Warner Dearns to co-captain Japan against England at Twickenham
The 6ft 8in second row, who moved from New Zealand to Japan aged 14, shares the Brave Blossoms captaincy for Saturday's Nations Championship match.
Warner Dearns will co-captain Japan against England in the Nations Championship at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Saturday (kick-off 16:40 GMT), BBC Sport reports. The match is live on BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website and app.
BBC Sport's headline describes the second row as Japan's unlikely leader who turned down the All Blacks. The published excerpt gives no detail on that decision, so this report does not either.
A reluctant move to Japan
About a decade ago, Dearns' father Grant took a job as strength and conditioning coach with NEC Green Rockets, a top-flight Japanese club. The family left New Zealand's North Island for a satellite city outside Tokyo.
Dearns was 14 and did not want to go. "I said I didn't want to go," he said. "My sister and I wanted to stay with our grandma and grandad." His mother Tanya, a former New Zealand netballer, gave up her own coaching job to help the family settle.
Dearns said the first year or two took some adapting to, with a very different culture and a language barrier. At high school, he said, nobody else spoke English.
From basketball to a monster prospect
Even as a teenager Dearns stood 6ft 8in and weighed more than 19 stone (120.6kg). In New Zealand he had been more interested in basketball than rugby, BBC Sport says.
At Kashiwa Senior High School, described as one of Japan's strongest rugby-playing schools, coaches added gymnastics to his training, including hurdling team-mates and performing flips, to improve his agility. Away from school he trained at his father's employers, alongside players including former England full-back Alex Goode.
Rapid rise and a season in New Zealand
Having qualified on residency grounds, Dearns made his Japan debut in November 2021, aged 19. By the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France he was a regular, featuring in all four of Japan's matches.
This past season he has spent a sabbatical back in New Zealand with the Hurricanes. BBC Sport says his energy, soft hands and line-out prowess helped the Wellington side to their first Super Rugby title.
