Every rugby points machine has their pre-kick ritual – Jonny Wilkinson had his shuffle, Dan Biggar does what has been dubbed the ‘Biggarena’ and Bernard Foley imagines the poles as a sheep’s hind legs.

Then there’s Japanese rugby hero Ayumu Goromaru, the fullback who became a national hero following his World Cup performance. Not that his pre-kick routine is all that outlandish, just that it bears a striking resemblance to another national treasure. The BBC reports:

The 3m-high figure, at Seki Zenkoji Temple in Gifu Prefecture, has its hands held together with both index fingers pointing to the sky – a pose also favoured by … Goromaru in the moments before a kick attempt. The temple’s master, Shunkai Sato, says visitor numbers have tripled since October, when the Rugby World Cup reached its peak…

Earlier this month, an 18-strong high school rugby team made the trip to the shrine to pray for success in an forthcoming tournament….while many Buddhist statues often have their hands together, the index finger pose is not common. The figure is thought to have originated in China 500 years ago, and has been at the temple for a century.

To be honest I’m surprised there isn’t a statue of Eddie Jones somewhere in Japan yet. He won’t be getting one in the Cape, that much we know for sure.

[source:bbc]