Stephen Larkham To Play For The Land of the Rising Sun?
October 26th 2007 04:12
Well...I've always said the sun shines out of his astounding brain...
Larkham's last match in Wallabies colours...sob...was against Japan in the pool matches of the Rugby World Cup, so... this...is rather fitting.
Larkham is flying off to Japan this Sunday, to meet with potential clubs after all but deciding to finish his playing career in the country's lucrative Top League.
The Top League in Japan, which is made up of 14 clubs owned by big businesses such as Mitsubishi, Coca Cola and Toyota, has become a popular choice for players after they finish their careers in Australia.
Former Brumbies teammate legndary fullback Joe Roff (currently at Oxford) played a season with the Kubota Spears. Joel Wilson, another former Brumby, is also playing in the league with the Kobe Steelers and former Wallaby legend Toutai Kefu is still on their roster.
Larkham, whose future has been "out on a limbo" (see previous post) has said he hoped to finalise where he would play next year after spending a couple of days in Japan looking at club setups.
He was unsure which clubs he and his manager would be looking at next week but also said, part of the allure of Japan was being involved in a challenging league.
If all had gone to plan, Larkham was initially due to stay in Europe following the Rugby World Cup for up to two years before playing out his career in Japan, but is now likely to head straight there between April and June next year.
This is what Larkham has to say about it all:
Larkham had signed a two-year contract with Edinburgh, but the deal fell through because of a financial dispute between the privately owned club and the Scottish Rugby Union.
If Larkham went to Japan in April or June, he would be around for all of the Super 14 series, but, despite talk about him maybe playing a few *unpaid matches, has ruled out a return to the Brumbies although he plans to spend most of that time in Canberra.
Well...okay, maybe that last bit is a complete and utter fabrication but...stranger things have happened.
Prior to these posts, my last few posts, I hadn't said a word about Stephen Larkham.
*unpaid - the Brumbies have already filled their match player payment quota
quote excerpt from The Canberra Times
...sigh...
Larkham's last match in Wallabies colours...sob...was against Japan in the pool matches of the Rugby World Cup, so... this...is rather fitting.
From a sunburnt country to the land of the rising sun.
Larkham is flying off to Japan this Sunday, to meet with potential clubs after all but deciding to finish his playing career in the country's lucrative Top League.
The Top League in Japan, which is made up of 14 clubs owned by big businesses such as Mitsubishi, Coca Cola and Toyota, has become a popular choice for players after they finish their careers in Australia.
Former Brumbies teammate legndary fullback Joe Roff (currently at Oxford) played a season with the Kubota Spears. Joel Wilson, another former Brumby, is also playing in the league with the Kobe Steelers and former Wallaby legend Toutai Kefu is still on their roster.
Larkham, whose future has been "out on a limbo" (see previous post) has said he hoped to finalise where he would play next year after spending a couple of days in Japan looking at club setups.
He was unsure which clubs he and his manager would be looking at next week but also said, part of the allure of Japan was being involved in a challenging league.
If all had gone to plan, Larkham was initially due to stay in Europe following the Rugby World Cup for up to two years before playing out his career in Japan, but is now likely to head straight there between April and June next year.
This is what Larkham has to say about it all:
The cut off for the European tournament was the 18th of this month (October), so we really didn't have a lot of time when Edinburgh pulled out...
"During the World Cup and all that, you'd think there would be plenty of time but with injury and everything there was no time to get around.
Everything was just so rushed because Edinburgh pulled out so late, so now we're looking at other options and Japan comes up in June next year which certainly would be a bit easier for us at this stage.
I wanted to still be playing in a professional competition and potentially offering something to them in terms of a bit of expertise.
I suppose also being a bit closer to home would be good as well. We'd been ready to move over to Edinburgh for a couple of years but now I suppose the beauty of Japan is it's a little bit closer to home.
"During the World Cup and all that, you'd think there would be plenty of time but with injury and everything there was no time to get around.
Everything was just so rushed because Edinburgh pulled out so late, so now we're looking at other options and Japan comes up in June next year which certainly would be a bit easier for us at this stage.
I wanted to still be playing in a professional competition and potentially offering something to them in terms of a bit of expertise.
I suppose also being a bit closer to home would be good as well. We'd been ready to move over to Edinburgh for a couple of years but now I suppose the beauty of Japan is it's a little bit closer to home.
Larkham had signed a two-year contract with Edinburgh, but the deal fell through because of a financial dispute between the privately owned club and the Scottish Rugby Union.
If Larkham went to Japan in April or June, he would be around for all of the Super 14 series, but, despite talk about him maybe playing a few *unpaid matches, has ruled out a return to the Brumbies although he plans to spend most of that time in Canberra.
I'm certainly looking to train through this period, certainly up until April, which is the earliest they expect you over there
There's a fair bit to do around the house and spending time with the family is important to me as well, so we'll certainly spend the time in or around Canberra.
Plus Dusk has asked me to contribute to Rucks and Rolls and I'm really considering her offer.
There's a fair bit to do around the house and spending time with the family is important to me as well, so we'll certainly spend the time in or around Canberra.
Plus Dusk has asked me to contribute to Rucks and Rolls and I'm really considering her offer.
Well...okay, maybe that last bit is a complete and utter fabrication but...stranger things have happened.
Prior to these posts, my last few posts, I hadn't said a word about Stephen Larkham.
*unpaid - the Brumbies have already filled their match player payment quota
quote excerpt from The Canberra Times
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Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
Thank God SL will continue to play so that we can continue to enjoy your delicious posts!
Mis