Western Force renew partnership with Japanese club Urayasu D-Rocks

The Western Force and Japanese League One club Urayasu D-Rocks have renewed their ongoing mutually beneficial partnership.

Representative of D-Rocks visited Force HQ in Perth a fortnight ago, exchanging information and strengthening ties, meeting with numerous parts of the business.

As part of the partnership, in November 2022, the Force and D-Rocks played a two-game series in Japan.

In the future, the partnership will see the two clubs hold further friendly matches and/or training camps between all teams of both clubs.

Other benefits include business matching, player/coaching development at all levels (men’s, women’s and academy) and a connection to commercial partners to further build relationships.

Force director of strategic projects Matt Hodgson said: “Our ongoing relationship with Urayasu D-Rocks has been beneficial for both clubs, sharing ideas, different perspectives and commercial interests.

“Our 2022 tour allowed both clubs to connect at many levels from the high-performance area to commercial workings and it was great to continue that with this month’s visit. This partnership will help both organisations continue to grow and develop.”

Urayasu D-Rocks general director Uchiyama Hirofumi said: “The discussions with the Western Force have been very useful.

"We believe that the open exchanging of opinions from both sides, not only in the area of strengthening both teams, but also in the areas of promotion, careers and sustainability will be valuable for both teams.

“We hope that the actions and achievements of both teams will contribute to the success of the 2027 Rugby World Cup. We would like to express our respect and gratitude to the team officials for their hospitality.”