It’s been less than a week since one-Test All Black Shaun Stevenson has been in Japan, but the fullback is ready to make his first appearance for the Kubota Spears.
Stevenson, who agreed a deal with NZR to be able to play for six weeks in Japan, will make his debut off the bench for his new club.
Stevenson has been named in the 23 Jersey to take on the Ricoh Black Rams on Saturday, headlined by a clash against former All Black halfback TJ Perenara.
“He might not be on when I’m on, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe a little cheeky nudge at the bottom of the ruck, but he might get to it first. I’m looking forward to obviously playing against some old teammates and boys that I used to play against back in New Zealand,” Stevenson said to “The Run Home” of the possible meeting with the former All Black.
The Spears also have another North Harbour NPC player, as experienced halfback Bryn Hall is also at the Japanese club.
In an interview on Sport Nations “The Run Home” Stevenson says he’s excited for this new adventure.
“It’s been a bit of a roller coaster since we started the talks. But I’m just happy to be up here, and very grateful to Kubota for seeing me in their long-term picture.” Stevenson said.
The move to Japan came about due to an injury to Welsh fullback Liam Williams, who was previously at the Japanese club.
“Liam Williams had one more year left on his contract, but he and his family decided to move back to the UK. So the opportunity came up here and Kubota reached out.
“I got up to Japan on the 27th of December, spent a couple of weeks training here, shot back to New Zealand last week to get my visa and straight onto the field this weekend.”
There were ongoing discussions between Stevenson and NZR throughout the month of December, as Stevenson wanted a release from the final year of his contract.
“There have been a few conversations going back and forth (with NZR), I guess there’ve been some robust conversations with my future, but at this stage, my goal is to help Kubota out on a short-term deal and head back to Super Rugby after that.
“Kubota gave me an opportunity to get over here, and it was a new challenge for me. I’ve been at the Chiefs, and New Zealand Rugby for the last 10 years.”
The 28-year-old has settled in well in Japan, saying the previous two weeks that he spent in the camp were crucial in understanding the new team environment.
“I guess part of being up here for the last couple of weeks, you’re trying to get a feel for what plays they’re running.
“Being on the opposite side of the starting 23 for those couple of weeks, just trying to pick up on as much as I can.
“There’s a lot of play calling that is similar to, you know, a lot of rugby that I played.
“I expect myself, with high standards, to just catch up on all that. And because I’m 28 years old now it’s pretty easy to pick up most stuff and just roll with it.”
Stevenson told Alex Chapman from “The Run Home” that the club dynamic is different in Japan compared to New Zealand.
“I think as soon as I got over here, there’s about 60 players in the squad. They don’t have any club rugby and they only have a couple of development games over here. So a lot of boys are chomping at the bit that don’t get game time.”
“It was pretty easy to fit in, you know, just helping all those boys that weren’t actually getting much game time, doing all the skills and drills after training.
“I just wanted to bring that kind of edge in, I guess in terms of the leadership, giving the boys the energy that they needed.”
The Kubota Spears fullback was honest about his 2024 Super Rugby season, where he struggled with injuries and had to deal with not being selected for Scott Robertson’s All Blacks, after being involved in some of the squads throughout the 2023 international season.
“After last year, I probably didn’t have the year that I wanted, with injuries and some feedback. So it was pretty disappointing on both of those fronts.
“Being in the All Blacks in 2023 I thought about a few conversations that probably got across to me.
“When you see players picked in front of you, you kind of just got to take a step back and do what’s best for myself and for my family, and ultimately, this was the best decision for me,” Stevenson said when asked about how he felt after missing selection for the All Blacks altogether in 2024.
Stevenson will return to New Zealand after the third round of Super Rugby Pacific, to play out the last year of his NZR contract before linking up with the Kubota Spears again for next season.
