The arrival of Japan on these shores will stir memories for the RBS East Three side Broughton, who enjoyed an outing against some of the country's best players just over three years ago.

The Edinburgh side provided warm-up opposition for a Japan Select - a squad made up of full internationalists and up-and-coming players - who travelled to Scotland in the summer of 2010.

The then Broughton president Mark Brown was acting as one of the liaison officers for the Japanese party and jumped at the chance to give his charges such an exciting challenge.

"When the Japanese management enquired about opposition that they could get at short notice I immediately thought of my own club," said Brown. "They landed on the Thursday and the match was on the Saturday and even though it was after the regular season the guys were keen to get the chance to play.

"It was a roasting hot day and the Japanese players' handling and core skills were a joy to watch. Our players stuck in well and battled hard but they were always going to be second best.

"Still they can all say that they have played against an international team and what impressed me most was the Japanese squad's respect and interest in our little club."

Brown spent the rest of the tour with the Japanese party and loved learning all about their culture. It was not the first time Broughton had played international opposition, having hosted Sweden at Wardie in 2005.

After their opening workout against Broughton, the Japan Select went on to defeat top-flight champions Currie 35-17 at Malleny Park on a night when now Scotland cap Peter Horne scored a try and kicked a penalty and two conversions and Allan Whittingham. The Japanese then went on to lose to a Scotland XV 24-5 at Murrayfield, with Alex Grove, John Barclay (2) and Simon Danielli scoring tries.