The 2000-01 season will be a significant landmark for Kensuke Iwabuchi. The former Japan international rugby player joined English club Saracens, the team he has dreamed of playing for.
Iwabuchi, who has earned 12 Japan caps so far, is the first Japanese player to sign with an English Premier League club and the third professional to play abroad in Japanese rugby history, following former Toshiba Fuchu scrumhalf Wataru Murata and former Isetan winger Yoshihito Yoshida, who both joined French League clubs.
Saracens is a leading club in the English Premier League, which has featured international stars since 1995 after the sport opened the door to professionalism. Under the guidance of player-manager Francois Pienaar, the captain of South Africa's 1995 World Cup-winning team, the London-based club finished fourth in the 12-team standings but scored a league-best 3.5 tries a game last year.