Do you think there is a rugby tradition in Asia? Are we confusing tradition to be the long history some of the Asian rugby nations have? Does a history of over a century of years of being involved mean that there is rugby as we see in the top tier nations? At the top tier and around them we see skills that have taken the game of those countries to where they are. Has this got to do with these countries having a rugby tradition?

Japan has and is dominating rugby in Asia to an extent that there is nobody closing the gap. Yet when Japan faces the world they have been dominated to such an extent that the gap is as wide as the one between Japan and the rest of Asia.

With the Asian 5nations and other lower level events as well as seven’s games there are about 25 tournaments played. Will this lead to a rugby culture in Asia? As cricket has shown the market in India alone can be tremendous. With China as well as Korea the market is out of this world. Is it where the future lies and is it why the IRB Chairman Lapasset is interested in regional development?

In January 2011 Daisuke Ohata, the Japanese flying winger who holds the current International try scoring record, retired. You may ask “is this true”? If you ask to name those who have scored the most number of tries in International rugby will you ever think of Daisuke Ohata.

Daisuke Ohata, the Japanese flying winger who holds the current International try scoring record.

The reason why Ohata’s achievement is often not recognized is because of the quality of the opposition against which he played. His scoring has been in International matches against Korea (hat-trick), a feat he repeated several times, scoring six in one game against Hong Kong and an incredible eight against Chinese Taipei. That is not all: he scored a number of tries against top opposition, with scores against Argentina, France and Wales to his credit.

He managed a decent run on the international scene, standing ahead of David Campese’s record of 64 tries from 101 tests. Campese may have faced sterner opposition, but statically Ohata used up all that was put before him, and ends his career 11 tries ahead of the nearest current international, Shane Williams, who is on 58 tries at the end of the world cup. With Williams retirement form tests, Ohata’s record looks safe for a while yet.

Ohata and others who are around the 50 try scorers club bring the crowd to their feet when they hold the ball .These players seem to had the ability to find their way to the try line.

David Campese – Australia
Campese’s’ 64 tries in 101 tests is beyond belief. In a career which stretched 14 years, Campese terrorized the best sides in the world with a confidence in his own ability which bordered on arrogance. A powerful runner, with pace, Campese would often fix defenders with his trademark ‘goose step’ while leaving them behind.

Shane Williams – Wales
Not the quickest winger running a straight line but he had an incredible change of pace and direction. The diminutive winger spent a great deal of his career in the international wilderness as coaches complain about his lack of physique. I n 2003 Rugby World Cup, Williams exploded into the reckoning as one of the greatest players of all time. Shane Williams has scored 58 tries in 87 test matches

Rory Underwood – England
The English player who served as a fast jet pilot in the Royal Air Force was just as quick on the ground. A devastating finisher with blistering pace, Underwood played in the English team of the '80s and '90s. Underwood is a member of the exclusive 50-try club, gaining his scores in 91 matches, 85 of them for England and a number of them while his brother Tony played on the opposite wing. Underwood scored five tries against Fiji at Twickenham in 1988, breaking the English record for scores in a single match.

Doug Howlett – New Zealand
That Doug Howlett is the only All Black to make it into the top five try scorers in rugby history is more an indication of the competition for places in the New Zealand team than a commentary on the quality of the players.

Howlett is a case in point. His 49 tries have come at an impressive strike rate of almost one a game as he has only 55 All Black caps, seven of which he gained from the bench. Had Howlett played the volume of matches of the players above him in the rankings, who knows how many tries he’d have scored?

In the game of rugby tries can be scored from anywhere, at any time, by any player. Tries coming in all shapes and sizes and are even scored by a 20-stone prop forward. Times are when fifteen players turn defense into attack or scored through individual brilliance.

But if we look at the various versions named 101 best tries going back to around 1958 we see most scoring by the backs using the power of the side step, the change of pace and direction . The same can be said about the 5 leading try scorers.

The side step is a weapon with scoring potential. So is the change of pace and direction. As an individual if you can do these you will shine! As a club or country, if you create a nucleus of players who can sidestep change direction and pace you have the potential to rocket up over time. It's all about being able to read the game and react in the moment. That is where rugby tradition is important especially in Asia where individualism is frowned and all direction must be form the top: meaning the side line.

While searching the net for info I came across the name of Anurudhdha Samarakkody of the Army on sites that were talking of the importance of the side-step. Learning and working is important to succeed and I thought that this lad is doing well.

Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees EvaluatorIRB