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Steve Larkham can't seem to take a trick when it comes to selecting a club to play for - after the whole Edinburgh Rugby debacle, he ended up signing with Ricoh Black Rams in Japan... who were then promptly relegated to the East Japan league! (The East Japan, Kansai and Kyushu leagues currently act as the defacto second division in Japan.)
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Rich Freeman / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter
For a company famous for its copiers, it would seem at first glance that Stephen Larkham is an unlikely signing for Ricoh Black Rams.
The Brumbies and Wallabies legend is something of an enigma on the field. A fullback converted to flyhalf who does things very few other players are able to even contemplate let alone copy.
His drop goal against South Africa in the semifinals of the 1999 Rugby World Cup had many of his teammates admitting they were more surprised than the Springboks, when their supposedly non-kicking flyhalf nonchalantly slotted the ball over from close to the halfway line.
Yet this is the man Ricoh hopes can lead the team straight back into the top flight, having been relegated this year.
"I'd like to incorporate the way I played for the last 10 years with the Brumbies and the Wallabies," Larkham said Wednesday.
"I'd like to see the forwards and backs integrating and throwing the ball around, scoring lots of tries and making it entertaining for the fans."
Music to the ears of the Ricoh bigwigs, who have seen the club drop from its lofty heights as the top team in Japan in the 1970's to a side playing in East Japan Top 11.
"Ricoh is a very proud company with a long tradition in rugby," Larkham said. "Obviously it is disappointing to be in the second division but my goal is to help the team play good football and get back in the Top League."
Larkham, the last of whose 102 test matches was against Japan in the 2007 World Cup, was originally set to join Edinburgh in October. But financial problems between the region and the Scottish Rugby Union saw the deal fall through. And despite a number of other offers from European clubs, Larkham signed with the Black Rams.
"The Top League was always a competition I wanted to play in," he said. "I have heard a lot about it and Japan is an improving rugby nation, and I'd like to add some input to the nation."
The 33-year-old admitted that having a number of friends in Japan and the relative closeness of Tokyo to Canberra were also reasons for putting pen to paper.
And he quickly answered, "No," when asked if he thought about pulling out once the Black Rams were relegated.
Having signed a three-year deal with the club, Larkham--who will also have an input on the coaching of the side--is aware that things won't change overnight.
But he hopes his experience with two of the most successful sides in recent years will benefit his new club.
"One of the benefits I had with the Brumbies and Wallabies was that they were two of the best set-ups in the world in terms of the off-field stuff. I hope to transfer that over here so the team is more professional off the field in terms of preparation as that leads to better performances."
Larkham's only regret, as such, is that he won't--for the time being--be able to play against a couple of old friends.
"I really wanted to play against Kubota, who have Damian McInally, who's a really good mate, and Toutai Kefu."
Perhaps taking a leaf out of Larkham's book, Kefu had a couple of attempts at drop goals this season, with none of the luck of his 1999 World Cup winning teammate.
"It was a fluke," Larkham said Wednesday of his famous kick. "I had just moved to [flyhalf] and things just instinctively happened."
Nine years on, he has, by his own admission, developed a good understanding of how a good team plays.
If that understanding--not to mention skill--can rub off on his new teammates, perhaps Larkham's hopes won't seem so far-fetched.
"In the next two or three years, I'd like Ricoh to be seen as one of the top teams in the Top League. The goal of getting into the top four is high on my list."
(Feb. 14, 2008)
Ricoh unveils Larkham : Sports : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
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