RUGBY IN JAPAN NEWSLETTER. Vol.9, No.17

April 16 2012

RiJ has been working back through the history of Japan tests and this week has a few snippets from 1930. The 2012 A5N is just around the corner too and RiJ has a preview of that tournament in this issue.

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.

Did you know?

1930: Japan Test Rugby Roots

This week RiJ has been working back to the first test Japan played in 1930 putting in place a very basic outline of the tests and series played year by year. RiJ has also started profiling Japan test match players from player number one with some very basic details. Anyway, out of that, RiJ brings the reader a brief look at Japan test match number one.

Japan played their first rugby test on the 1930 tour of Canada, essentially Vancouver in British Columbia. Over September 1930 Japan played seven games on tour for the impressive record of six wins and one draw. It was the test against British Columbia that played out to a 3-all draw at Brockton Point in Vancouver on 24 September 1930 after both sides scored a try apiece.

British Columbia 3 – Japan 3. Wednesday, 24 September 1930, Brockton Point, Vancouver. (Test No.1, Japan Game No.6)

Along with this game being recognised as the first international rugby test match for Japan, there were a number of other ‘firsts’ to come out of this match. Some of these other‘firsts’ include the fact that Shigeru Kayama (1894-1969) was the first coach of Japan and he went on to coach Japan in the first five tests played between 1930 and 1934. Flanker Hideo Miyaji (Yoshizawa) (1903-????) was the first captain of Japan in what proved to be his one and only test match. Prop Tadayuki Yagai (1909-1974) has been designated Japan test player number one in what was his only international appearance. Wing Takeo Kitano(1911-1969) scored the first test points for Japan with the only points in this inaugural test with a try in the first half. Kitano played a total of six tests in the pre-war period between 1930 and 1936. The opening game of the tour against Vancouver on 1 September 1930 at Brockton Point in Vancouver has been designated Japan game number one.

HSBC Asian Five Nations 2012

Japan Squad

On 19 March 2012, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced a 30-man squad for the HSBC Asian Five Nations tournament over April and May 2012. A 10-man back-up squad was also named while a further five players who were not considered for this particular squad due to injury are on notified stand-by.

Former Suntory head coach Eddie Jones is the new head coach of Japan while Masahiro Kunda is his assistant coach.

Toshiba Brave Lupus wing Toshiaki Hirose has been named the new captain of Japan.

On 23 March 2012, the JRFU announced that halfback Atsushi Hiwasa had been withdrawn from the A5N squad to play in France with Stade Francais on a short term arrangement. Halfback Jun Fujii was added to the squad from the back-up squad.

On 31 March 2012, the JRFU announced that hooker Shota Horie and halfback Fumiaki Tanaka had been withdrawn from the A5N squad with both players playing in New Zealand with Otago in the ITM Cup on a short term arrangement. On the same day it was also announced that centre Koji Taira had been withdrawn from the squad to fully recover from injury and undergo conditioning. Hooker Takeshi Kizu and centre Kaito Morikawa were added to the squad from the back-up squad while halfback Keisuke Uchida was also added.

On 6 April 2012, the JRFU announced that Ryoto Nakamura had been withdrawn from the squad due to illness.

30-man Japan Squad for A5N 2012

Position	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt	Caps
LH Props	Yusuke NAGAE	Ricoh Black Rams	26	171/105	-
	Kensuke HATAKEYAMA	Suntory Sungoliath	26	178/111	27
Hookers	Shota HORIE	Panasonic Wild Knights	26	180/104	17
	Takeshi KIZU	Kobe Steelers	23	183/111	6
	Ryuhei ARITA	Coca-Cola West Red Sparks	22	176/100	-
TH Props	Hiroshi YAMASHITA	Kobe Steelers	26	183/121	8
	Hidetatsu TSUBOI	Chugoku Electric Power	22	181/115	-
Locks	Koji SHINOZUKA	Suntory Sungoliath	28	196/101	5
	Shoji ITO	Kobe Steelers	31	191/97	-
	Hitoshi ONO	Toshiba Brave Lupus	33	192/105	54
	Shinya MAKABE	Suntory Sungoliath	24	192/112	2
Flankers	Michael LEITCH	Toshiba Brave Lupus	23	190/105	22
	Tsuyoshi MURATA	NEC Green Rockets	23	185/100	-
	Yusaku KUWAZURU	Coca-Cola West Red Sparks	26	188/97	-
	Daiki HASHIMOTO	Kobe Steelers	25	184/100	-
No8s	Takamichi SASAKI	Suntory Sungoliath	28	184/95	6
	Yuta MOCHIZUKI	Toshiba Brave Lupus	30	184/105	-
Halfbacks	Fumiaki TANAKA	Panasonic Wild Knights	27	166/75	31
	Atsushi HIWASA	Suntory Sungoliath	24	166/72	10
	Jun FUJII	Toshiba Brave Lupus	29	170/77	-
	Keisuke UCHIDA	Tsukuba University	20	178/83	-
Five-eighths	Kosei ONO	Fukuoka Sanix Blues	24	171/81	5
	Harumichi TATEKAWA	Tenri University	22	181/93	-
L Wings	Hirotoki ONOZAWA	Suntory Sungoliath	32	180/85	58
	Yoshikazu FUJITA	Higashi Fukuoka HS	18	185/90	-
In. Centres	Yu TAMURA	NEC Green Rockets	23	181/87	-
	Tomohiro SEMBA	Toshiba Brave Lupus	29	183/97	-
Out. Centres	Koji TAIRA	Suntory Sungoliath	28	185/94	24
	Ryoto NAKAMURA	Teikyo University	20	177/87	-
	Kaito MORIKAWA	Honda Heat	23	175/86	-
R Wings	Toshiaki HIROSE (c)	Toshiba Brave Lupus	30	173/81	1
	Sho TAKENAKA	Tsukuba University	19	176/88	-
Fullbacks	Ayumu GOROMARU	Yamaha Jubilo	26	185/97	11
	Yasunori NAGATOMO	Suntory Sungoliath	26	176/85	3

Staff

Eddie Jones, head coach, JRFU.
Masahiro Kunda, assistant coach, JRFU.
Scott Wisemantel, technical adviser, JRFU.
John Pryor, strength and conditioning coordinator, JRFU.
Masanori Ota, strength and conditioning coach, JRFU.
Shota Nakajima, analyst, JRFU.
Takenori Omura, team manager, JRFU.
Julia Nakazawa, translator, Field of Dreams.

ASIA FIVE NATIONS 2012 SCHEDULE (06.04)

27 April Hong Kong v United Arab Emirates in Dubai
28 April Japan v Kazakhstan in Almaty
5 May Korea v Hong Kong in Hong Kong
5 May United Arab Emirates v Japan in Fukuoka
11 May Kazakhstan v United Arab Emirates in Dubai
12 May Japan v Korea in Seoul
19 May Hong Kong v Japan in Tokyo
19 May Korea v Kazakhstan in Almaty
26 May United Arab Emirates v Korea in Seoul
26 May Kazakhstan v Hong Kong in Hong Kong

Top 5 Team Profiles

Japan

Top 5 History
2011: Champions (24 points from 4 wins).
2010: Champions (24 points from 4 wins).
2009: Champions (24 points from 4 wins).
2008: Champions (24 points from 4 wins).

Japan as the dominant force in Asian rugby is still yet to taste defeat in the HSBC Asian Five Nations tournament after claiming the title over the first four years of the competition. In 2012, Japan are again the team to beat despite the fact that there has been a change in the coaching regime with former Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones replacing John Kirwan who held the post for five years. Jones has also ushered in some significant changes in his first squad as he sets his sights on building a winning formula for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. In another step, Jones has recalled Toshiba wing Toshiaki Hirose to the national team and made him captain with long standing captain Takashi Kikutani not making the squad.

Hong Kong

Top 5 History
2011: Second (17 points from 3 wins and 1 loss).
2010: Third (12 points from 2 wins and 2 losses).
2009: Fourth (8 points from 1 win and 3 losses).
2008:Third (11 points from 2 wins and 2 losses).

Welshman Dai Rees replaced New Zealander John Walters as the coach of Hong Kong in October 2008 and he has overseen a steady rise in the strength of rugby in the former British colony. Hong Kong finished second in 2011, their highest finish ever, and with an experienced and settled squad Rees as team manager and Leigh Jones as senior coach will be looking to maintain the high standard in 2012. Like many Unions in the Asian region, Hong Kong draw from limited player resources but the tight-knit and well organised rugby community is looking to expand the game at all levels in their region. There is only one new cap in the squad in hooker Lachlan Chubb whose father Morgan captained Hong Kong in the 1990s. The experienced DeA No8 Pale Tauti will captain Hong Kong in the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2012 replacing Kowloon centre Tom McColl who captained the side against Japan last year. With Japan undergoing significant change coming into this tournament, Hong Kong will fancy their chances of continuing their rise and go one better to take the title this year.

United Arab Emirates

Top 5 History
2011: Third (8 points from 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses).
2010: Fourth (10 points from 2 wins and 2 losses). NB: played as Arabian Gulf.
2009: Did not play.
2008: Fifth (1 point from 4 losses). Relegated to Division 1 for 2009. NB: played as Arabian Gulf.

Rugby in the Gulf region was reorganised at the completion of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 with The Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU) being disbanded in favour of individual national Unions. The IRB governance restructure which came into effect on 1 January 2011 after a two year transition period saw the phasing out of AGRFU for autonomous national bodies. The first Union established, The United Arab Emirates Rugby Association (UAERA), became a member of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) in 2010 and participated in the Top Five division in the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2011 in place of the now defunct Arabian Gulf. In 2011 the UAE drew with Sri Lanka in Colombo and beat Kazakhstan in Abu Dhabi before losing heavily to both Japan and Hong Kong and with Korea replacing Sri Lanka for 2012 the two home fixtures against Hong Kong and Kazakhstan will be crucial matches. UAE performance manager, Australian Duncan Hall has been reported as saying it is good to have winnable games at home.

Kazakhstan

Top 5 History
2011: Fourth (6 points from 1 win and 3 losses).
2010: Second (13 points from 2 wins and 2 losses).
2009: Second (15 points from 3 wins and 1 loss).
2008: Fourth (7 points from 1 win and 3 losses).

Although Kazakhstan have played in the previous four HSBC Asian Five Nations tournaments the results have been very mixed. In 2008 and 2011 they finished one spot above relegation while in between they finished runners-up to Japan on two occasions. Last year The Nomads lost to Hong Kong at home in Almaty in their opening game before losing to UAE and Japan and were only then saved from relegation when they beat Sri Lanka in their final game. The heat will again be on Kazakhstan to produce positive results this year when they host Japan and Korea in Almaty but travel to face Hong Kong and the UAE.

South Korea

Top 5 History

2011: Did not play.
2010: Fifth (2 points from 4 losses). Relegated to Division 1 for 2011.
2009: Third (13 points from 2 wins and 2 losses).
2008: Second (18 points from 3 wins and 1 loss).

In days gone by, South Korea were traditionally viewed as the second strongest team in Asia behind Japan, born out by the fact that they regularly beat their neighbours, particularly in the ARFU Asian Championship. Without too many surprises, Korea finished second in the inaugural HSBC Asian Five Nations in 2008 with three wins and one loss but then continued to fall off the pace in subsequent years finishing last in 2010 and were relegated back to Division 1 for 2011. Ultimately they have fought their way back into the top division for 2012 but they will have to fight tooth and nail all the way this season for wins. Korean rugby has a lot to prove this season and with more and more senior players gaining valuable experience playing in the Japan Rugby Top League year after year they should have the wherewithal to push every side they play.

Week One Preview

United Arab Emirates v Hong Kong

Date: Friday 27 April 2012
Venue: The Sevens, Dubai
Kick-off: 20:00

In the opening game of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2012, the United Arab Emirates host Hong Kong at The Sevens in Dubai in an evening game on Friday 27 April 2012. In the corresponding fixture last year, Hong Kong enjoyed an emphatic 62-3 win over the UAE in Hong Kong in the closing game of the tournament. However, this time round it is Hong Kong that have to make the long trek to Dubai to face a UAE side that will well and truly have revenge on their minds. The UAE have the tough challenge of playing Japan and Korea on the road and so as UAE performance manager, Australian Duncan Hall has reported it is good to have winnable games at home. Nevertheless, Hong Kong beat Kazakhstan 23-10 in Almaty in week one last year and so they know what it takes to win first up in a game played a long way from home.

Kazakhstan v Japan

Date: Saturday 28 April 2012
Venue: Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty
Kick-off: 15:00

In Bangkok last year Kazakhstan came as close as they ever have to Japan when they went down 61-0 after suffering much heavier defeats in the three previous meetings between these two sides. The Nomads will at least have home ground advantage in 2012 as Japan travel to Almaty for the second time after they came away with an 82-6 win in 2008. Four years on and Eddie Jones has replaced John Kirwan as head coach and in his first test in charge he has chosen a squad that is almost unrecognisable from the team that last played in Almaty with only the likes of lock Koji Shinozuka and wing Hirotoki Onozawa still in this current national side. In spite of all the changes though, Japan are still the powerhouse of Asian rugby and Kazakhstan will have their work cut out staying in touch with this new look Japanese side.

Bye: South Korea.