Tackling Japan's rugby history

Rugby’s biggest dance—the World Cup—is coming to Asia for the very first time.
This September, Japan will host 19 of Rugby’s best national teams for the main event in the World Rugby calendar, and the pressure is on.

After their famous victory against South Africa in 2015, Japan is poised for one of its most important sporting performances. Each new game they play will be the biggest game in Japanese rugby history.

But how did we come to this moment?

In this Monsoon Pod, host Patrick Cooney explores Japan’s rugby story. He offloads the discussion to Ken Dobson, a rugby sevens coach in Hokkaido, to talk about the progression of the game in Rugby’s so-called ‘newest’ market.

Ken Dobson worked with Queensland Rugby Union and is now heading the men and women’s sevens program at the Hokkaido Barbarians in Japan.