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NEWS
Yamaha Motor rugby union team
The company has a team competing in Japan's top rugby union league, now with players who are full-time employees onlyHow many rugby union players are running around with ‘Tmax’ emblazoned on their jerseys? Not a lot from what our anecdotal evidence tells us, which must mean one thing: Yamaha Motor is not just a champion of two wheels.
Actually, it has fielded a rugby union team 1982, first in a corporate-level league before joining the fledgling ‘Top League’ in 2003 – Japan’s premier battleground for the English-bred ball game.
In the first five seasons, Yamaha didn’t finish outside the top three, but the ultimate prize remained elusive.
Despite its success, Yamaha Motor has not escaped the harsh winds of the worldwide recession in the past few years.
Financial difficulties brought on by world economic crisis forced the team to terminate the contracts of its professional players at the start of last season, leaving them to compete only with players who are full-time Yamaha Motor employees.
With the loss of key personnel, the team fell to 11th place and barely managed to win a play-off to remain in the Top League.
But a new year brings with it eternal hope, and the 2011-2012 season kicks off on October 29 with a new slate of players and staff, including former New Zealand national team member Jerry Collins and a former Olympic wrestling bronze medallist as physical coach. And for some real mongrel, why not V-Max on the back of the jerseys instead?
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Written byBikesales Staff
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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