Teams and supporters with tattoos will be asked to cover up during next year's Rugby World Cup in Japan in order to avoid offending people.
Players have been asked by the governing body to wear rash vests when they use public gyms or swimming pools.
Tattoos have been associated in Japan with the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, since the 1960s after a string of films showed heavily-inked gangsters.
Tournament director Alan Gilpin raised the idea to cover up tattoos in community springs, which he said teams were happy to accommodate.
"We will make [Japanese] people aware around the facilities that players will use that people with tattoos in a Rugby World Cup context are not part of the Yakuza," he said.
"We have done a lot in the last year or so with the teams to get them to understand that. When we raised it with the teams a year or so ago, we were probably expecting a frustrated reaction from them but there hasn't been at all.
"That is a great tribute to the sport itself and to the rugby players themselves. They all also buy into the idea of putting on a rash vest in the pool or in a gym as they want to respect the Japanese culture."
The New Zealand All Blacks have already agreed to respect the local culture when travelling next year.
New Zealand's All Blacks players perform the Haka during a rugby Championship match against Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. Source: AAP
“When any of our teams tour we endeavour to be respectful of the local customs and culture, and this will be no different when we visit Japan both this year and next year," New Zealand CEO Nigel Cass told Stuff news.
Last year, a survey found 56 per cent of hotels nationwide refuse guests entry to bathing facilities if they have a tattoo.
Up to 13 per cent of the 581 hotels surveyed said they allow people with tattoos to enter if they cover up.
“When any of our teams tour we endeavour to be respectful of the local customs and culture, and this will be no different when we visit Japan both this year and next year.”
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