Former Crusader Brett Cameron is getting accustomed to life in Japan after joining the Kamaishi Seawaves.
The 25-year-old one-Test All Black caught up with Mark Stafford on SENZ Afternoons to discuss the move and the main differences between rugby in Japan and New Zealand.
“It’s quite a bit different,” he said.
“In New Zealand you’re full-time and you’re in for the day.
“Here, most of the boys work during the day, so they’ll gym in the morning then they’ll go off to work.”
The playmaker also mentioned that the attention to detail in terms of pre-game preparation is not as significant in Japan.
“There’s definitely not quite as much detail in terms of the preview of other teams and stuff you do off the field,” he said.
One aspect of rugby in Japan that has impressed Cameron is the intensity of the training sessions.
Stafford was interested to know if rumours of heavy contact training were true, and Cameron confirmed these rumours.
“They train the house down,” he said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so sore after my first week of training.
“They get stuck into each other at training, contact and tackle drills most days, still kind of getting used to that.”
Prior to making the move to Kamaishi, Super Rugby clubs in New Zealand had been expressing interest in Cameron, but none of them made an offer until he had already signed with the Seawaves.
“I was still pretty keen to play rugby in New Zealand and I still wanted to test myself at Super level,” he said.
“So it was sort of tough leaving that behind.”
Cameron is signed to the Seawaves for one season so perhaps a move back home could be on the cards sooner rather than later.