Japan duo rocked by quake disaster

Two Japanese players have pledged to join a training camp next week, despite having their family homes washed away by the devastating earthquake and tsunami, the team’s coach said.

All Blacks legend John Kirwan said forwards Kensuke Hatakeyama and Shinya Makabe of Tokyo club Suntory Sungoliath wanted to “honour” their families, who were swept away by the tsunami but survived, by pressing on with the camp.

“They wanted to honour their families and the people who have been affected by the tragedy by carrying on, by giving some hope and by being positive,” said Kirwan, during the build-up to this week’s Hong Kong Sevens tournament.

“Their families lost everything. They lost contact with their family for four days and were really concerned that there had been loss of life. They were washed away by the tsunami but survived, but they lost everything.

“They haven’t been able to get to their families to help yet. We don’t know how we’re going to help them in the next couple of weeks. We need to try and help them the best way we can.”

The training camp, for the upcoming Asian Five Nations, will take place on Japan’s southwestern Kyushu Island, far from the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactor which is emitting radiation in the country’s northeast.

Kirwan, who was carrying out grassroots coaching, said the team had hesitated about holding the camp after a disaster which left more than 10,000 dead and destroyed entire towns.

“What do you do? Do you cancel your camp? Should we be staying in a nice hotel and eating three meals a day and playing rugby when there are so many people homeless?” he said.

“What is the right thing to do in what is an incredibly bad situation?”

The March 11 disaster has disrupted Japan’s football and baseball leagues, and forced the cancellation of this month’s world figure-skating championships in Tokyo.

Golf superstar Tiger Woods and leading women’s tennis player Kim Clijsters have also cancelled visits to the country.

AFP