Japan and Kobe Steel winger Daisuke Ohata said Friday he will try out for French first division rugby union side Montferrand in a bid to become the sixth Japanese to play in a foreign league.
Ohata, 26, will join Montferrand's training on Monday and is expected to receive an offer early next month if he passes the tryout at the southern club featuring a handful of French internationals.
"I'll do my best not to waste this opportunity," said Ohata, an Osaka native who has played for Japan 29 times.
Ohata earned his first international cap in 1996 when he was a junior at Kyoto Sangyo University.
He later joined Kobe Steel and helped the amateur-based corporate team to two national titles.