Japan: a rugby home away from home

“The best two weeks of our lives”

The highlight of Trinity’s Japanese rugby tour may have occurred in the very first moments – a reunion of teenagers from different hemispheres showing the joys of a warm welcome into a completely different culture.

“That was the moment for me, without a doubt, seeing the way they gelled and meshed,” said Trinity’s director of rugby and tour leader Mick Snowden.

“There were high fives and hugs and a ton of smiles, genuine friendship; it was brilliant.

“That’s the whole point. Rugby was a great sideshow but it was wonderful to go to Japan for two weeks and experience the culture, make memories the boys will not forget, and see them make friends who will remain as long as they’re standing upright.”

There was little need for the School’s tour leaders to tell the boys which families they were being billeted with – they already knew from social media exchanges with Japanese boys they had met at Summer Hill last year and stayed in touch with.

The Trinity visitors spent three days in class with their mates at the huge, co-educational Kwansei Gakuin school, near Osaka in western Japan, and played a total of six rugby matches (three per team).

Their sightseeing and cultural trips included visits to Osaka and Kobe, the Hiroshima war memorial, Universal Studios, and a journey on the famed Bullet Train.

But the experience of living with a host family seemed to leave the deepest impression.

“The hospitality of the Japanese families was unbelievable,” said Mr Snowden.

“At the rugby they were all at our end cheering the Australian boys. They seemed to almost forget that their own kids existed. One of the mums cried when the boys left.”

He said the Trinity boys were impressed by the “outrageously high” levels of respect and adherence to social standards they witnessed.

When mobile phones were left somewhere in public they were still there an hour later; in big cities no-one crossed streets anywhere except pedestrian crossings; punctuality and politeness were highly valued.

“Our boys are fantastic; their behaviour was incredible but it was interesting for them to see how driven their hosts were … every single kid you walk past in the hallway greets you, there’s a genuine politeness to everything that’s done, the smiles and friendly faces are everywhere you go.

“They do what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it.

“A high level of independence is given to students in Japan. Their rugby coach would tell them what to do and they would go off and do it; it’s all self-driven.

“They have 15 minutes each day in class which is their version of our home room, and they spend it cleaning the classroom. There’s a lot we can learn in their approach to self-respect, pride in the school, pride in what they do.”

Rugby captain Max Meagher (12Hi) described the tour as “the best two weeks of our lives”.

“We were on the other side of the world, with our best mates, playing the sport we love, eating awesome food and experiencing a truly amazing culture. This experience is something none of us will ever have again, but it is something we will all be talking about for the rest of our lives.”

He said the 5-10 minute break between classes was “priceless”.

“We would interact with the Japanese boys and girls and when walking through the halls we were treated like celebrities.

“At night after dinner we were able to leave the team and coaches and go out exploring. Having a bit of freedom to do that with our mates and experience the Japanese culture and food was something we may never get to do again.

“We got to enjoy the city as tourists, not necessarily schoolboys.”

Billeting was daunting at first but he quickly adjusted to traditions such as sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor.

“I thoroughly enjoyed being able to sit at the dinner table with the family to share stories.

“We saw how organised they were – always being ready to leave on time, and having their bags packed the night before – and how dedicated they were to their schooling and work.

“They always treated their surroundings with respect such as being quiet on the train or picking up any rubbish off the floor even if it wasn’t theirs.”

Trinity hopes to arrange similar trips every second year.

Kwansei has an English language tour to Sydney in term three, the female students partnering with Meriden girls and some boys billeting with Trinity families.

This article originally appeared in our June 2024 Edition of Trinity News
which you can view on our online digital bookshelf.