Q&A with Reds GM Sam Cordingley

Japan hosts the Wallabies on Saturday at the National Stadium in Tokyo while former League One champions Saitama Wild Knights face Super Rugby outfit Queensland Reds in Australia.  

RugbyJP.com had opportunity to speak to Queensland Reds’ General Manager (High Performance) Sam Cordingley (below) - a former Grenoble, Reds and Wallabies scrum-half-ahead of a momentous weekend for Japanese-Australian rugby relations.

RugbyJP.com (RJP): Were you surprised to see Saitama's head coach Robbie Deans step down in April? Does that have any impact on your partnership with the club? 

Sam Cordingley (SC): I wasn't too surprised. Success had followed Robbie. 5 League titles on the back of his success at the Crusaders placed him in fairly rarified air as a head coach. Like all quality teams the Wild Knights have planned their succession well with Atsushi (Kanazawa) taking the reins. Robbie will remain connected in an advisory role. But it's been a long stint in Japan for he and Penny so I'm sure they've earned their time back with their kids.

In terms of having any negative impact on the partnership, I wouldn't see that being the case. We are extremely proud to be entering into our sixth year of the partnership. It was constructed to run deeper than any individual. A recent example to highlight the depth and opportunity of the partnership, our CEO (David Hanham) and I were recently guests of our State Premier (David Crisafulli) to visit Saitama's Governor Ono to celebrate our 40 year Queensland/Saitama Prefecture sister state relationship as well as a visit Kumagaya Stadium to support with Brisbane Olympic Planning. Governor Ono (below) is obviously a big Wild Knights fan and he's eager to get the Saitama/Queensland Shield back to Japan!

Saitama governor Mr. Motohiro Ono (front - centre) was gifted a Reds jersey during the Super Rugby club's recent visit to Japan

RJP: Are you open to sending players on loan to Japan for a season and vice versa? Have you discussed this with Saitama?  

SC: Yes, we have had a few false starts early on the back of the COVID period. It won't be far away, we are in dialogue all the time on opportunities for players and staff to cross over programs. 

That being said, Queenslanders are already quite well represented within the Wild Knights group (Riley, Gunter, Cornelsen et al) 

RJP: Are you open to the idea of a Japanese club side joining Super Rugby? What do you think are the pros and cons of that happening for the first time since the Sunwolves disbanded? 

SC: League One is clearly improving year on year by virtue of the fact that it is now a well established product, underpinned by outstanding support of some of the biggest global enterprises. Something that will counter the development of fan avidity is making constant change to a competition. I think it's fair to say we've seen this in Super Rugby over the years. 

I'd like to think there's an opportunity for the best of Japanese, New Zealand and Australian teams to face off in a Southern Hemisphere version of the EPCR post our respective competitions (I.e- SRP and JRLO). There's also a common window of opportunity between September-November when Australian Super Rugby teams could team up with some Japanese teams in a development competition. We take advantage of this period with the Wild Knights to play without our internationals to ensure our respective squads get meaningful games. 

The Reds overpowered Saitama 59-19 on Saturday in Toowoomba with 18-year-old fly-half Finn Mackay (above) playing a starring role

RJP: You will host Saitama WK on 25 October, the same day that will Japan play Australia in Tokyo. It's unfortunate that there's a date clash. What are your thoughts? 

SC: We are taking advantage of the date clash by hosting a 'watch party' at Ballymore. The Reds vs Wild Knights fixture will be played prior to the Test kick off time. Fans can stay around to watch the Wallabies vs Japan on a big screen. We are encouraging supporters and families to bring picnic blankets to have the unique experience of watching the game on Ballymore's main field. There will be Japanese food trucks, maybe some Sake! It should be a great afternoon. 

RJP: Ex-Reds prospect Harry Hockings is poised to make his Japan debut against his home nation of Australia on 25 October. Are you frustrated at losing players like Harry and Isaac Lucas and what can you do to resist lucrative advances from Japanese clubs for your top prospects? 

SC: It's great to see Harry doing well over there. Players are motivated by a myriad of personal factors during what can often be a short career- Harry and Issac are both terrific lads who made decisions based on what was right for them, and we must respect that.  

Queensland Rugby has become one of the biggest developers and exporters of talent. We are proud of our players and coaches who move on to other opportunities- it is certainly not possible to retain everyone and the door is also open for their return. That said, there is a significant financial cost that comes with that development and we are pleased to learn that World Rugby plans to modernise regulation 4.7, which allows for compensation for locally developed talent who depart overseas. 

Who wins the anticipated Japan v Australia clash on Saturday?

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• Japan
• Australia