Japan rugby coach John Kirwan has started sending his players to brutal sparring sessions with giants of the sumo world in a bid to toughen up his side.
The former New Zealand great, whose team emerged from last year's rugby World Cup with credit, watched from a safe distance as his players took a pounding from the roly-poly wrestlers.
"There's techniques you can use in the scrum," Kirwan told Japanese media. "The speed at the face-off can help with the hit in the scrum."
His players were not quite so enthusiastic about taking such a battering.
"It's a totally different ball game," winced Japan lock Hitoshi Ono, sporting the traditional buttock-bearing "mawashi" loin cloth worn by sumo wrestlers. "These boys are huge!"