Former Ireland A, Ulster and Dungannon hooker Michael Patton is bound for Japan where he will take up a coaching position. He is travelling under the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) which invites graduates from overseas to participate in international exchange, foreign language and sports education.

Patton will head for Nagasaki where he will become the first ever non-New Zealand born coach to be offered a position in Japan. A development officer with the Ulster Branch, Patton will take up his new appointment early next month.