The Japanese coach who came to Ireland to study the rugby

IT WAS THE rugby that brought Japanese coach Atsushi Tanabe to Ireland earlier this month but he learned about two new sports during his week-long stay.

Sitting in his hotel in Limerick after a visit to Munster, former Japan international Tanabe flicked on the TV and thought, “What the hell is this?”

Initially, it looked like Aussie rules to him but he quickly saw the ball was different. The mystery was settled as he discovered it was called Gaelic football. Watching hurling for the first time in his life was even stranger.

Tanabe also learned that the Guinness truly does taste better in Ireland. He had tried it in Japan without being impressed. It was a different story on Irish soil.

“I was hesitating but I thought I might as well have a go,” says Tanabe. “I had one and was thinking, ‘Shit, this is good!’”

But Tanabe was here to meet rugby folk. He has been the attack coach for the Kubota Spears in Japan’s League One for the past five years.

Tanabe previously worked as an assistant coach to Jamie Joseph with Japan’s national team, spending two years with the Brave Blossoms as they prepared to shock the game at their home World Cup in 2019. That role also involved coaching with the Sunwolves when they were in Super Rugby, another key part of the Japanese World Cup prep.

Tanabe has been keen to continue his development as a coach and Kubota, who were the Japanese champions for the first time last year, agreed to send him to Ireland.

“I’ve been so interested in how Ireland, a small country, got to world number one,” says Tanabe.

“When I was a player, New Zealand or Australia or South Africa dominated but I really enjoy how Ireland play and I wanted to see more of how you guys operate in terms of the alignment with the national side and club rugby.

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Tanabe second from right during his playing days with the Panasonic Wild Knights.

“I’ve learned now that rugby is the fourth sport in Ireland but they’ve been ranked first in rugby. Rugby probably doesn’t get the first athletes in Ireland.

“It’s the same in Japan. We have lots of baseball, soccer, sumo wrestling, basketball is getting bigger, volleyball. Rugby is seventh or eighth in Japan so I enjoyed talking to people in Ireland because Irish rugby is still keeping the game so strong.”

He knew a week wouldn’t allow him to get into it too deeply, but Tanabe wanted a taste of how it all works here.

He got in touch with his friend Bernard Jackman, who he had first connected with in Jackman’s online coaching group during Covid. Tanabe made a major impression on that group with a presentation about Japan’s attack at the 2019 World Cup.

Jackman helped to set Tanabe up with people involved in various layers of Irish rugby. Tanabe was in school in New Zealand for several years, playing rugby at Shirley Boys’ High, and later studied business at the University Of Canterbury, so his English is outstanding.

Among the people Tanabe sat down with were Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell, Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber, St Michael’s College director of rugby Andy Skehan, Leinster attack coach Andrew Goodman, Munster attack coach Mike Prendergast, Leinster academy manager Simon Broughton, Connacht attack specialist Mark Sexton, and Argentina kicking coach Alan Kingsley.

Tanabe came away with his view that Ireland have been doing things their own way strengthened.

“Japanse rugby has been dominated by Southern Hemisphere influences for a long time,” says Tanabe.

“New Zealand has probably been the biggest influence for the last 20 years along with Australia, then in the last 10 years we’ve had South African players and coaches coming in.

“What I’ve been watching from Irish rugby is this totally different style of rugby. You guys are really good at keeping the ball in hand, trying to pressure with the ball, creating space and speed in attack.

Tanabe was previously with Japan and the Sunwolves.

“It’s a point of difference. If Ireland copy and paste what New Zealand or South Africa do, you guys will never win. When I talked to Paul O’Connell, he said that Ireland can’t play like other countries, we’ve got to understand what we stand for, what the green jersey means for us.

“That mindset really caught me. That’s what Japanese rugby should be thinking about – what the rugby looks like and what we stand for.”

Tanabe was struck by the alignment of everything in Irish rugby, pointing out that Ireland being such a small country probably helps.

“You can drive to all the provinces within a few hours,” he says. “That centralises a lot of things. It’s easier to share ideas and meet people. Players don’t have to go far if they want to change clubs in Ireland. That gives opportunities to create more depth.”

He watched Munster training in Limerick and was impressed by the province’s entire academy being part of the senior session. It’s not something that happens in Japan and explains why young Irish players are ready to step up in the URC when called on.

There was obviously lots of other detail in his conversations with the coaches that’s not for sharing publicly.

Tanabe has certainly made some good connections in Irish rugby. He enjoys coaching with Kubota but his visit to Ireland only increased his ambition to work in this part of the world. He’s ready and willing to make the move if an opportunity arises.

“That’s my dream,” says Tanabe. “It’s something that no Japanese coach has done before. I think someone has got to make a new pathway to Europe.

“I need to understand different styles of rugby, not just the set-piece-oriented South African way, individual brilliance from New Zealand rugby, the very structured rugby from Australia.

“I want to understand what England do with their kicking and set-pieces, how Ireland keep the ball in hand, what Scottish or French rugby does. I want to challenge myself.

“It’s not a financial thing, I just want to challenge myself and if there are any opportunities in Europe, I want a crack at it and can hopefully come back to Japan after a few years.”