For Italy forward Dean Budd, the path to captaining his adopted nation included a challenging detour in Japanese rugby.Before finding success with Italian club Benetton Rugby, the New Zealand-born lock spent the 2011-2012 Top League season in Japan's first tier with the NEC Green Rockets.While Budd has some fond memories of the stint, during which the Green Rockets reached the Top League semifinals, limited playing opportunities made it a personally frustrating period, he said Tuesday.Top League rules at the time allowed only three foreign players per team on the field simultaneously, and w…READ FULL ARTICLE
