Players at next year's Rugby World Cup in Japan will be told that they should cover all tattoos when in public.
This is because to an association in Japan between tattoos and the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. There is a worry that offence could be caused.
World Rugby has already begun educating teams regarding Japanese culture.
"When we raised it with the teams a year or so ago, we were probably expecting a frustrated reaction from them, but there hasn't been at all," tournament director Alan Gilpin told The Telegraph.
That is a great tribute to the sport itself and to the rugby players themselves.
We have done a lot in the last year or so with the teams to get them to understand that. We'll position it as self-policing.
We will make [Japanese] people aware around the facilities that players will use that people with tattoos in a Rugby World Cup context are not part of the Yakuza.
Players will be advised to wear a rash vest when using public swimming pools or gyms.
This will not be news to the Ireland team. Joe Schmidt and Co. toured Japan in the summer of 2017, playing two games and winning both.
Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
