Rawness doesn't matter if strength is there

By Suzanne McFadden

Nippon grinder Takuya Tsuji knows only a little about sailing.

He's more at home running around with All Black legends like John Kirwan and Joe Stanley.

The burly Tsuji has been a sailor for just six months, but his power on the rugby field made him hot property for the Japanese America's Cup crew.

Tsuji played lock and flanker for the NEC rugby team in Japan, alongside New Zealand stars Jeremy and Joe Stanley, Kirwan and Liam Barry.

Two years ago he received a letter in the mail from Nippon, asking if he would like to try out for their cup sailing crew. He had never been on a boat before.

"I have no idea how they knew about me," Tsuji says through an interpreter.

Twenty-eight-year-old Tsuji was not the only professional football player pulled into the Nippon crew.

There are, in fact, four rookie grinders who were scouted from rugby and gridiron teams in Japan purely for their physical strength.

Nippon spokeswoman Emili Miura said the stronger winds expected on the Hauraki Gulf meant they would need bigger guys on the winch handles.

"Our policy was to go out and find more engine," she said. "So we went out and headhunted them from the sportsfields."

Masaru Takaoka - the biggest guy in the crew - was captain of the Japanese American football team, and twice led Japan in the Ivy Bowl against the United States.

Osamu Kakizaki used both brains, as a computer software creator, and brawn, from his gridiron career, to earn his place in the team.

Masayuki Umeda had at least sailed before.

He played rugby for seven years before coming to New Zealand and being "allured by the beauty of sailing".

Tsuji was the last man to join the crew, but Nippon say his "monstrous physical ability" has made him a key member.

Tsuji, who represented Japan at schoolboy rugby, has not retired from the game.

"I still have feelings for rugby, but right now my dream is to be in an America's Cup.

After we have brought the cup back to Japan, I will play rugby again," smiles the father-of-two.

"I have a lot of fun sailing - it's a different kind of fun. Each individual's performance is reflected in the boat's speed."