Japan Tour Down Under

Australia's National Touch League competition is no stranger to having international teams compete alongside the best sides in Australia, and with the Touch World Cup only weeks away, one of the participating nations is taking full advantage of the opportunity.

The Japanese mixed open side travelled to Coffs Harbour, nailing down their final preparations for the sport’s showpiece.

This is not the first time Japan has played at the NTL. They have done so for the past few years and even gone up against the likes of Scotland, Papua New Guinea as well as the top Australian regions.

“We lost all games here last year but this year, with the same people, same team, we are doing really well,” Japan’s mixed open coach Satoru Ozawa said.

The Touch World Cup will see 93 teams from 25 countries competing across nine divisions; and like most nations since the 2011 Touch World Cup in Scotland, Japan have been preparing for next month’s version for years.

“We’ve been training for the last two and a half years. We’ve been getting better in the last six months,” Ozawa said.

“Everyone knows how to play. Everyone played social park touch until then, now in the last six months we are doing proper training for the World Cup. Everyone knows how to do the proper things.”

Ozawa said his team will have two camps left in Japan - one next weekend and the other just before the commencement of the World Cup.

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For the Australian teams, the Elite 8 series that runs alongside the NTL gave the aussie players a final chance to get some intense competition under their belt before the World Cup kicks off in 6 weeks time.

The cream of the crop Down Under were put through their paces with the Qld Stingrays prevailing over the NSW Scorpions in the Mens, and the Qld Chiefs accounting for the Mets in the Womens.

With masters divisions from the Over 30 to the Over 55 bracket also being contested, the Australian senior players also had the opportunity to hone their skills under game conditions, and get a gauge on where their fitness currently lies.

The Australian teams will have another camp in mid April, a couple of weeks out from the World Cup.