April 10 2012
RiJ sends out a plea for history this issue. RiJ has embarked, somewhat fool heartedly, on the massive project of writing the history of Japanese test match rugby and profiling every player that has ever represented Japan in a test. There’s lots of missing information along the way and every week from now on RiJ is going to throw a few things out thereto see if anyone has an answer. RiJ also has a full report on the recent Japan High Schools tour to Italy and France, along with an interview with Tsuneo Yamada from the Meiwaku Club. Enjoy the read.
The Japan Test Match & Player History
Project
For nine years now RiJ has been documenting Japanese rugby across various levels of the game. More recently, however, RiJ has recognised the need to accurately document the history of Japanese test match rugby and the players that have represented Japan down through the years.
With this in mind, RiJ has embarked on a project to write the history of Japanese international rugby, detail every test that Japan has played and profile every player that has represented Japan. No mean feat considering Japan is closing in on 300 tests and more than 550players have worn the cherry blossom emblem on their chests in a test.
Nevertheless, over the past nine years RiJ has personally covered close to one hundred tests while also attempting to now work backwards to the first test in 1930. Although RiJ still has about eighty tests to do, over 200 tests have been prepared to some extent.
That leaves test player profiles. RiJ plans to profile in detail every player that has represented Japan in a test match.Over the past few years RiJ has prepared profiles on about fifty or so current players, but that still leaves another 500 or so to do.
RiJ now intends to give this project the highest priority as there are still thousands upon thousands of man hours to get the project anywhere near either book or electronic form.
Thus, RiJ is going to head this newsletter every week with snippets from the week of the work in process and invite the reader for feedback and contributions.
Can you help?
The1984 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship
The 1984 ARFU Asian Rugby Championship was held in Fukuoka, Japan from 21-27 October 1984. This was the ninth championship. The eight participating teams were divided into two pools with the final between the winners of both pools. In Pool A, South Korea,Thailand, Sri Lanka and Malaysia played out the pool, while Pool B was made up of Japan, the Republic of China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Both Japan and Korea topped their pools to progress to the final.
Japan20 – South Korea13.
Saturday, 27 October 1984, Kasuga Park Stadium, Fukuoka.
(TestNo.82, Japan Game No.221)
Under head coach Katsumi Miyaji Japan defeated Korea in the final to claim the Championship title. However, search as one may, RiJ cannot find the reserves for this test. If the reader should happen to know the list of unused reserves for Japan for this test please pass them on to yours truly.
Japan
| Pos. | Name | Club |
| 1 | Toshitaka KIMURA (262) | Doshisha Univ. |
| 2 | Tsuyoshi FUJITA (237) | Nisshin Steel |
| 3 | Masaharu AIZAWA (266) | Ricoh |
| 4 | Atsushi OYAGI (257) | Doshisha Univ. |
| 5 | Koji KAWACHI (258) | Nisshin Steel |
| 6 | Hikaru KAWACHI (238) | Kyuden |
| 7 | Masahiko KOSHIYAMA (263) | Yamanashi teacher |
| 8 | Michihito CHIDA (235) | Kamaishi |
| 9 | Yoshimitsu KONISHI (242) | Suntory |
| 10 | Yuji MATSUO (196) (c) | Kamaishi |
| 11 | Hideo TOSHIMA (231) | Toshiba |
| 12 | Hideo KOBAYASHI (SUMI) (260) | Kamaishi |
| 13 | Fukumi KANAYA (243) | Nisshin Steel |
| 14 | Shinji ONUKI (264) | Suntory |
| 15 | Naoyuki TANIFUJI (230) | Kamaishi |
|
|
|
|
| 16 |
|
|
| 17 |
|
|
| 18 |
|
|
| 19 |
|
|
| 20 |
|
|
| 21 |
|
|
Japan High Schools Tour to Italy and France 2012
The Japan High Schools toured Italy and France from 11-28 March 2012.
Full Results
Game 1:
Italy U18 B 20 d Japan High Schools 15
Date: Wednesday 14 March 2012
Venue: San Bartolo a Cintoia, Firenze, Italy
Kick-off: 15:00 local Italy time (01:00, Thursday 15 March 2012, Japan time)
Halftime: Italy U18 B 10 – Japan High Schools 5
NB: 35 minutes halves
Japan High Schools: 1- Yuji Ueki, 2- Atsushi Sakate, 3- Kohei Asahori, 4- Joji Sato, 5- Onesema Hafoka, 6- Takahiro Kimura (c), 7- Kazuki Azuma, 8- Ryota Hasegawa, 9- Atsushi Yumoto, 10- Takuya Yamasawa, 11- Kota Kii, 12- Rikiya Matsuda, 13- Kohei Nishimae, 14- Hideto Kondo and 15- Issei Shige.
Reserves: 16- Genki Sudo, 17- Shohei Hirano, 18- Wataru Kobayashi, 19- Yuto Ueda, 20- Chihito Matsui, 21- Shumpei Hotta, 22- Kazuhiro Goya, 23- Shunta Nakamura, 24- Takahito Kunai, 25- Takahiro Kaneko and 26- Takahiro Fujita.
Scorers for Japan High Schools: Tries: Rikiya Matsuda 2 and Onesema Hafoka.
Game 2:
Italy U18 19 d Japan High Schools 15
Date: Sunday 18 March 2012
Venue: Carlo Montano Stadium, Livorno, Italy
Kick-off: 14:00 local Italy time (22:00 Japan time)
Halftime: Italy U18 7 – Japan High Schools 10
NB: 35 minutes halves
Japan High Schools: 1- Yuji Ueki, 2- Shunta Nakamura, 3- Kohei Asahori, 4- Ryota Hasegawa, 5- Onesema Hafoka, 6- Takahiro Kimura (c), 7- Joji Sato, 8- Atsushi Sakate, 9- Atsushi Yumoto, 10- Takuya Yamasawa, 11- Takahito Kunai, 12- Rikiya Matsuda, 13- Shumpei Hotta, 14-Hideto Kondo and 15- Issei Shige.
Reserves: 16- Genki Sudo, 17- Shohei Hirano, 18- Wataru Kobayashi, 19- Yuto Ueda, 20- Takahiro Kaneko, 21- Kohei Nishimae, 22- Kazuhiro Goya, 23- Kazuki Azuma, 24- Takahiro Fujita, 25- Kota Kiiand 26- Chihito Matsui.
Scorers for Japan High Schools: Tries: Shumpei Hotta and Hideto Kondo; Conversion: Takuya Yamasawa; Penalty: Takuya Yamasawa.
Comments by Head Coach Hideyuki Matsui
This was a much better performance than the first game on tour. However, Italy U18 beat us over the last 5-10 minutes of the match, just like what happened on the tour of Wales last year. Obviously we lacked a physical presence over the closing stages and as coach I take responsibility for that. Moreover, the players themselves played well to our game plan.
Comments by Captain Takahiro Kimura
We reflected on the first game and came out today as a team to do the things we knew we had to do. We played much better than in the first game but we still failed to come up with a win. Just like other Japan teams we fell at the final hurdle at international level. We are now going to work hard to win our remaining two games.
Game 3:
Japan High Schools 27 d France U18 20
Date: Wednesday 21 March 2012
Venue: Angle, Toulouse, France
Kick-off: 18:30 local France time (02:30, Thursday 22 March 2012, Japan time)
Halftime: Japan High Schools 12 – France U18 17
NB: 35 minutes halves
Japan High Schools: 1- Yuji Ueki, 2- Shunta Nakamura, 3- Shohei Hirano, 4- Ryota Hasegawa, 5- Onesema Hafoka, 6- Takahiro Kimura (c), 7- Joji Sato, 8- Atsushi Sakate, 9- Atsushi Yumoto, 10- Takuya Yamasawa, 11- Takahito Kunai, 12- Rikiya Matsuda, 13- Shumpei Hotta, 14-Hideto Kondo and 15- Issei Shige.
Reserves: 16- Genki Sudo, 17- Kohei Asahori, 18- Wataru Kobayashi, 19- Yuto Ueda, 20- Takahiro Kaneko, 21- Kohei Nishimae, 22- Kazuhiro Goya, 23- Kazuki Azuma, 24- Takahiro Fujita, 25- Kota Kiiand 26- Chihito Matsui.
Scorers for Japan High Schools: Tries: Hideto Kondo 3 and Yuji Ueki; Conversions: Takuya Yamasawa 2; Penalty: Takuya Yamasawa.
Comments by Head Coach Hideyuki Matsui
We learnt from the first two games and came out and beat France today. The players and staff pulled together after Italy and the boys played right to the end today to produce this result. The players really felt that beating France will give rugby fans in Japan dreams and hope. This historic win will definitely be a big plus for these players in their future careers in rugby.
Game 4:
Japan High Schools 51 d Toulouse Academy U18 10
Date: Sunday 25 March 2012
Venue: Stade De L’Union, Toulouse, France
Kick-off: 15:00 local France time (22:00 Japan time)
Halftime: Japan High Schools 20 – Toulouse Academy U18 3
NB: 35 minutes halves
Japan High Schools: 1- Yuji Ueki, 2- Shunta Nakamura, 3- Shohei Hirano, 4- Ryota Hasegawa, 5- Wataru Kobayashi, 6- Takahiro Kimura (c), 7- Takahiro Fujita, 8- Atsushi Sakate, 9- Atsushi Yumoto, 10- Takuya Yamasawa, 11- Kota Kii, 12- Rikiya Matsuda, 13- Shumpei Hotta, 14- Hideto Kondo and 15- Issei Shige.
Reserves: 16- Genki Sudo, 17- Kohei Asahori, 18- Onesema Hafoka, 19- Yuto Ueda, 20- Takahiro Kaneko, 21- Kohei Nishimae, 22- Kazuhiro Goya, 23- Kazuki Azuma, 24- Joji Sato, 25- Takahito Kunai and 26- Chihito Matsui.
Scorers for Japan High Schools: Tries: Rikiya Matsuda 2, Ryota Hasegawa, Kazuki Azuma, Takahito Kunai, Hideto Kondo and Kazuhiro Goya; Conversions: Takuya Yamasawa 5; Penalties: Takuya Yamasawa 2.
Comments by Head Coach Hideyuki Matsui
We learnt from our mistakes in the two losses in Italy, beat France U18 and then the players had belief in the Japan High Schools style of play and played and won a fantastic game in this closing game on tour.
Our Japanese strengths of getting low, speed and physicality failed us in the first two games but won out over the final two games. Our tour strategy was to move up quickly in defence, attack around the fringes and play at pace and I believe we proved this was successful against the international sides we played on this tour.
Last year we beat Scotland and lost to Wales, and together with the win over France this time will bring a lot of hope for the future to this generation of players.
Comments by Captain Takahiro Kimura
This squad proved that we can match it with overseas teams. Because this was our final game on tour we went out there and gave it our all and tried to enjoy ourselves at the same time. The four games on tour also gave us the confidence in knowing that we can beat overseas sides.
We are truly grateful for everyone that supported us on tour, the JRFU and the tour staff. I believe the experiences we had on this tour will have a big bearing on our futures in rugby. This group of players will be at the heart of the Japan national team at the 2019 Rugby World Cup and we want to continue to strive to do our best to realise the dreams and hopes of future Japan representative players.
26-man Japan High Schools Squad 2012
| Position | Name | School | Height | Weight |
| Loose Heads | Yuji Ueki | Josho Gakuen | 180 | 108 |
|
| Genki Sudo | Kugayama | 174 | 106 |
| Hookers | Atsushi Sakate | Kyoto Seisho | 180 | 98 |
|
| Shunta Nakamura | Toin Gakuen | 177 | 98 |
| Tight Heads | Shohei Hirano | Higashi Fukuoka | 178 | 115 |
|
| Kohei Asahori | Kyoto Seisho | 185 | 120 |
| Locks | Onesema Hafoka | JAL Ishikawa | 188 | 100 |
|
| Wataru Kobayashi | Meidai Nakano | 193 | 99 |
| Flankers | Takahiro Fujita | Aomori Kita | 177 | 87 |
|
| Kazuki Azuma | Kyoto Seisho | 182 | 90 |
|
| Takahiro Kimura | Higashi Fukuoka | 174 | 82 |
|
| Yuto Ueda | Tokai Gyosei | 182 | 88 |
| No8s | Joji SATO | Hikawa | 184 | 96 |
|
| Ryota Hasegawa | JAL Ishikawa | 188 | 95 |
| Halfbacks | Takahiro Kaneko | Kokugakuin Tochigi | 162 | 64 |
|
| Atsushi Yumoto | Tokai Gyosei | 163 | 63 |
| Five-eighths | Kazuhiro Goya | Ryutsudai Kashiwa | 171 | 74 |
|
| Takuya Yamasawa | Fukaya | 177 | 80 |
| Wings | Hideto KONDO | Tokai Gyosei | 178 | 80 |
|
| Takahito Kunai | Onomichi | 184 | 81 |
|
| Chihito Matsui | Josho Gakuen | 180 | 70 |
| Centres | Kohei Nishimae | Gose Jitsugyo | 170 | 80 |
|
| Shumpei Hotta | Kurosawajiri | 180 | 84 |
|
| Kota Kii | Hikawa | 172 | 77 |
|
| Rikiya Matsuda | Fushimi | 178 | 77 |
| Fullback | Issei Shige | Josho Gakuen | 170 | 76 |
Staff
Manager: Yoshiaki Maeda (JRFU).
Assistant manager: Shigeyuki Tanizaki (Higashi Fukuoka).
Head coach: Hideyuki Matsui (Ryukei Kashiwa).
Forwards coach: Noriyuki Yokota (Fukaya).
Backs coach: Naoki Kamitani (Tenri Kyoko Gakuen).
Technical: Akihiro Hoshino.
Sanwaku Interview with Tsuneo Yamada
Last weekend, on Saturday 7thand Sunday 8th April 2012 at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo the 60th Sanwaku Tournament was held.
The annual Sanwaku Tournament involves the Fuwaku Rugby Club based in the Kanto area, the Wakuwaku Rugby Club based in the Kansai area and the Meiwaku Rugby Club based in the Kyushu area. The concept of Waku rugby is a Japan wide network of rugby for seniors. Teams are formed according to age with the Over 40s wearing white shorts, the Over 50s blue shorts, the Over 60s red shorts, the Over 70s yellow shorts and the Over 80s purple shorts. In the Sanwaku Tournament, generally for fairness and evenness of playing standard teams of similar age groups and shorts colours play each other.
RiJ attended the first day of the tournament on Saturday to watch the Over 60s, Over 70s and Over 80s in action at the invitation of Tsuneo Yamada from the Meiwaku Club. Tsuneo came up from Fukuoka in Kyushu for the weekend and the 79-year-old was in action on Saturday in his yellow shorts with his ‘Number 55’ proudly displayed on the back of his green and white Meiwaku jersey. He played five-eighth or fullback back in his days with Meiji University and was again the playmaker this time round in Tokyo.
Q: Where were you born?
‘I was born in Kamikitazawa in Setagaya ward in Tokyo.’
どこで生まれましたか
東京都世田谷区上北沢で生まれました
Q: When did you start playing rugby?
‘I started playing rugby when I was 14-years-old in second year at junior high school.’
何歳でラグビーくぉ始めましたか
14歳中学2年生ではじめました
Q:Did you continue to play senior or company rugby after you graduated from Meiji University?
‘Yes. After university I helped form a rugby club and played with them for 13 years. When I moved to Fukuoka I joined the Dontaku Rugby Club and continued playing with them. Then, when I turned 40 I joined the Meiwaku Rugby Club.’
大学卒業後、社会人ラグビーくをプレーしましたか
社会人になってラグビー部を創り13年プレーしました
福岡に移り住んでどんたくラグビークラブでプレーしました
40歳になって迷惑ラグビー倶楽部に入りました
Q: How many years have you played with Meiwaku?
‘I’ve played with Meiwaku continuously for 38 years.’
迷惑ラグビークラブで何年プレーしていますか
38年続けてプレーしています
Q: How many years have you lived in Fukuoka?
‘I’ve lived in Fukuoka for 45 years.’
何年福岡に住んでいますか
45年住んでいます
Q: In October this year, the Golden Oldies Festival will be held in Asia for the first time in Fukuoka. What do you think about that?
‘I’ve played rugby in Japan continuously since I was 14-years-old and it will be one of the greatest joys in my life to play in the Golden Oldies hosted in the very city that I live.’
今年の１０月に福岡でゴールデンオールディーズはアジアで初めて
14歳からラグビーを続けていて日本で、
Q: What is your best memory of playing rugby?
‘Playing as fullback for All-Meiji University against Canterbury University. We lost 27-8 but it was such a fantastic game it has stayed in my memory ever since.’
自分でプレーした時の一番思い出は何ですか
全明大のFBとしてカンタベリー大と対戦して27－8で負けまし
Q:What is your best memory of watching rugby?
‘One of my best memories of watching a game of rugby was when current Meiji head coach Yoshida was playing as captain in a Meiji-Waseda game and he scored a try in the left hand corner for a come from behind victory.’
見たラグビーの一番思い出は何ですか
現在の明治大学ラグビーの吉田監督が主将のとき早明戦で左ライン
Q: Next birthday you will be 80-years-old. Are you going to play in purple shorts at the Sanwaku Tournament in Osaka next year?
‘Yes. I will be turning out in my purple shorts in Osaka next year.’
次の誕生日は８０歳になります。
紫パンツで出場ます
Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival
Fukuoka 2012
The Golden Oldies Festival will be held in Japan and also Asia for the first time this year at Fukuoka from 28 October 2012 to 4 November 2012.
Have a look at www.goldenoldies2012-fukuoka.jp
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment