SRU - Nagasaki: Schools Initiative August 2018
The opportunity to take a touring party to Nagasaki arose in May 2017. Mark Dodson, Scottish Rugby CEO, spoke at a dinner in Nagasaki of a return trip to mirror a tour that had took place earlier in the year which saw a Nagasaki under 15 team coming to Edinburgh to play. Al Kellock was tasked with challenge of pulling it together.
The first decision to be made was who would tour and we were enthusiastic about giving this opportunity to a group that would ordinarily not get the chance to play rugby outside Scotland. The decision was made to select an under 16's team from our schools of rugby - 15 schools in areas of
deprivation throughout Scotland - and having made our session I could see the eagerness, passion and obvious character of the group.
Having selected our squad from the Schools of Rugby programme we trained throughout June and July and following a send off BBQ at BT Murrayfield we set off for Nagasaki.
Squad Aims: We aimed to further deepen the relationship between Nagasaki and Scottish Rugby, providing opportunities for our young players to grow on and off the field. We did this by concentrating on the values of rugby and set about bringing to life behaviours, standards and actions that made our values REAL!
Respect – Enjoyment – Achievement - Leadership The focus was on how these values would become actions everyday:
● Our players reflected daily on the behaviours they had seen from each other, recorded them and recognised and rewarded good standards.
● A square in our values was coloured indicating a value had been brought to life.
● The players owned their own standards and throughout the tour picked up on many different behaviours.
● The players also challenged poor behaviour that took away from their collective culture.
Cultural learnings: A key aim of the tour was to provide the players with the opportunity to learn as much as possible about Japanese culture. The tour consisted of the following events.
Day 1 - Visit to Nagasaki High School, where our players were taught Kyudo and Japanese writing by the pupils. In the evening we watched a rehearsal for a traditional dance festival that will be held in September 2018.
Day 2 - Peace ceremony marking the 73rd anniversary of the atomic bomb – we heard from various delegates including the Prime Minister of Japan. Visit to a primary school to learn about the destruction caused by the atomic bomb.
Day 3 - A guided tour of the Atomic bomb museum and a visit to the Mitsubishi crane built in Scotland at the start of the 20th centuary.
Day 4 - A traditional Japanese BBQ with Nagaski delegates and guests and a chance to try more of the local food.
Day 5 - Match day against Nagasaki select team.
Day 6 - Dragon boat racing with opposition team, visit to Battleship Island and followed by a dinner with opposition players.
Rugby: Two games were played:
Game 1 result was Nagasaki High School 12 - 43 Scotland Schools of Rugby
Game 2 result was Nagasaki Schools Select 29 - 0 Scotland Schools of Rugby
Reflections: The players were ambassadors for Scottish Rugby throughout the tour and we leave Nagasaki with many new friends. We were incredibly well looked after by all from Nagasaki Rugby and the city.
We aimed to provide the players with an experience of a lifetime that would allow them to grow on and off the field and I believe we were successful. Every player was pushed out of their comfort zone daily and asked to grow and learn very quickly, we undoubtedly had our challenges throughout the week but in every instance with the hard work of the players came through stronger.
It would be impossible to suggest which experience had the greatest effect as it would undoubtedly vary but the chance for the players to listen to the Mayor of Nagasaki and the Prime Minister of Japan talk about the impact of the atomic bomb exactly 73 years on and only meters away from the hypocentre was incredible. Our chef was a 75 year old local who had survived the bomb when only two, the respect that was shown to him from our players was inspiring.
The players were asked to bring the values to life and they did so daily but very rarely with grand gestures, it was the small details, sometimes unseen actions that showed they were truly living the values. Players standing in the tram to give locals a seat, clearing away dishes and wiping down tables, giving away jerseys as the opposition had none to swap.
It is important to remember the group that we took over had different backgrounds some of which had been challenging, I doubt that any of them will have been pushed as hard and in so many different ways. By Thursday night there were beginning to be some behavioural cracks and as a management team we worried for a few of the group. These issues were mostly personality clashes within the squad and/or a minority beginning to push back on the values.
Looking back, Friday and Saturday were decisive days, Friday - the morning at the atomic museum followed by the first game provided the catalyst to create a very strong squad. The leadership shown by key individuals gave a clear focus to the entire squad of the importance of what they were trying to achieve. Saturday – was a day away off from rugby, we went to the beach and then had a traditional Japanese bbq. The relaxed atmosphere gave the players a chance to blow of some steam but the most pleasing thing from our point of view was that the standards never dropped and the players embraced the culture wholeheartedly.
Although the second game was lost 29 – 0 it was against a very strong opposition and the character that was shown throughout the game was more pleasing than winning. We huddled in the dark on the pitch before leaving the ground and reflected on the week that had passed with no one else around, the squad had been challenged to learn and embrace a culture, build a team, change their own behaviours, challenge each others, make new friends, eat strange food, fill their jerseys and to grow into men. It was in the huddle that they realised how much they had done and the enormity and emotion struck home, there were more than a few tears (not just from the players…).
Each player received a one to one with the management team and was given feedback on rugby, off-field activities and how they interacted with the squad. We have also asked each player to send us 3 take aways they will commit to as a result of their time away. The reflections from the players have been very well thought out and show the impact the tour has had on them on and off the field.
The tour was a great success and gave a group of young men an opportunity of a lifetime. I would once again like to thank everyone who made it possible
I personally and everyone at Scottish Rugby are very grateful to Friends of Scottish Rugby for their support to help make this tour happen.
Al Kellock
Scottish Rugby Ambassador