No Side Game (Manager) is one of those stories the Japanese do very well. The blend of the corporate world, interlaced with impacts at home and underpinned by how important sport can be as a way of life resonates very strongly.

What starts out as a corporate war that sees our hero relegated as the GM of the company’s rugby team is a fertile ground for what unfolds over the remaining episodes.

We have a part time rugby team that works at the auto factory at the end of its tether. Along comes the new GM, a strategic thinker who also recruits a coach, a former University adversary, who believes in innovation - revolution, not evolution.

These two together weld a team that discovers its heart, gives chances to those to grow, to improve, to shine. They do so to such an extent that a junior club is also formed.

Over two years, we get to share in their triumphs and failures. We get to see all our characters grow. In the end we are left with a warm glow inside and an appreciation of how a society bound by rules and etiquette knows how to make a shift in its mind set when it needs to.

If you have the time, take a peek. You might be surprised ?????