YCAC on 5 September 2009 and sets out my vision of what the YCAC 1st XV should be aiming for over the next few seasons.

The purpose of these notes is to flesh out certain parts of the presentation. Where the slides themselves are self-explanatory no further comments will be provided.

“I am not telling you that have to buy-in to this goal. It is up to you to decide what you want out of your rugby”
I acknowledge that the goal of the YCAC 1st XV becoming the best club team in Japan is very challenging and considerable effort will be required if we are going to achieve it. I also fully accept that not everyone will buy into this. Some people won’t have the time, others won’t have the motivation. That is 100% OK. I cannot and do not wish to ‘make’ anybody sign up to this, it is a commitment that everybody needs to make (or choose not to make) by themselves.

For those who do not wish to ‘buy in’ I would say the following: This presentation is intended to apply only to the YCAC 1st XV. The YCAC Gents are an absolutely vital part of YCAC rugby and for those who just want to enjoy a bit of social rugby and a beer then there is always a place for them in the Gents. It is worth remembering that the Gents does not just serve those who don’t make the 1st XV, it is also serves those don’t wish to play for the 1st XV.

The stairway to heaven
The way that we qualify for the East Japan Club Championship is to finish in the top two of the Kanagawa League 1st Division spring competition.

The East Japan Club Championship runs in the autumn and involves the top teams from other Kanto competitions (e.g. I know Kurumi qualified out of the 1st Division of the Tokyo Cup this spring).

The way that we qualify for the Japan Top Club Championship (Division 2) is by winning the East Japan Club Championship. The five teams in the Japan Top Club Championship (Division 2) in 2008 were Tsukubarians (ツクバリアンズ), 曼荼羅クラブ (Mandela Club), Niigata Ibis (新潟アイビス), Over the Top (オーバーザトップ), and Dragons (ドラゴンズ).

The way that we qualify for the Japan Top Club Championship (Division 1) is by winning the Japan Top Club Championship (Division 2). The five teams in the Japan Top Club Championship (Division 1) in 2008 were Tamariba (タマリバクラブ), Hokkaido Barbarians (北海道バーバリアンズ), Komaba WMM (駒場WMM), 三鷹オールカマーズ　(Mitaka All Comers), 高麗クラブ (Koryo Club). The winners were Tamariba who have won it every year for the last few years.

To the victor go the spoils
Achieving this goal would mean a spotlight on YCAC and the players in the 1st XV:

i.) The final of the National Club Championship is held at Chichibunomiya.

ii.) The winners of the National Club Championship qualify for the Microsoft Cup where they compete against the top corporate and university teams in Japan.

Start training regularly as a team
In my opinion, the two weakest parts of our game are our fitness and our ability to play as a team. The Keio University game (the only match the 1st XV lost during the 2008/09 season) was an excellent example of this. The difference between us and the opposition was that they were better drilled and in better condition.

Without regular training you are limited in what you can do in terms of moves (e.g. lineout moves, No. 8 moves, backline moves, penalty moves) because the only time you get to work on these things is immediately before the game. Without regular training it is also hard to work on aspects of the game which require multiple people to practice (e.g. tackling, scrimmaging, rucking, mauling, etc.). Regular training should help our rugby fitness.

I have checked the websites of the top club teams (Tamariba, Hokkaido Barbarians, Komaba WMM). They don’t train during the week but they either train or play basically every Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday. So it is a fact that all of the best amateur teams train regularly. It is not sensible to believe that we can beat these teams regularly unless we start training too.

YCAC is currently available for us on Thursday nights from 7:30 – 9 pm.

Individually get into the best shape possible
People need to take responsibility for their own fitness.

However, I would like to provide some support and information to help people get together a personal training program.

Recruit or develop the best club players in Japan
The challenge for each 1st XV player (or aspiring 1st XV player) is to strive to be the best club (i.e. not corporate or university) player in their position in Japan.

I intend to visit Japanese universities late this year to give a presentation to 4th year rugby players asking them to consider YCAC as one of their options for club rugby after they graduate.

I think one of the keys to achieving our aim is developing a deep squad so that we are still able to win matches against quality opposition even when we have injuries and unavailabilities.

Put together a quality fixture list
I think the YCAC 1st XV should be playing somewhere between 15 – 20 fixtures per season. Our aim should be to get together a team which we are proud of (a genuine 1st XV) for each fixture.

I am of the opinion that an ideal fixture list is one which splits equally between fixtures against teams weaker than us (“easy matches”), fixtures against teams at the same level as us (“even matches”), fixtures against teams stronger than us (“tough matches”). Easy matches help us to build confidence and allow us to try new players / combinations without fear of such experiments costing us the match. Even matches give us the experience of how we need to play close matches and provide a way of gauging our current form. Tough matches show us where are weak points are and what we need to do to reach the next level. We also need to try to avoid hugely lopsided fixtures as I don’t believe this does either us or the opposition any good (“mismatches”).

Steve Lewis and I will work together to try to put together the best possible fixture list for the 1st XV.

Have strong off-field organization
Have structures in place to give the players the best possible chance of success.

改善 (かいぜん – Continuous Improvement)
Always look for ways to improve what we are doing.

We should not accept doing things in a certain way just because “that is the way they have always been done”. We should be always looking to improve the way we do things and tailor our approach to the situation we have in front of us. Our goal of becoming the top club team in Japan is fixed but the means by which we achieve this goal must be flexible.

It is unlikely that our progression towards our goal of winning the National Club Championship will happen smoothly, there will almost certainly be set-backs along the way. My personal opinion is that with our best players playing well we are already the second best club team in Japan behind Tamariba but the challenge is, firstly, to make the 1st XV consistently this good, and then, secondly, find a way to become consistently better than Tamariba.

To win the Kanagawa League 1st Division we will need to win at least four games out of five (including the last two in a row). I believe the East Japan Club Championships are a knock-out and that both divisions of the National Club Championships are round-robins. So, to achieve our aim we are going to need to be able to win consistently against quality teams away from our home ground under administrative scrutiny and on some dates which will not suit us. As you can see, it will not be easy! This is why we need to look at improvement in everything we do – we cannot rest on our laurels.