[/floatl]The Age: Wallabies winger not happy with cover-up
Wallabies winger Digby Ioane says it is "sad" and "weird" that he and teammates have to cover up their tattoos in parts of Tokyo because of cultural differences. Like many players in the All Blacks ranks have also learned this week ahead of Saturday's Bledisloe Cup Test, body ink is not well received in Japan. The All Blacks' pool sessions in Tokyo have revealed the quirky sight of most players in the 33-man squad wearing their techfit training vests to cover their arms and torsos, complete with swimming caps. It is a mark of respect to Japanese culture which frowns upon the displaying of tattoos, which traditionally associates a person with the yakuza, or Japanese mafia, who are heavily tattooed. Ioane said the Wallabies had been tipped off before leaving Australia that they too would have to cover up in some public places in Japan. "I'm a religious person and none of my tattoos represent like gangsters or anything," he told AAP on Thursday. "So it's a bit sad where it's really important that you've got to cover it up for some people, because I think people will judge you by your tattoos on your body. I don't know, it's a bit crazy. Back in Australia, we were talking about it and I thought it was a joke. But it's pretty serious, I guess." Ioane said fortunately the Wallabies were able to use the gym at Japanese club Ricoh Black Rams, where former Australian Test great Stephen Larkham is among the stars. "Because half the team's got tattoos, I guess," he said. "A lot of the boys were teasing me about my tattoo on my neck - I've got to tape it up. But lucky for Ricoh, they helped us with the gym so we don't have to cover them up. "It's a bit weird over here, but we've just got to move on from that." Wallabies team manager Phil Thomson said the players would not be asked to cover their tattoos during Saturday night's Bledisloe Cup Test at Tokyo's National Stadium.
