Couch heads to Japan, broken leg and all

Waikato loose forward Scott Couch heads to Japan on Saturday to take up a 12-month rugby contract despite his broken leg not having fully healed.

Couch, 27, who has played 45 games for Waikato, snapped his right leg -- both the fibula and tibia -- while scoring a try against Wellington in last year's NPC.

But the bones have been slow to mend and he has yet to run on the injured leg though he has been doing other training.

But that did not stop Japanese team Secom signing him up for a year, confident they can get his leg right in time for the September start to their season.

"The Japanese club that I'm going to took me over there two weeks ago and did a medical on me and took about 15 x-rays," Couch said.

"You could still see the break and while it is healing I looked at them and thought 'thanks for the free trip to Japan and maybe we'll see you in a couple of years' but they reckon they can fix me."

As soon as Couch arrives in Japan he will go into a rehabilitation programme.

Secom, who last season won promotion back to the top division, have also signed some Pacific Island players, including former Southland midfield back Seremaia Bai.

"It's a one-year contract to start with because of my broken leg, but if I can manage to get on the field and do all right hopefully they'll extend it for another two.

"Three years would be good. Three years means you can set yourself up a little bit when you come home but I know I'm going to miss the rugby here."

- NZPA