When speaking of sports played in Japan, only a couple come to mind.

Soccer? Yes.

Baseball? Definitely.

Rugby? Not so much.

That's where SF State junior Hiro Suzuki comes in. The 26-year-old SF State rugby club member is trying to connect the culture and the sport.

Though he is heavily involved in rugby now, Suzuki didn't always have his eyes on the tries.

"I played a little bit of baseball and a little bit of soccer in high school, but I guess I wasn't very good," Suzuki said. "Rugby was new. Everyone was new to the sport so everyone was uncomfortable with it."

There is certainly no sign of discomfort now when Suzuki hits the rugby field. The Yokohama, Japan native is one of the new recruits this semester on the rugby team. Suzuki brings his much needed rugby experience to the newly-affiliated university squad.

"I'm basically trying to teach them the rugby from Japan," Suzuki said.

Instead of focusing on strength training, which is a big part of American rugby, Suzuki is focusing on the quality of play and communication among the club players.

"Hiro helped us out a lot with training," said rugby club vice president Andrew Ritter, after the Gators' 55-5 blowout win over University of the Pacific on April 4 at Treasure Island.

Suzuki took up rugby at the age of 16 while living in Japan. He tried the more popular sports, but rugby was the one that caught his eye.

"I didn't start playing sports until I was in high school," he said. "Now, I just love rugby. I watch it all the time."

Leaving his family back in Japan, Suzuki came to the United States eight years ago, at the age of 18, to attend language school in Long Beach. After half a year, he transfered to Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California where he continued to play rugby while pursuing his associate's degree.

Unfortunately, Suzuki was forced to move back to Japan in 2002 after a death in his family. While in Japan he worked almost four years as a salesman for a professional tools company owned by his father, but his education in America never left his thoughts.

Suzuki returned to California in 2006 and picked up right where he left off. He recently received his associate's degree from Orange Coast College and transferred to SF State this semester to study marketing.

Since joining the SF State rugby team, Suzuki was named "Man of the Match" in the team's first home game, which left him "tired and sore" for a handful of days.

Club president Chris MacDougall acknowledges Suzuki earned the accolades because of his help with training and conditioning the team. Suzuki gives all the credit to his "continuous communication" with his teammates during the game. Suzuki believes communication is something the whole team needs to function but it's something that has to come naturally.

"I really can't teach them how to communicate," said Suzuki, adding that he can only help the other new players understand the game better. "The communication will eventually come naturally."

Communication is just a starting point for Suzuki. He would also like to see the team get enough support to host a tournament at SF State. Suzuki said that there is something big missing before the Gators can open the doors to tournament competition.

"It would be great if the Gators' rugby team had their own field," Suzuki said.

So while SF State rugby scraps to get more wins bouncing from field to field, Suzuki will be sticking to his precise plan.

"Small guys just tackling and hitting the big guys," Suzuki said. "That's what rugby is all about."