Yamaha Motor Co. announced Monday that it is cutting the ringers from its company rugby team.
The Yamaha Jubilo rugby club competes in the Top League, the highest level Japanese Rugby Football Union pro league. The team currently sits fifth out of 14 teams with a 3-2-2 record with a roster of 17 professional players including nine non-Japanese imports.
That will change next season however as Yamaha Motors announced on its corporate site the team will only be made up of full-time Yamaha employees as of April 2010. Yamaha made the decision to cut costs after “a careful review of its team management amid the harsh business environment that has developed since 2009.”