Is it true that 'rugby players are good at business'? The conclusion reached by an active professional player and entrepreneur

When I go out for drinks with business owners, they almost always say, 'You played rugby, right? Why don't you come work for my company?'

I am Rikuto Yamakawa, a professional rugby player. While playing for Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, I also run a matching site that connects athletes with society.

In my previous note, I wrote about how I started my business while still an active player. This time, I want to talk about something a bit broader.

'Rugby players are good at business'—I hear this often, but is it true?

My answer is, true.

But the players themselves don't think so.

Let me start with the most important point.

Seeing me start a business, post on social media, and launch various services, my teammates and juniors often ask me, 'That's amazing, how do you do it?' or 'Are you actually making a profit?'

And when I explain, 'This is how I do it,' they all say the same thing.

'I could never do that.'

No, you can. It's not easy, but if you do it, you can definitely succeed.

Rugby players are good at business. Business owners think so, and I am convinced of it myself. Yet, the players themselves are unaware of it. I think this is the biggest waste.

So, in this post, I will write about why rugby players are good at business. I would be happy if even one person reads this and thinks, 'Oh, maybe I can do it too.'

If there are students out there wondering whether to continue playing rugby as a working adult, I want them to know that choosing to play rugby is not a bad path.

Business owners want to hire people with rugby experience

First, let's talk facts. In various surveys, rugby often ranks first among sports backgrounds that companies want to hire. It beats out popular sports like baseball and soccer.

I have many opportunities to drink with business owners, and since I'm big, they usually figure it out. They ask, 'Do you play rugby?' and the conversation expands from there, with them saying things like, 'You're welcome to join my company whenever you retire,' or 'I'll take you on.'

Half-joking, half-serious. But those offers are truly common.

And as a business owner myself, when I think about hiring someone, honestly, I prefer someone with rugby experience.

Why do I think that?

Because it's a sport where you win with 15 'different individuals'

I believe the biggest reason why rugby players are strong in business can be summarized right here.

Rugby is a sport played by 15 people. And each person has a clear role. My position is prop, so my job is to make sure we never lose a scrum. If you're a lock, your job is to make sure you win the lineout. If you're a flanker, you have to make sure you complete your tackles.

The mindset of first fulfilling the role assigned to you is built in by default. This is a big factor.

After all, a company runs based on whether everyone can properly handle their own post, right? Without running away by saying, 'That's not my job,' you first give your all to the work you've been assigned. Rugby players have this ingrained in their bodies.

But what's even more important is what comes after that.

Forwards and backs have completely different physiques and roles. Even among the forwards, the front row, locks, and flankers are completely different types, and among the backs, there are the half-backs, the wings, and so on—they are like different species.

You can talk naturally with people in the same position because your ways of thinking are similar. But,you have to coordinate and win with people in different positions—people who are completely different types from you.

Rugby is a sport where you can't win unless you talk. That's why the ability to build relationships is trained so thoroughly.

This is a skill that is extremely effective in sales situations and in situations where you work as a team.

Courtesy and grit—the 'basic physical strength' of a working professional

Rugby is quite a hierarchical society. Especially those who lived in dorms during high school were always moving while thinking about how to please their seniors, such as by washing their laundry.

I didn't do much laundry myself, but I was trained extensively in cleaning and being considerate of others.

Thinking about how to please your seniors—when you translate this into business, it becomes the ability to imagine what your boss is looking for.

It's the same in any company that if there's a capable junior, you think, 'This guy is good.' When such a person is around, the workplace runs more smoothly, and even when you go out for sales, you leave the impression that 'this person is polite, it's a good company.'

In addition to that, rugby players have grit. They can hit the sales trail hard and don't break even when they get rejected. When you ask them, 'Go make sales there and summarize these documents,' they respond quickly and get the job done properly.

They sense how the team is moving and pass the ball that comes to them accurately.

Polite, gritty, and quick to respond. Just by playing rugby, you develop a certain level of 'basic physical strength' as a working professional.

Also, it might be surprising, butthe ability to liven up a room is also extremely important in business. I personally often act as the mood maker when drinking with executives, and I believe that being interesting means being good at capturing people's hearts.

Rugby players aren't the type who only care about their own fun. They can create an atmosphere where everyone can enjoy themselves. This is a skill that most people don't have.

Once I joined the company, I thought, 'There's a path to victory here.'

I am a graduate of Tenri University.

When I joined NTT Docomo as a new graduate employee-athlete, people said I was from a "low-tier university." They said, "There's no way you'll make it in the real world."

But once I started working, honestly, it was completely different.

There were people from the University of Tokyo, Meiji, Rikkyo, and all sorts of places, but I often thought, "Wait, you're tired from this amount of work?" or "Wait, I can do this easily." Especially in sales, the communication skills I possess were put to great use.

Of course, there were people who were good with computers, and I acknowledge those skills. But back when I joined as a new graduate, I thought,"Maybe those kinds of IT skills won't be needed in the positions of the future."I thought.

In fact, now that AI has emerged, that is exactly what is happening.

On the other hand,sales and human-to-human interaction are things computers cannot do. I have thought since I joined the company that that is where the winning edge for rugby players lies.

Team building and "straight talk"

I'd like to talk about something a bit bigger now.

I think management and a rugby team are incredibly similar.

There is a proper division of roles, and each person fulfills them. You can't do it alone. Everyone faces the same direction and works together. This is rugby, and this is management.

People often say, "Three arrows cannot be broken." In rugby, there are 15 of them. And the reason they don't break is that they are all facing the same direction. If you had 15 separate arrows, you could easily break them one by one.

In rugby, everyone is facing the same direction. That's why it doesn't break. You can have unbreakable management.

And at the core of that team building is the culture of"straight talk."

In rugby, we often hold sessions to discuss things clearly without hesitation, and to eliminate things we can't usually say or have been holding back.

We go out for drinks, and it naturally turns into straight talk. We say things face-to-face like, "Honestly, I don't think that part of you is good," or "I think it would be much better if you did it this way."

You have to say things you don't want to say, and you have to be able to hear things you don't want to hear.

But you also need the strength to accept that, and the ability to communicate in a way that allows others to accept it. I think this is the skill most lacking in the business world today.

In an era where speaking frankly has become nothing but a risk, rugby players are trained to "speak their true feelings skillfully." Moreover, they also provide proper follow-up. It doesn't end with just hurting someone.

Michael Leitch often hosts these kinds of team-building drinking parties. He is truly amazing in that regard.

Whether as an employee or an executive, you can compete in both

Reading this far, you might think, 'Rugby players are the strongest.' In fact, I believe they are incredibly strong as employees.

So, what about as an executive? To be honest, there are some hurdles.

Rugby players are basically good at 'taking what they are told, breaking it down, and executing it.' Conversely, they actually have little experience in being at the top and giving instructions to others. Captains are a different story, though.

In my case, it was a big deal that I played catcher in baseball until junior high school. A catcher has to give instructions to various people and is required to have a perspective that sees the whole picture. In rugby terms, a position like a hooker might be similar.

However, this doesn't mean they are 'unsuited for management.' They just have little experience, but they can do it if they try. They are also equipped with the ability to create the atmosphere of a place and the coordination skills to work with anyone to achieve a goal.

They can be incredibly active as employees, and they already possess the ability to take on challenges as executives.

Whichever path you choose, what you have trained in rugby will definitely become a weapon.

However, if you do nothing, you will be left behind

I will say something harsh here as well.

It is true that rugby players are strong in business. But,if you don't take any action while you are still active, you will greatly narrow your precious potential.

Professional players only play rugby, so if they just do that, they will naturally become detached from society. If you do it for 10 years, you will be 10 years removed from society.

During that time, people who are studying business, doing side jobs, or going out for drinks with executives—those people can gradually get used to society. But those who didn't take any action will, as expected, fall behind.

As I wrote in my previous note, you can definitely run a business while playing rugby. Because the New Zealand All Blacks players are doing it.

Conclusion

My motto is 'Where there is a will, there is a way.' It's a phrase my grandfather told me three days before he passed away, and I have always remembered it.

Basically, if people keep doing something, it will take some form. Quitting halfway is the biggest waste.

I want you to think about it. The probability of continuing to play rugby and being able to play for a League One team is less than 1%. There is no way the probability of succeeding in business is lower than that.

The ability to fulfill a role. Courtesy. Communication. Grit. The ability to liven up a place. Team building. Straight talk. Everything is something I have trained in rugby.

People who play rugby should have more confidence. They are strong in business. This is true.