Wednesday, January 15, 2014

RUGBY IN JAPAN NEWSLETTER Vol.10, No.52

RiJ is desperately late and desperately trying to catch up, but…

Enjoy the read.

Contents

  • Japan Rugby Top League 2013-14: Stage Two, Round Four

  • Japan Rugby Top League Team Profiles 2013-14: (10) Ricoh

  • The 50th National University Championship 2013-14

  • Top Challenge

Top League

Japan Rugby Top League 2013-14

Stage Two, Round Four

Group A

Date

Team

Score

Team

K/O

Venue

Sat, 21 Dec 2013

Yamaha (6Ts)

40-26

NEC (4Ts)

13:00

Iwata, Shizuoka

Sun, 22 Dec 2013

Panasonic (1T)

14-12

Toshiba (2Ts)

13:00

Ota, Gunma

 

Suntory (7Ts)

49-7

Toyota (1T)

13:00

Kofu, Yamanashi

 

Kobe (8Ts)

48-19

Canon (3Ts)

13:00

Kobe, Hyogo

Group B

Date

Team

Score

Team

K/O

Venue

Sat, 21 Dec 2013

Kubota (4Ts)

32-5

Coca-Cola (1T)

12:00

Chichibu, Tokyo

 

NTT Comm. (4Ts)

24-14

NTT Docomo (2Ts)

14:15

Chichibu, Tokyo

 

Toyota Industries (8Ts)

44-12

Kyuden (2Ts)

14:15

Mizuho, Aichi

Sun, 22 Dec 2013

Ricoh (1T)

19-24

Kintetsu (3Ts)

13:00

Chiba, Chiba

Stage Two Round Four Wrap-up

Group A

In the only Group A game on Saturday, Yamaha Jubilo beat NEC Green Rockets 40-26 at the Yamaha Stadium in Shizuoka prefecture. Yamaha scored six tries to four in this win with former All Black Mose Tuiali’i scoring a double in the first half to see Jubilo out to a 21-7 lead by the break. NEC wing Nemani Nadolo touched down just after the break to narrow the difference to 21-12 but Yamaha kept up the pressure with three more tries to blow out the score to 40-12inside the final quarter. The Rockets ended with a flurry to salvage a four-try bonus point but with four losses from four starts in Stage Two title aspirations have vanished for the Green Rockets.

On Sunday, Panasonic Wild Knights beat Toshiba Brave Lupus 14-12 at the Ota Sports Ground in Ota city, Gunma prefecture. Panasonic Rugby is based in Ota city and with the home ground advantage they worked hard to put away Toshiba and stay top of the group. There was never more than a few points separating these two top-shelf sides throughout this match with the home side hanging on for the win. Stand-in captain in right wing Tomoki Kitagawa scored the only try for Panasonic in the twenty-first minute of the first half as the Knights got out to an 8-5 lead at halftime. However, five-eighth David Hill put the Brave Lupus in front with a try early in the latter half only for replacement halfback Nick Ealey to edge Panasonic back in front with two penalties. Hiroki Yoshida had the opportunity to steal the game with a penalty at the death but his kick sailed wide handing the game to Panasonic.

Also on Sunday, Suntory Sungoliath and Toyota Verblitz travelled to Kofu city in Yamanashi prefecture for their round four clash in Stage Two with Suntory taking the result 49-7. The Sungoliath as the defending Top League champions took full points from this match outscoring the Verblitz seven tries to one in an overwhelming display of attacking rugby backed up by a rock-solid defence. The tries were all scored by the backs with centre Koji Taira and wing Kenta Tsukamoto both scoring doubles while inside centre Ryan Nicholas not only scored a try but converted all seven tries for a perfect day with the boot.

In the final Group A game in round four, Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers played in their home city when they beat Canon Eagles 48-19 at the Noevir Stadium Kobe. Kobe scored eight tries to three in this comprehensive victory over the Eagles who had no answers to the power game of their opponent. The Steelers ran in five first-half tries to all but have the game wrapped up by the break with a 31-7 lead. More tries followed in the second half and even though Canon scored a total of three tries it was not enough to salvage even a bonus point from the match. Kobe tighthead prop Hiroshi Yamashita was named the man of the match.

Group B

All In the first game of a double header at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Saturday, Kubota Spears beat Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 32-5. Both these sides won promotion back to Top League from the regional leagues for this season, but both have found the going tough. However, having said that, they have already met once this year in the final round of the pool stages at the Level Five Stadium in Fukuoka with the Spears winning 30-26 and the Spears emphatically repeated the dose in Tokyo. Kubota led 15-0 at halftime and then extended the lead to 29-0 before Coca-Cola finally got on the scoreboard in the 63rd minute of play with a try to Yamato Eto. Samoan international Seilala Mapusua and fullback Sam Norton-Knight were among the try scorers for Kubota who picked up their third win in Stage Two.

In the second game in Tokyo, it was a battle of the Telcos with NTT Communications Shining Arcs beating NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes 24-14. The Shining Arcs beat the Red Hurricanes in Osaka earlier in the season and with the Arcs playing host this time round they made sure it was more of the same for their namesake rivals. NTT Comm. picked up full points with four tries in what was only their second victory in Stage Two. The Shining Arcs scored two first-half tries through centre Daigo Yamashita and No8 Todd Clever while Clever scored again in the latter half. Five-eighth Yoshio Kimishima was named man of the match in a game that left the Hurricanes as the only side without a win in Group B.

Also on Saturday, Toyota Industries Shuttles defeated Kyuden Voltex 44-12 at the Mizuho Rugby Park in Nagoya. The Shuttles were close to home this weekend with Kyuden travelling up from Kyushu and this gave them an edge in running in eight tries to two. South African Ryan Kankowski scored the first two tries for the Shuttles but it was fullback Mark Gerrard that was eventually given the nod as the man of the match. The nature of the loss is problematic for Kyuden who have now had three losses on the trot moving them ever closer to the dreaded automatic relegation zone for the last-placed team in Group B.

In the only Group B game on Sunday in round four, Ricoh Black Rams went down to Kintetsu Liners 24-19at the Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba city in the prefecture of the same name. Kintetsu dominated the first half with tries to No8 Mikio Sato and right wing Rico Gear while two conversions and a penalty from the boot of five-eighth Yasumasa Shigemitsu got the Liners out to a 17-9 lead at halftime. Ricoh got to within one point at 17-16 at one point in the second half but a third team try to centre Yusuke Tanaka sealed the win for Kintetsu.

Group A

 

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

Diff

BP1

BP2

Pts

1

Panasonic (+4)

4

4

0

0

112

56

56

2

0

22

2

Suntory (+4)

4

3

0

1

151

96

55

3

0

19

3

Yamaha (+3)

4

3

0

1

118

85

33

2

1

18

4

Toshiba (+2)

4

3

0

1

87

68

19

0

1

15

5

Kobe (+2)

4

2

0

2

121

109

12

2

0

12

6

Canon (+1)

4

1

0

3

84

116

-32

0

2

7

7

NEC (+3)

4

0

0

4

87

136

-49

1

2

6

8

Toyota (+1)

4

0

0

4

48

142

-96

0

0

1

Group B

 

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

Diff

BP1

BP2

Pts

1

Kubota (+4)

4

3

0

1

105

46

59

1

1

18

2

Toyota Industries (+3)

4

3

0

1

130

95

35

3

0

18

3

Kintetsu (+3)

4

3

0

1

105

104

1

1

1

17

4

NTT Comm. (+4)

4

2

0

2

96

117

-21

2

1

15

5

Ricoh (+2)

4

2

0

2

119

92

27

2

1

13

6

Coca-Cola (+1)

4

2

0

2

79

95

-16

2

1

12

7

Kyuden (+1)

4

1

0

3

79

136

-57

1

0

6

8

NTT Docomo (+2)

4

0

0

4

71

99

-28

0

2

4

Four points for win, two for draw, one bonus point for four tries or more (BP1) and one bonus point for losing by seven or less (BP2).

Leading Point Scorers

At the completion Stage One and then Stage Two, Round Four, Yamaha fullback Ayumu Goromaru tops the point scorers list with 142 points.

 

Name

Team

T

G

PG

DG

Pts

1

Ayumu Goromaru

Yamaha

2

30

24

0

142

2

Ryan Nicholas

Suntory

2

35

20

0

140

3

Shaun Webb

NEC

1

15

27

0

116

4

Harumichi Tatekawa

Kubota

0

17

22

0

100

5

Ryohei Mitomo

Canon

1

29

11

0

96

6

Yasumasa Shigemitsu

Kintetsu

2

24

12

0

94

7

Yoshio Kimishima

NTT Comm.

2

21

10

0

82

8

Shotaro Onishi

Toyota Ind.

1

27

5

0

74

9

Jaque Fourie

Kobe

12

0

0

0

60

10

Yoshimitsu Kawano

Ricoh

1

10

10

0

55

Leading Try Scorers

At the completion Stage One and then Stage Two, Round Four, Kobe centre Jaque Fourie tops the try scorers list with 12 tries.

 

Name

Team

Tries

1

Jaque Fourie

Kobe

12

2

Akihito Yamada

Panasonic

10

3

Tokiro Harada

Canon

8

3

Rikiya Asami

Toyota Ind.

8

3

Shindo Kamaike

NEC

8

3

Kenta Tsukamoto

Suntory

8

7

Masakatsu Hikosaka

Toyota

7

7

Ryan Kankowski

Toyota Ind.

7

9

Koliniasi Ryu Holani

Panasonic

6

9

JP Pietersen

Panasonic

6

9

Radike Samo

Kintetsu

6

9

Shuetsu Narita

Suntory

6

9

Tim Bennetts

Canon

6

 

Date
Group Teams Score Teams MOTM
Sat 21 Dec 2013 B Kubota 32-5 Coca-Cola Daisuke Inoue,
Kubota No.9
  B NTT Comm. 24-14 NTT Docomo Yoshio Kimishima,
NTT Comm. No.10
  B Toyota Industries 44-12 Kyuden Mark Gerrard,
Toyota Ind. No.15
  A Yamaha 40-6 NEC Male Sau,
Yamaha No.12
Sun 22 Dec 2013 A Panasonic 14-12 Toshiba Nicholas Ealey,
Panasonic No.21
  A Suntory 49-7 Toyota Ryan Nicholas,
Suntory No.12
  B Ricoh 19-24 Kintetsu Luke Thompson,
Kintetsu No.4
  A Kobe 48-19 Canon Hiroshi Yamashita,
Kobe No.3

Top League Promotion and Relegation: Top Challenge Series 2013-14

The Top Challenge Series determines which two sides from the regional leagues will be promoted for the 2014-15 Japan Rugby Top League season.

At the completion of the Group stages of the 2013-14 Japan Rugby Top League competition the team that finishes last in Group B, that is, sixteenth overall is automatically relegated to a regional league. The teams that finish thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth overall play through the promotion and relegation play-offs to retain their places in Top League for the 2014-15 season.

In Top Challenge Two, the three sides that finished in second position in the three regional leagues, that is, Yokokawa Musashino (Top East), Chubu Denryoku (Top West) and Mazda Zoomers (Top Kyushu) played off with xxx as the winner progressing to Top Challenge One.

In Top Challenge One, the three sides that finished in first position in the three regional leagues, that is, Mitsubishi Dynaboars (Top East), Honda Heat (Top West), Fukuoka Sanix Blues (Top Kyushu) together with Yokokawa Musashino Atlastars as the winner of Top Challenge Two play each other once with the top team gaining automatic promotion to Top League for the 2014-15 season.

Furthermore, the teams that finishes second, third and fourth in Top Challenge One have a second bite of the cherry in one-off promotion and relegation play-offs with the team that finishes thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth overall in Top League.

Top Challenge One 2013-14

The sides to contest Top Challenge One 2013-14 are: Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars (Top East), Honda Heat (Top West), Fukuoka Sanix Blues (Top Kyushu) together with Yokokawa Musashino Atlastars as the winner of Top Challenge Two.

Round 1

Honda Heat (Top West 1) v Yokokawa Musashino Atlastars (Winner TC 2)

Date: Sunday, 12 January 2014
Venue: Level Five Stadium, Fukuoka
Kick-off: 12:00

Fukuoka Sanix Blues (Top Kyushu 1) v Mitsubishi Dynaboars (Top East 1)

Date: Sunday, 12 January 2014
Venue: Level Five Stadium, Fukuoka
Kick-off: 14:00

Round 2

Sunday, 19 January 2014

Fukuoka Sanix Blues (Top Kyushu 1) v Yokokawa Musashino Atlastars (Winner TC2), Komazawa Stadium, Tokyo, 12:00.

Mitsubishi Dynaboars (Top East 1) v Honda Heat (Top West 1), Komazawa Stadium, Tokyo, 14:00.

Round 3

Sunday, 26 January 2014

Mitsubishi Dynaboars (Top East 1) v Yokokawa Musashino Atlastars (Winner TC2), Hanazono, Osaka, 12:00.

Honda Heat (Top West 1) v Fukuoka Sanix Blues (Top Kyushu 1), Hanazono, Osaka, 14:00.

Top Challenge Two 2013-14

The three sides that contest Top Challenge Two 2013-14 are: Yokokawa Musashino Atlastars (Top East), Chubu Denryoku (Top West) and Mazda Blue Zoomers (Top Kyushu). Yokokawa qualify for Top Challenge One.

Chubu Denryoku (Top West 2) 39 d Mazda Blue Zoomers (Top Kyushu 2) 27

Date: Sunday, 07 December 2013
Venue: Mizuho Rugby Ground, Aichi
Kick-off: 12:00

Chubu Electric Power Company drew first blood in the Top Challenge Two series beating Mazda Blue Zoomers 39-27 at the Mizuho Rugby Ground in Aichi on Sunday, 07 December 2013. Chubu scored six tries to four building on their 22-15 halftime lead. South African-born No8 Albertus Mulder scored two of the tries for the victors.

Mazda Blue Zoomers (Top Kyushu 2) 41 d Yokokawa Musashino (Top East 2) 24

Date: Sunday, 15 December 201
Venue: Coca-Cola Stadium, Hiroshima
Kick-off: 13:00

Mazda picked up their first win in the series when then beat Yokokawa 41-24 in Hiroshima on Sunday, 15 December 2013. In a tight first half, Mazda led 24-17 and although the scores were locked 24-all at the hour mark the Zoomers finished the final quarter the stronger with two further converted tries and a penalty. Centre Lee Soo-Ping kicked all five conversions and added an additional two penalties in a kicking display that got the Zoomers the result.

Yokokawa Musashino (Top East 2) 33 d Chubu Denryoku (Top West 2) 10

Date: Monday, 23 December 2013
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo
Kick-off: 14:00

After losing to Mazda in their first game, Yokokawa made amends with a 33-10 win over Chubu Denryoku in Tokyo on Monday 23 December 2013. Yokokawa scored five tries to one and led throughout building on a solid 21-10 halftime lead. At the completion of the three rounds of Top Challenge Two, all three teams finished on one win and one loss with Yokokawa (+6) and Mazda (+5) both finishing on six competition points from Chubu Denryoku (-11) on five points. Yokokawa won their way through to Top Challenge One on the strength of having the best differential.

 


 university-rugby

50th National University Championship 2013-14

At the completion of the respective regional leagues, the top universities qualify for the annual National University Championship held over December into the early New Year.

Round Three

Sunday 22 December 2013

Tsukuba University 36 d Ryutsu Keizai University 11, Chichibu, Tokyo,
Teikyo University 76 d Daito Bunka University 19, Chichibu, Tokyo, 14:15.
Keio University 10 d Tokai University 7, Kumagaya, Saitama, 12:00.
Waseda University 57 d Chuo University 7, Kumagaya, Saitama, 14:00.
Kwansei Gakuin University 50 d Asahi University 0, Mizuho, Aichi, 12:00.
Doshisha University 60 d Nihon University 17, Mizuho, Aichi, 14:00.
Kyoto Sangyo University 31 d Osaka University H&SS 24, Hanazono,
Ritsumeikan University 12 d Meiji University 10, Hanazono, Osaka, 14:00.

Round Two

Sunday 15 December 2013

Tsukuba University 66 d Nihon University 0, Chichibu, Tokyo, 12:00.
Meiji University 20 d Keio University 19, Chichibu, Tokyo, 14:15.
Waseda University 48 d Kyoto Sangyo University 18, Mizuho, Aichi, 12:00.
Tokai University 42 d Ritsumeikan University 35, Mizuho, Aichi, 14:00.
Ryutsu Keizai University 34 d Doshisha University 26, Hanazono, Osaka,
Teikyo University 78 d Kwansei Gakuin University 5, Hanazono, Osaka,
Daito Bunka University 87 d Asahi University 14, Level Five, Fukuoka, 12:00.
Chuo University 17 d Osaka University H&SS 10, Level Five, Fukuoka, 14:00.

 Round One

Sunday 08 December 2013

Meiji University 27 d Tokai University 26, Chichibu, Tokyo, 12:00.
Teikyo University 102 d Asahi University 5, Chichibu, Tokyo, 14:00.
Waseda University 46 d Osaka University H&SS 12, Komazawa Stadium,
Ryutsu Keizai University 43 d Nihon University 7, Komazawa Stadium
Tsukuba University 38 d Doshisha University 13, Nagai Stadium, Osaka,
Keio University 26 d Ritsumeikan University 22, Nagai Stadium, Osaka,
Daito Bunka University 45 d Kwansei Gakuin University 24, Mizuho, Aichi,
Kyoto Sangyo University 29 d Chuo University 28, , Mizuho, Aichi, 14:00.

 

Odds & Sods

Odds & Sods brings the reader weekly news shorts, gossip and general happenings from the world of Rugby in Japan.

Toyota backrower Takashi Kikutani is set for a move to Saracens in England. According to a Toyota press release dated 11 December 2013, Kikutani will leave for England on 18 December with further details of his terms with Saracens to follow.

JRFU chairman, Yoshiro Mori (76) has been given the ARFU Spirit of Rugby Award with the award to be handed over in Cambodia on 8 December 2013.

The JRFU released a statement on the passing of Nelson Mandela on 6 December 2013.

 


Looking Ahead

Looking Ahead gives the reader future dates for the diary and other great things to look forward to in Rugby in Japan.

The 21st National Club Championship

The Club Championship will kick off with the first round on 8 December 2013, followed by the second round on 12 and 19 January 2014 with the semis on 16 February and the final at Hanazono on Sunday, 2 March 2014.

Into the Future

With the IRB working towards re-introducing traditional long tours there will be spin-offs for Japan in the lead-up to this country hosting the 2019 RWC. Although it is not set in concrete, a bevy of tier one countries are pencilled in to tour Japan with Wales touring in 2013, Scotland in 2016, Ireland in 2017 and Italy in 2018.

 

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