The Otago Rugby Football Union is hosting a group of 11 teenage players from the Kanto region in Japan for the next couple of weeks, and hopes it is the start of something big.
The hosting has been organised through the Japanese and New Zealand governments and is part of an Education New Zealand exchange.
ORFU general manager Richard Kinley said a group of Japanese girls had been hosted in Auckland earlier this month as part of the exchange and Otago would now get the chance to host the group of boys.
The 11 players, aged 16 and 17, are members of representative teams in Kanto, the region which includes the city of Tokyo.
The boys are getting English lessons, staying with Dunedin families and getting to see various parts of the Otago rugby scene.
That will include gym sessions, talks about nutrition, skill sessions with coaches, taking part in secondary school team training sessions and watching club and Otago pre-season games.
They were keen to catch up with halfback Tanaka, who has just finished his second year with the Highlanders.
Kinley said the exchange had been worked out through the union's relationship with the University of Otago's foundation studies programme.
He said the fact union is situated at Forsyth Barr Stadium, right near the university campus, was a big advantage in getting the students here. The union covered its costs with the trip, and it also opened up a potential revenue stream.
It could expand the programme for other groups and it also gave opportunities for its staff and others in Dunedin to upskill.
