Saturday, May 4, 2013

RUGBY IN JAPAN NEWSLETTER: Vol.10, No.18

Congratulations RIJ Newsletter 10th Anniversary 2003-2013

Ian McDonnell lives and works in Japan. He can be contacted at ianmcdo@apost.plala.or.jp

CONTENTS

  • HSBC Asia 5 Nations 2013 Week 2
  • HSBC Asia 5 Nations 2013 Team Profiles
  • HSBC Asia 5 Nations 2013 Week 1 Preview and wrap

HSBC A5N Logo Stacked

HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 Week 2

Results Week 1
20.04.2013
Japan 121, Philippines 0 in Fukuoka (WCQ Asia 5 Nations)
Hong Kong 53, United Arab Emirates 7 in Hong Kong (WCQ Asia 5 Nations)

Week Two Preview and Wrap

South Korea 75 d United Arab Emirates 10
Date: Friday 26 April 2013
Venue: Al Ain RFC, Al Ain
Kick-off: 17:00

After going down 53-7 away to Hong Kong in their opening game of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013, the United Arab Emirates return to home base to host South Korea. The Koreans had the bye in the first week and as the runners-up from last year they will be out to show that the standard of rugby is on the rise in their home country. In the corresponding game last season, Korea won 47-21 in Seoul and if the score is as close this time round the hosts will be hoping home ground advantage can get them across the line.

After having the bye in the opening week, South Korea made a strong statement of intent for 2013 with an emphatic ten tries to one 75-10 away win over the United Arab Emirates. Wing Kim Kwong-Min crossed the whitewash for four tries while on the other flank Jegal Bin picked up a double. Also etching his name on the scoresheet was five-eighth Oh Youn-Hyung who kicked seven conversions and two penalties for a personal haul of twenty points for the match. Centre Harry Woods was the sole try scorer for the UAE while the other centre in Ross Combe added the conversion and a penalty. Korea now have to face Japan in Tokyo next round while the UAE have the bye.

Bye: Philippines.

Japan 38 d Hong Kong 0

 Japan 38 – Tries: Toshiaki Hirose 2, Takeshi Kizu, Kosei Ono, Yuta Imamura and Yoshikazu Fujita ; Conversions: Ayumu Goromaru 4 d.
Hong Kong 0

Competition: HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013.
Date: Saturday 27 April 2013.
Venue: Hong Kong Football Club, Hong Kong.
Japan Test Number: 284.
Japan Game Number: TBC.
Kick-off: 16:03 local Hong Kong time (08:03 GMT).
Referee: Aaron Littlewood (Singapore). Assistant Referees: Gabriel Lee (Hong
Kong) and Patrick Kwok (Hong Kong).
Conditions: Cloudy and slight breeze. Surface conditions good.
Attendance: 3,500.
Halftime: Japan 14 – Hong Kong 0.

Head-to-head Encounters:

Japan and Hong Kong have met in 22 official tests since their first meeting in 1969. Japan have won 18 times and Hong Kong 4 times.

This year, 2013, marks fifteen years since Hong Kong last beat Japan during their third Pacific Rim Championship encounter at Chichibu in Tokyo when they scraped home 17-16. In fact, all four wins for Hong Kong over Japan came during the three year period they participated in the PRC with the three other wins all coming in a row when they won both home and away legs in 1997 with the 33-9 win in Aberdeen in 1996 their first win. Since that last win in 1998, Japan and Hong Kong have met nine times with Japan winning all nine tests.

The biggest win for Japan was 94-5 in May 2010 in the 4th A5N at Chichibu in Tokyo, while the biggest winning margin was 89 points in the same test, just shading the 88 points difference in the 91-3 win at the same ground in May 2005. Japan have kept Hong Kong scoreless on three occasions, 16-0 in Hong Kong in November 1972 in the final of the third ARFU Asian Championship, 67-0 in the 5th A5N at Chichibu in 2012 and 38-0 in the 6th A5N in Hong Kong in 2013. The longest winning sequence for Japan is ten wins in a row between 1998 and 2013.

The biggest win for Hong Kong was 42-20 in 1997, while the biggest winning margin was 24 points in the 33-9 win in 1996. The longest winning sequence for Korea is three wins in 1966 and 1997.

Of the twenty-two tests played, twelve have been played in Japan, with ten of those at Chichibu, while eight games have been played in Hong Kong and two played on the neutral territory of Seoul and Singapore.

 

Official test results for Japan against Hong Kong

No.

Date

Result

(Home – Away)

Venue

Tournament

Japan

Test No.

W/D/L

(For Japan)

22

27 Apr 2013

Hong Kong 0 – Japan 38

HKFC, Hong Kong

6th A5N

284

Won

21

19 May 2012

Japan 67 – Hong Kong 0

Chichibu, Tokyo

5th A5N

277

Won

20

30 Apr 2011

Hong Kong 22 Japan 45

HKFC, Hong Kong

4th A5N

261

Won

19

22 May 2010

Japan 94 – Hong Kong 5

Chichibu, Tokyo

3rd A5N

255

Won

18

2 May 2009

Hong Kong 6 – Japan 59

HKFC, Hong Kong

2nd A5N

243

Won

17

18 May 2008

Japan 75 – Hong Kong 29

Niigata

1st A5N

234

Won

16

29 Apr 2007

Japan 73 – Hong Kong 3

Chichibu, Tokyo

ANS

220

Won

15

18 Nov 2006

Hong Kong 3 – Japan 52

HKFC, Hong Kong

2007 RWC qualifying

217

Won

14

08 May 2005

Japan 91 – Hong Kong 3

Chichibu, Tokyo

2007 RWC qualifying

202

Won

13

31 Oct 1998

Japan 47 – Hong Kong 7

Singapore

1999 RWC qualifying

151

Won

12

07 Jun 1998

Japan 16 – Hong Kong 17

Chichibu, Tokyo

3rd PRC

145

Lost

11

23 May 1998

Hong Kong 31 – Japan 38

Aberdeen, Hong Kong

3rd PRC

144

Won

10

29 Jun 1997

Japan 23 – Hong Kong 41

Chichibu, Tokyo

2nd PRC

141

Lost

9

03 May 1997

Hong Kong 42 – Japan 20

Aberdeen, Hong Kong

2nd PRC

136

Lost

8

18 May 1996

Hong Kong 33 – Japan 9

Aberdeen, Hong Kong

1st PRC

130

Lost

7

11 May 1996

Japan 34 – Hong Kong 27

Chichibu, Tokyo

1st PRC

129

Won

6

18 Jun 1994

Japan 22 – Hong Kong 10

Sapporo

 

121

Won

5

26 Sep 1992

Japan 37 – Hong Kong 9

Seoul

13th AC

115

Won

4

07 Sep 1991

Japan 42 – Hong Kong 3

Edogawa, Tokyo

 

111

Won

3

30 Jan 1982

Japan 18 – Hong Kong 12

Chichibu, Tokyo

 

70

Won

2

11 Nov 1972

Hong Kong 0 – Japan 16

Hong Kong

3rd AC

37

Won

1

09 Mar 1969

Japan 24 – Hong Kong 22

Chichibu, Tokyo

1st AC

27

Won

A5N = Asian Five Nations.
ANS = Asian Nations Series (2007 only).
PRC = Pacific Rim Championship.
AC = Asian Championship.

Japan (IRB rank 15 (70.09), at 22 April 2013)

Pos.

Name (Test Player Number)

Club

DOB

Age

Hgt/Wgt

Caps

1

Masataka MIKAMI (TBC)

Toshiba Brave Lupus

04/06/1988

24

178/113

2

2

Takeshi KIZU (534)

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers

15/07/1988

24

183/112

15

3

Hiroshi YAMASHITA (523)

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers

01/01/1986

27

183/120

17

4

Hitoshi ONO (445)

Toshiba Brave Lupus

06/05/1978

34

192/102

65

5

Shinya MAKABE (533)

Suntory Sungoliath

26/03/1987

26

192/110

11

6

Hendrik TUI (565)

Panasonic Wild Knights

13/12/1987

25

189/100

6

7

Michael BROADHURST (566)

Ricoh Black Rams

30/10/1986

26

196/110

4

8

Takeshi KIKUTANI (474)

Toyota Verblitz

24/02/1980

33

187/100

55

9

Atsushi HIWASA (545)

Suntory Sungoliath

22/05/1987

25

166/71

19

10

Kosei ONO (492)

Suntory Sungoliath

17/04/1987

26

171/82

16

11

Yuta IMAMURA (480)

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers

31/10/1984

28

178/93

34

12

Harumichi TATEKAWA (557)

Kubota Spears

02/12/1989

23

181/93

11

13

Male SAU (TBC)

Yamaha Jubilo

13/10/1987

25

183/98

2

14

Toshiaki HIROSE (c) (495)

Toshiba Brave Lupus

17/10/1981

31

173/80

12

15

Ayumu GOROMARU (467)

Yamaha Jubilo

01/03/1986

27

185/96

22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16

Yusuke AOKI (490)

Suntory Sungoliath

19/06/1983

29

176/95

24

17

Takuma ASAHARA (TBC)

Toshiba Brave Lupus

07/09/1987

25

179/114

2

18

Kensuke HATAKEYAMA (515)

Suntory Sungoliath

02/08/1985

27

178/116

38

19

Shoji ITO (553)

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers

02/12/1980

32

191/100

9

20

Justin IVES (544)

Canon Eagles

24/05/1984

28

196/100

10

21

Ryu Koliniasi HOLANI (512)

Panasonic Wild Knights

25/10/1981

31

188/111

24

22

Yu TAMURA (555)

NEC Green Rockets

09/01/1989

24

181/88

5

23

Yoshikazu FUJITA (562)

Waseda University

08/09/1993

19

184/86

2

Head Coach: Eddie Jones (AUS). (11th test as head coach, for 8 wins and 3 losses)

Subs
16 subbed 2, 13 min 2H.
17 subbed 1, 15 min 2H.
18 subbed 3, 19 min 2H.
19 subbed 4, 18 min 2H.
20 subbed 5, 21 min 2H.
21 subbed 8, 28 min 2H.
22 subbed 10, 30 min 2H.
23 subbed 11, 28 min 2H.

NB: The IRB announced a number of global law amendment trials to start on 1 September 2012 in the northern hemisphere and 1 January in the southern hemisphere. One of these amendments is to permit international teams to nominate up to eight replacements.

Hong Kong (IRB rank 29 (55.69), at 22 April 2013)

Pos.

Name

Club

Age

Hgt/Wgt

Caps

1

Leon Wei

Kowloon

22

179/125

 

2

Alex Harris

Kowloon

24

178/95

 

3

James Cooper

DeA Tigers

27

186/122

 

4

Charles French

HKCC

29

197/110

 

5

Wil Hunt

HKFC

29

195/94

 

6

Alexander Baddeley

Valley

32

188/105

 

7

Matthew Lamming

HKCC

24

182/96

 

8

Pale Tauti

DeA Tigers

32

183/102

 

9

Peter McKee

HKFC

29

179/88

 

10

Niall Rowark

Valley

22

181/83

 

11

Alastair Maclay

Valley

33

191/107

 

12

Stewart Megaw

HKFC

27

181/91

 

13

David Whiteford

HK Scottish

27

193/96

 

14

Jonny Rees

Kowloon

25

175/80

 

15

Thomas McColl (c)

Kowloon

28

183/98

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16

Stephen Nolan

HKFC

36

191/128

 

17

Thomas Bolland

HKFC

28

186/106

 

18

Daniel Watson

HKFC

34

200/112

 

19

Matthew Stockdale

Kowloon

29

185/120

 

20

Charles Cheung

DeA Tigers

23

178/84

 

21

Michael Glancy

HK Scottish

30

180/86

 

22

Sebastien Alfonsi

DeA Tigers

29

176/90

 

23

 

 

 

 

 

Head Coach: Leigh Jones (Wales).

Subs
16 subbed 2, 0 min 2H.
17 subbed 5, 13 min 2H.
18 subbed 3, 13 min 2H.
19 subbed 6, 0 min 1H.
20 subbed 9, 20 min 2H.
21 subbed 10, 20 min 2H.
22 subbed 13, 20 min 2H.
3 subbed 1, 28 min 2H.

NB: Hong Kong only had 22 players registered for this test.

Sources:
Statistics for Japan and Hong Kong from RiJ database and JRFU website.

Japan and Hong Kong played their twenty-second official test at the Hong Kong Football Club in Hong Kong on Saturday 27 April 2013 in the second week of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 with the visitors claiming a hard-fought 38-0 victory.

After running in 18 tries to beat the Philippines 121-0 in Fukuoka last weekend racking up the highest score ever recorded in the A5N the Japanese machine was slowed down by a stoic, never say die Hong Kong defence as the hosts held the reigning champions to 12-0 at the break and then 21-0 by the hour mark before three further tries over the final quarter blew out the final scoreline to 38-0.

Big Kobe hooker Takeshi Kizu scored the first Japan try in the seventh minute of the first half in what was his fifteenth international appearance with goal kicking maestro Ayumu Goromaru adding the extras for an early 7-0 lead. Both sides ground out the next twenty minutes of play with neither team giving an inch before Hong Kong were presented their first scoring opportunity on the half hour mark. Unfortunately though, 22-year-old Valley five-eighth Niall Rowark failed to raise the flags in what would prove to be a scoreless afternoon for Hong Kong. His opposite number in Kosei Ono was next to trouble the score keeper when he crossed for his third test try in the 38th minute with Goromaru slotting the conversion to eventually take the sides to the halftime break with Japan leading 14-0.

Left wing Yuta Imamura, in the starting line-up for the injured Hirotoki Onozawa scored the third Japanese try in the fourth minute of the second half with Goromaru converting the try to increase the lead to 21-0 but like in the first half neither side could add to the scoreboard over the next twenty minutes. Right wing and captain Toshiaki Hirose then led by example with tries in the 24th and 27th minutes to get the score out to 31-0 before replacement wing Yoshikazu Fujita closed out the game with a try in the 40th minute.

After the game, Japan head coach Eddie Jones commented, “It was a tough game, we expected it. But what today’s performance showed was that we have a lot of work to do. This is after all only our second game this season.”

Namesake in Hong Kong head coach Leigh Jones said, “It was a courageous test of fortitude. One of the key areas was the breakdown and we managed to slow down their ball.”

On his team’s effort in defence, Hong Kong captain Tom McColl said, “It was a gutsy effort from the guys. We knew Japan would come out and throw the ball around and we knew that we would have to defend our hearts out and we did just that. I’m happy with our execution in defence but not so much with our attack.”

2013 HK-Jap-Hong Kong captain Tom McColl
Japan wing Yuta Imamura attempts to tackle Hong Kong fullback Tom McColl.

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