A group of Japanese university students visiting Bond on a study tour have rolled out the welcome wagon for members of the Junior Japan rugby team who are currently staying and playing at Bond University as part of the 2014 International Rugby Board (IRB) Pacific Rugby Cup (PRC).
In addition to hosting the Japanese team on campus from March 3 to 19, Junior Japan will take on the reigning Pacific Rugby Cup champions, the Fiji Warriors, on March 18 at Bond.
As part of her internship with the International Rugby Board (IRB), Bondie Holly Naughton, currently in her second year of a Bachelor of Sports Management degree, will also be covering the match.
Holly will be performing real-time statistical analysis and acting as representative/liaison between the Japanese team and the IRB.
Bondies and rugby fans are encouraged to head down to the field at 3pm on Tuesday March 18 to cheer on the visiting Junior Japan team. Admission to all PRC matches is free.
In the lead-up to this match, Junior Japan will be undergoing a rigorous training schedule of twice-daily sessions on the fields and in the Bond Sports Centre, as well as travelling to Brisbane for fixtures as part of the PRC tournament.
The IRB Pacific Rugby Cup was established in 2006 to help develop rugby in Pacific nations and to ‘bridge the gap’ between domestic and international Rugby for the best locally-based players from the participating regions.
In this year’s competition, Australia’s best emerging Super Rugby talent will compete against national representative teams from Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and Argentina over the next five weeks at venues across Australia, including Bond University.
The tournament is organised by the IRB in partnership with Australian Rugby Union.
For more information on the Pacific Rugby Cup, click here.