Deaf rugby team training in preparation for international championships

The national Deaf rugby team at training camp

in Shizuoka Prefecture
（photo: http://www.shizushin.com/sports_news/shizuoka/20100503000000000015.htm)

The international Deaf rugby games will be held in August, 2011 in Fiji. Four teams from Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan will compete.

There was a camp training in Shizuoka Prefecture, a mecca for rugby, on May 1-2, which 17 Deaf teammates, from the high school students to adults, came together from across Japan.

With Wataru Murata, a head coach of the national rugby team as a special coach, the team repeatedly practiced skills such as passing, defenses, and tackles.

Because the Deaf teammates gather from various places throughout Japan, they have only one time in a few months for the intensive training.

Also the degree of the hearing loss and the experience with rugby are also varied with each teammate. The training always requires a lot of time in order to communicate smoothly with the use of gestures during the game.