<h3>I want to go higher.&#8221; <br>
The former captain of the prestigious Waseda University rugby team will become the &#8220;heart of the attack&#8221; in his first selection!</h3>
<figure id="attachment_329073" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-329073" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f64103b1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/51cce0c46cc8b0887cf27343c8c1b9a1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-329073" class="wp-caption-text"> Saito goes through training with a desperate look on his face. He will be 26 years old at the end of August.</figcaption></figure>
<p> He is the smallest of Japan&#8217;s 33 registered players at 165 cm tall, but he is the heart of the attack with his long and short passes.</p>
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<p> After graduating from Waseda University in 2008, Saito joined the prestigious Suntory.</p>
<p> He joined Suntory as an employee player who practiced after work, but turned pro after one year, saying, &#8220;There is a gap between me and the top players. He made his debut in June of 2009, and was a regular member of the Japan national team.</p>
<p> Saito made a decision in July. He signed an agent/management contract with a management firm that has a large number of world-class players, including Kaoru Mitoma (26) of Japan&#8217;s national soccer team and table tennis player Miu Hirano (23). He explains the reason for his decision.</p>
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<p><strong> If you work hard, results will follow, and I thought it was necessary for me to step up as a player.</strong></p>
<p> In his second year with Suntory in 2009, Saito teamed up with All Blacks (New Zealand national team) star and stand-off Beauden Barrett (32) in the half-team. Barrett, who knew the world, advised Saito, &#8220;In Europe, SHs often take place kicks, and the higher the level, the more weapons you have,&#8221; so he resumed practicing place kicks, which he had practiced at university. In fact, the last World Cup was a real challenge for him.</p>
<p><strong> I didn&#8217;t really aim for the last World Cup, but for the past four years I have been serious about it. In France, first of all, I want to contribute to the team&#8217;s result. I want to play with confidence in what I have done so far. If the younger players do their best, I think they can give the team momentum.</strong></p>
<p> Saito will be playing in his first World Cup. After making his breakthrough as Sakura&#8217;s No. 9, the world he has longed for awaits him.</p>
<figure id="attachment_329072" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-329072" style="width: 1939px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="34284a59"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/7704f366ffc98cca3c8e98069fa70c2d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-329072" class="wp-caption-text"> Saito will be able to manipulate the attack with long and short passes. I don&#8217;t want to think too much, but I want to play with faith in what I have been doing in practice,&#8221; he reveals.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_329827" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-329827" style="width: 1500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b0c1dc00"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/acf871347f22f0b4e2cd8e008ee48d61.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-329827" class="wp-caption-text"> Unpublished Cut from the magazine &#8220;Japan&#8217;s national scrum half Naoto Saito: A &#8216;huge dream&#8217; for a small 165 cm tall player&#8221; (Japanese only)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_329828" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-329828" style="width: 6000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c63bb547"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/e58cb95793e2f2e211583a57740cf20f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-329828" class="wp-caption-text"> Unpublished Cut from the magazine &#8220;Japan&#8217;s national scrum half Naoto Saito: &#8220;A huge dream&#8221; drawn by a small soldier of 165cm in height.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_329829" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-329829" style="width: 5472px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cfac900a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/09/13dd8ddec56b87ee15b11810ac01cf2c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-329829" class="wp-caption-text"> Unpublished Cut from the magazine &#8220;Japan&#8217;s national scrum half Naoto Saito: &#8220;A huge dream&#8221; drawn by a small soldier of 165cm in height.</figcaption></figure>


 Aki Nagao

 Kenjin Saito (sports writer)

 Naoto Saito, the smallest of Japan's 33 registered players at 165 cm tall, is the heart of the attack with his long and short passes. What is Saito's dream as he takes on his first World Cup?

Commemorating the Opening of the Rugby World Cup】Naoto Saito, a 165cm tall scrum half of Japan’s national team, draws up a “huge dream

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