RUGBY IN JAPAN NEWSLETTER: Volume 9, No.20

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?

New Zealand Universities Tour to Japan 1936

In January and February 1936 New Zealand Universities toured Japan for the first time playing seven games on tour winning six and drawing one.

Game 1: New Zealand Universities 31 d Kansai 3, 26 January 1936, Minami-Koshien, Hyogo.

Game 2: New Zealand Universities 23 d Keio University 6, 30 January 1936, Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium, Tokyo.

Game 3: New Zealand Universities 13 d Meiji University 11, 2 February 1936, Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium, Tokyo.

Game 4: New Zealand Universities 22 d Waseda University 17, 6 February 1936, Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium, Tokyo.

Game 5: First Test.

Game 6: New Zealand Universities 23 d Kansai Universities 8, 11 February 1936, Hanazono, Osaka.

Game 7: Second Test.

Japan8 – New Zealand Universities 16. Sunday, 9 February 1936, Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium, Tokyo.(Test No.6, Japan Game No.14)

Japan9 – New Zealand Universities 9. Sunday, 16 February 1936, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.7,Japan Game No.15)

The NZU tour to Japan in 1936 was the first of what would be a long standing relationship that lasts through to the present, although NZU no longer play the full Japan national side and the games are no longer regarded as tests.

NZU followed in the tracks of the Australian Universities (AU) who toured Japan in 1934 on a similar kind of tour.

For Japan, the two tests against NZU were historically tests number six and number seven after two home tests against A Uni. 1934, two home test against Canada in 1932 and the inaugural test against British Columbia on the 1930 tour to Canada. Further, as was the case against AU the Japan side that played NZU was essentially a Japan Universities side but test and cap status was later confirmed by the Japan Union.

A line can be draw under these initial seven tests played between 1930 and 1936 as test number eight was not played until October 1952 against the touring Oxford University. Although rugby continued to be played domestically in the interceding sixteen years, international rugby for Japan was curtailed before, during and after World War Two.

The two tests against NZU also saw a change in coach with Chuji Kitajima replacing Shigeru Kayama who coached Japan in the first five tests. Like Kayama, Kitajima would also go on to coach Japan in a total of five tests, but it would be a long time between drinks for Kitajima as it would be another twenty years until he again coached Japan in the three tests against the touring AU in 1956.

In the first test in Tokyo, NZU got out to a handy 11-0 lead at halftime thanks to first half tries to flanker F.J.Wilson and centre J.M. Watt and although Japan would go on to win the second half 8-5, NZU had enough runs on the board to take the game 16-8.Five-eighth Ichiro Nogami became the sixth player to captain Japan in this test in what would be his fourth and final cap for the 23 year old Meiji University student. Six players made their international debuts for Japan in this match but there were also three players earning their fifth caps in prop Saburo Nishigaki, left wing Takeo Kitano and goal kicking inside centre Tsunehiko Kasahara with Kitano the only surviving member from the inaugural test against British Columbia in Vancouver in 1930.

In the second test in Osaka played a week later, the tourists were looking to make it seven wins from seven games on tour, but the hosts spoilt the party by holding them to a 9-all draw. Japan led 6-0 at halftime after Kasahara who was playing on the right wing in this test kicked two penalty goals. NZU fought back in the second half with Watt scoring two tries but with the scores locked at 9-all late in the game Kasahara had the opportunity to secure the win with a penalty but the kick proved unsuccessful leaving the teams tied. Lock Kazuo Yamaguchi became the seventh Japan captain in seven tests in what was his second and final test appearance.

In this pre-war era, although no player actually played in all even tests, Nishigaki, Kitano and Kasahara were the leading cap holders playing in six of the seven tests Japan had played while Kasahara was the leading point scorer with 33 points from 6 conversions and 7penalties.

Although over the years that followed, war would devastate the lives of many of these young rugby players, Taiwan born centre Chang Ko-Chu was an exception as he would go on to lead a long life until his passing in 2001 at the age of 90.

ASIA 5 NATIONS

27.04.2012	HONG KONG	85	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	10	DUBAI
28.04.2012	JAPAN	87	KAZAKHSTAN	0	ALMATY
05.05.2012	KOREA	21	HONG KONG	19	HONG KONG
05.05.2012	JAPAN	106	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	3	FUKUOKA
11.05.2012	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	46	KAZAKHSTAN	31	DUBAI
12.05.2012	JAPAN	52	KOREA	8	SEOUL
19.05.2012	HONG KONG		JAPAN		TOKYO
19.05.2012	KOREA		KAZAKHSTAN		ALMATY
26.05.2012	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES		KOREA		SEOUL
26.05.2012	KAZAKHSTAN		HONG KONG		HONG KONG

 

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	BPL	BPT	PT
JAPAN	3	3	0	0	245	11	234	0	3	17
HONG K.	2	1	0	1	104	31	73	1	1	7
KOREA	2	1	0	1	29	71	-42	0	0	5
U.A EMIR.	3	1	0	2	59	222	-163	0	1	5
KAZAKH.	2	0	0	2	31	133	-102	0	1	1

Week Three

Japan 52 d South Korea 8

Japan 52 – Tries: Hirotoki Onozawa 3, Takamichi Sasaki 2, Shinya Makabe, Yuta Mochizuki and Toshiaki Hirose; Conversions: Ayumu Goromaru 4 and Yu Tamura 2 d.

South Korea 8 – Try: Jang Sung Min; Penalty: Park Hong Sik.

Competition: 5^th HSBC Asian Five Nations.
Date: Saturday 12 May 2012.
Venue: Seongnam Stadium, Seoul.
Japan Test Number: 276.
Japan Game Number:

Kick-off: 1:00 PM local South Korea time. (Same as Japan time)
Referee: Tobi Lothian (Hong Kong).
Conditions: Cloudy, no wind. Surface good.
Attendance: 3,000.
Halftime: Japan 14 – South Korea 0.
Yellow Card: Kim Young Nam (Korea No.19, 25 min 2H, intentional infringement).

Match Points: Japan 6, South Korea 0.

Head-to-head Encounters:

Japan and South Korea have played 28 official tests since 1976. Japan have won 21, Korea 6 and there has been 1 draw.

This year, 2012 marks ten years since South Korea last beat Japan. That 45-34 win for Korea was recorded at the fourteenth Asian Games played in Ulsan in October 2002. Since that test in 2002, Japan and Korea have met nine times with Japan winning eight with one draw played out in Tokyo in May 2004 in what was the first test under new coach Mitsutake Hagimoto.

Given the fact that Japan and Korea have often met in the Asian Games or the ARFU Asian Championship, especially in the early tests, eleven games have been played on neutral territory, while ten games have been played in Japan and six games played in Korea.

The biggest win for Japan was 90-24 in June 2002 in the home leg at the National Stadium in Tokyo of the home and away rounds of Asian Qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup that also involved Chinese Taipei, while the biggest winning margin was 83 points in the 86-3 win in Osaka in June 2003. Japan have kept Korea scoreless on two occasions, firstly, 54-0 in Hong Kong in November 2006 in the final round of Asian Qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup that also involved Hong Kong and the following game in Tokyo in April 2007 when Japan won 82-0. The longest winning sequence for Japan is seven wins in a row between 2005 and 2010, while the longest sequence without a loss is nine tests between 2003 and 2010 that includes the draw in 2004.

All six wins for Korea have occurred in either the Asian Games or the ARFU Asian Championship. The first four wins for Korea were in the Asian Championship in 1982, 1986, 1988 and 1990, while Korea won the two times the sides have met at the Asian Games in 1998 in Bangkok and 2002 in Ulsan. The biggest win for Korea was 45-34 in 2002, while the biggest winning margin was eleven points in the same game. The longest winning sequence for Korea is two wins in 1986 and 1988.

This test against Korea in 2012 equals the record for the number of tests played against one country at 28 tests with New Zealand representative sides (including the All Blacks, New Zealand XV, the New Zealand Maori, the Junior All Blacks, New Zealand Universities and New Zealand Colts), while Japan have played 27 tests against Canadian representative sides (including British Columbia).

No.	Date	Result (Home – Away)	Venue	Tournament	Japan Test No.	W/D/L (For Japan)
28	12 May 2012	Korea 8 – Japan 52	Seongnam Stadium, Seoul	5th A5N	276	Won
27	01 May 2010	Korea 13 – Japan 71	Gyeongsang Stadium, Daegu	3rd A5N	252	Won
26	16 May 2009	Japan 80 – Korea 9	Hanazono, Osaka	2nd A5N	244	Won
25	26 Apr 2008	Korea 17 – Japan 39	Munhak StadiumIncheon	1st A5N	231	Won
24	22 Apr 2007	Japan 82 – Korea 0	Chichibu, Tokyo		219	Won
23	25 Nov 2006	Japan 54 – Korea 0	HKFC, Hong Kong	2007 RWC AQ	218	Won
22	23 Apr 2006	Japan 50 – Korea 14	Chichibu, Tokyo	2007 RWC AQ	210	Won
21	15 May 2005	Korea 31 – Japan 50	Kangwon	2007 RWC AQ	203	Won
20	16 May 2004	Japan 19 – Korea 19	Chichibu, Tokyo	2007 RWC AQ	193	Drew
19	15 Jun 2003	Japan 86 – Korea 3	Hanazono, Osaka		186	Won
18	13 Oct 2002	Korea 45 – Japan 34	Public Stadium, Ulsan	14th AG	181	Lost
17	14 Jul 2002	Korea 17 – Japan 55	Dongdeamun Stadium, Seoul	2003 RWC AQ	179	Won
16	16 Jun 2002	Japan 90 – Korea 24	National stadium, Tokyo	2003 RWC AQ	177	Won
15	13 May 2001	Japan 27 – Korea 19	Chichibu, Tokyo		169	Won
14	02 Jul 2000	Japan 34 – Korea 29	Aomori	17th AC	166	Won
13	18 Dec 1998	Korea 21 – Japan 17	Bangkok	13th AG	152	Lost
12	24 Oct 1998	Japan 40 – Korea 12	Singapore	1999 RWC AQ	149	Won
11	09 Nov 1996	Japan 41 – Korea 25	Taipei	15th AC	135	Won
10	29 Oct 1994	Japan 26 – Korea 11	Kuala Lumpur	14th AC	122	Won
9	27 Oct 1990	Korea 13 – Japan 9	Colombo	12th AC	107	Lost
8	11 Apr 1990	Japan 26 – Korea 10	Chichibu, Tokyo	1991 RWC AQ	104	Won
7	19 Nov 1988	Korea 17 – Japan 13	Hong Kong	11th AC	100	Lost
6	29 Nov 1986	Korea 24 – Japan 22	Bangkok	10th AC	92	Lost
5	27 Oct 1984	Japan 20 – Korea 13	Fukuoka	9th AC	82	Won
4	27 Nov 1982	Korea 12 – Japan 9	Singapore	8th AC	77	Lost
3	16 Nov 1980	Japan 21 – Korea 12	Taipei	7th AC	68	Won
2	25 Nov 1978	Japan 16 – Korea 4	Kuala Lumpur	6th AC	61	Won
1	20 Nov 1976	Korea 3 – Japan 11	Seoul	5th AC	56	Won

A5N = Asian Five Nations.

2007 RWC AQ = 2007 Rugby World Cup Asian Qualifier

AG = Asian Games

AC = Asian Championship

Japan (IRB rank 14 (70.45), at 23 April 2012)

Pos.	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt	Caps
1	Yusuke NAGAE	Ricoh Black Rams	26	171/105	3
2	Ryuhei ARITA	Coca-Cola West Red Sparks	23	176/100	3
3	Kensuke HATAKEYAMA	Suntory Sungoliath	26	178/111	30
4	Shinya MAKABE	Suntory Sungoliath	25	192/112	5
5	Hitoshi ONO	Toshiba Brave Lupus	34	192/105	57
6	Yuta MOCHIZUKI	Toshiba Brave Lupus	30	184/105	3
7	Takamichi SASAKI	Suntory Sungoliath	28	184/95	9
8	Michael LEITCH	Toshiba Brave Lupus	23	190/105	24
9	Jun FUJII	Toshiba Brave Lupus	29	170/77	3
10	Kosei ONO	Suntory Sungoliath	25	171/81	8
11	Hirotoki ONOZAWA	Suntory Sungoliath	34	180/85	70
12	Harumichi TATEKAWA	Kubota Spears	22	181/93	3
13	Tomohiro SEMBA	Toshiba Brave Lupus	29	183/97	3
14	Toshiaki HIROSE (c)	Toshiba Brave Lupus	30	173/81	4
15	Ayumu GOROMARU	Yamaha Jubilo	26	185/97	14
16	Takeshi KIZU	Kobe Steelers	23	183/111	10
17	Hiroshi YAMASHITA	Kobe Steelers	26	183/121	9
18	Shoji ITO	Kobe Steelers	31	191/97	3
19	Yusaku KUWAZURU	Coca-Cola West Red Sparks	26	188/97	2
20	Atsushi HIWASA	Suntory Sungoliath	24	166/72	11
21	Yu TAMURA	NEC Green Rockets	23	181/87	2
22	Yasunori NAGATOMO	Suntory Sungoliath	26	176/85	6

Head Coach: Eddie Jones (AUS). (3^rdtest as head coach, for 3 wins.)

Subs
16 subbed 2, 24 min 2H.
17 subbed 1, 30 min 2H.
18 subbed 4, 26 min 2H.
19 subbed 8, 30 min 2H.
20 subbed 9, 0 min 2H.
21 subbed 12, 24 min 2H.
22 subbed 15, 30 min 2H.

South Korea

	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt
1	YEO You Jae		26	181/118
2	SHIN Young Jin		24	170/115
3	HEO Woong	NTT Docomo (JPN)	27	185/115
4	YOUN Kwon Woo (c)	Yokogawa (JPN)	27	185/110
5	PARK Soon Chai	Suntory (JPN)	27	190/100
6	LEE Kwang Moon	Toyota (JPN)	29	187/105
7	KIM Hyun Soo		23	181/98
8	HAN Kun Kyu	Korea Electric Power Co.	25	186/107
9	YANG Young Hun	Honda (JPN)	31	176/80
10	PARK Hong Sik		23	174/74
11	KIM Gwong Min		24	178/78
12	KIM Nam Wook		22	179/92
13	PARK Hoh Hoon	Samsung	26	180/95
14	CHO In Soo	POSCO	29	172/72
15	KIM Won Yong	Sammu	27	176/82
16	KIM Sung Hwan	Samsung	26	180/105
17	KIM Jin Woong		25	176/106
18	SHI Woo Sik		24	182/94
19	KIM Young Nam	NTT Docomo (JPN)	34	195/95
20	PARK Wan Yong		28	170/77
21	JEGAL Bin		22	182/95
22	JANG Sung Min	Koryo University	20	184/80

Head Coach: Seo Chu Oh.

NB: Sean Moore in his match report for HSBC had the names for No.16 and No.17 reversed. Also he did not include the name and number for No.18.

Subs
16 subbed 1, 17 min 2H.
17 subbed 3, 19 min 2H.
18 subbed 7, 30 min 2H.
19 subbed 8, 23 min 2H.
20 subbed 9, 26 min 2H.
21 subbed 12, 28 min 1H.
22 subbed 10, 13 min 2H.

Preview

Japan travel to Seoul for their third game of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2012 against South Korea at the Seongnam Stadium on Saturday 12 May 2012. In the twenty-eighth game overall between the two sides and the seventh game on Korean soil, Japan visit their neighbours for the first time since 2010 when the visitors won 71-13. Of the twenty-seven games played prior to this test, Japan have won 20, Korea 6 and there has been one draw. However, Japan have had the better of the results over recent years, having won the last seven encounters in a row, with the last win for Korea ten years ago in Ulsan at the Asian Games.

Japan already have one hand on the A5N trophy after beating Kazakhstan 87-0 in Almaty in week one and then overwhelming the United Arab Emirates 106-3 in Fukuoka last Saturday and a bonus point win against Korea would all but confirm the fact. On the other hand, Korea sat out week one with the bye and then came out and beat Hong Kong 21-19 in Hong Kong to throw down the gauntlet to Japan. Korea were runners-up to Japan in the inaugural A5N tournament back in 2008, but a fall from grace in 2010 saw them lose all four games that season to finish last and consequently were relegated back to Division One for last year. The Koreans have regrouped and fought their way back into the top division and are now out to regain their status as the second best rugby team in Asia.

In his third test in charge, new head coach Eddie Jones has only tweaked his squad for Korea, resisting the urge to make unnecessary changes. In the front row, Kensuke Hatakeyama reverts to his more familiar tighthead spot after starting on the loosehead side last week against the UAE. Rookie Ryuhei Arita is the starting hooker for the third week in a row while Yusuke Nagae is back in the number one jersey to reform the front row that started against Kazakhstan two weeks ago. In the second row, Hitoshi Ono and Shinya Makabe pair up for their third game in a row with the only difference being that the numbers on their backs are reversed. Moreover, Jones continues to tinker with his backrow as even though Yuta Mochizuki retains his place on the blindside of the scrum, Takamichi Sasaki jots back in at No.7 after starting at No8 last week while Michael Leitch is back in the XXII this round as the third No8 used in three weeks. Leitch played the majority of his early tests on the blindside before John Kirwan used him exclusively on the openside last year, including at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, but in the first test under Jones he started at No.6 and now starts at No8 for the first time in what will be his twenty-fourth test.

Although Atsushi Hiwasa is back after a short sojourn with Stade Francais in France, he will start on the bench as Jones keeps the halfback combination that has done the job so far in Jun Fujii at halfback and Kosei Ono at five-eighth. Veteran wing Hirotoki Onozawa is back in the squad this week on the left wing after sitting out last round for Yoshikazu Fujita to make his debut as the youngest player ever to represent Japan and score six tries in the process. However, ‘the rubber man’, as Onozawa is often known due to his illusive running style is set to make a little piece of history himself at the other end of the test cap scale as he will be only the second player to play more than seventy tests or more for Japan. The legendary centre Yukio Motoki still holds the Japan record with 79 caps but it is well within reason to say that the 34 year old Onozawa has a good chance of overtaking that mark should he remain in form throughout this season and next. On the other flank, Toshiaki Hiroseagain lines up as captain while the centres are unchanged from last week with Harumichi Tatekawa at inside centre and Tomohiro Semba at outside. At the back, Ayumu Goromaru is the fullback for the third week in a row and given the fact that he has had 30 point hauls in both previous games he can be expected to again have the kicking duties.

On the bench, Takeshi Kizu wears the No.16 jersey for the third week after Jones has started with Arita, while one of the changes this round is the inclusion of prop Hiroshi Yamashita in the XXII for the first time this season. Yamashita played the first of his eight tests as the starting No.3 against Kazakhstan in Osaka in 2009 in what was a good year for the Kobe Steelers big man, but after his eight appearances over the A5N and the Pacific Nations Cup that year he fell out of the spotlight of the national selectors.

Elsewhere in the reserves, Shoji Itoand Yusaku Kuwazuru will once again cover the back five positions while Hiwasa comes onto the bench at the expense of the 20 year old halfback Keisuke Uchida. Meanwhile, Yu Tamura is back in the squad to cover the midfield with Kaito Morikawa dropping out and Yasunori Nagatomo will cover the back three in the No.22 jersey for the third week. If Jones uses this bench in the same way he has in the first two games then all the reserves can expect to get a run at some point in the second half.

Wrap-up

In their third game at the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2012 Japan travelled to Seoul where they beat hosts South Korea 52-8 at the Seongnam Stadium on Saturday 12 May 2012.

Head coach Eddie Jones has maintained a relatively stable squad over the opening three weeks but given the amount of travel involved and a heavy training regime Japan were somewhat sluggish in the first half as they edge out to a 14-0 lead by the break. Nevertheless, the visitors stepped up the pace in the second period scoring six tries to one to blow out the final scoreline to 52-8.

After beating Kazakhstan 87-0 in Almaty in week one and then pummelling the United Arab Emirates 106-3 in Fukuoka the next week it took Japan nineteen minutes to get on the scoreboard this week against Korea with left wing Hirotoki Onozawa scoring the first of what would be another hat-trick to go with the one he picked up against Kazakhstan. Fullback Ayumu Goromaru landed the conversion to give the visitors a 7-0 lead at the quarter mark in the game against a stubborn Korean defence but this was extended when Suntory lock Shinya Makabe dotted down in the twenty-fifth minute for what amounted to his first test try in five tests. The reliable right boot of Goromaru once again made sure of the extras to give Japan a little more breathing space at 14-0 before both sides ground down the clock to halftime with the only other scoring opportunity a missed penalty by Goromaru.

Korea were still very much in the contest as the second half got under way, but to push for an unexpected win they had to be next to score. Five-eighth Park Hong Sik turned this into reality in the fourth minute of play with a penalty to get his side on the scoresheet and narrow the difference to 14-3. Unfortunately for Korea though, Japan returned fire with Toshiba backrower Yuta Mochizuki scoring the third Japanese try in the eighth minute, his second in three tests before Onozawa crossed the whitewash a second time four minutes later. With Japan now out to a 26-3 lead the game was starting to slip away from Korea but the never-say-never attitude of the locals produced the first try in the ‘against’ column for Japan in the series to date when replacement back Jang Sung Min scored in the fourteenth minute. However, with the sting going out of the Korean defence and the sinbinning of veteran Kim Young Nam, coupled with the fact that Jones cleared his bench for fresh legs over the final quarter Japan rattled up four more tries through Onozawa, captain and right wing Toshiaki Hirose and a double to flanker Takamichi Sasaki. With Goromaru subbed off, Yu Tamura took over the kicking duties for the final ten minutes converting both the Sasaki tries.

It seems that Onozawa only continues to get better with age as the 34 year old who made his debut against Wales in Tokyo in 2001 brought his test try tally to forty-nine from seventy tests to equal the efforts of former All Blacks flyer Doug Howlett from 62 tests between 2000 and 2007 to be fifth on the all-time try scorers lists. That only leaves Rory Underwood on 50 (91 tests, England, Lions, 1984-1996), Shane Williamson 59 (90 tests, Wales, Lions, (2000-2011), David Campese on 64 (Australia, 101 tests, 1982-1996) and Daisuke Ohata on 69 (Japan, 58 tests, 1996-2006) ahead of him.

Three tries to wing Hirotoki Onozawa takes him to equal fifth on 49 tries with Doug Howlett.

For the losers though, it is now ten years since Korea last beat Japan 45-34 in Ulsan back in October 2002 and in the years since Japan has won nine and drawn one. It must be said too that more and more Koreans are playing their rugby in Japan under the quota exemption for Asian players and that includes a number of senior players such as current captain, lock Youn Kwon Woo at Yokogawa, flanker Yu Young Nam at Panasonic who missed this test through injury and halfback Yang Young Hunat Honda. However, when all is said and done, the gap between the two sides is not really getting any closer and Korea are not getting closer to that next big win over their neighbours. There is a lot of potential for rugby in South Korea but domestic reforms need to be carried out on the one hand to raise the level of the sport within Korea while regionally a level of rugby between club rugby and international rugby could and perhaps should be implemented so that the best of local talent could play in a Seoul based side against the best of Japan and Asia.

After the test, Jones pointed out tongue in cheek that he told Onozawa before the game that he had to score three tries. On a more serious note, however, Jones said, “We trained them really hard during the week and they were tired going into the game. But I was pleased with the way they came back in the second half.”

On the other side, Korean coach Seo Chu Oh said, “Full credit to both teams. Japan played very well but I think our team played their hearts out and I am very proud of them. We will take a lot of positives from this game.”

UAE 46 d Kazakhstan 31

Date: Friday 11 May 2012

Venue: The Sevens, Dubai
Kick-off: 16:00
Match Points: UAE 6, Kazakhstan 1

Preview

The United Arab Emirates will host Kazakhstan at The Sevens in Dubai in a late afternoon game on Friday 11 May 2012. Going into week three of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2012, both sides are the only two teams without a win but for the UAE it is particularly important to come up with a victory after losing 85-10 to Hong Kong in Dubai in week one and then going down heavily to Japan 106-3 in Fukuoka last Saturday with their final game another tough one away to South Korea. Kazakhstan lost to Japan 87-0 in Almaty in week one and then sat out last week with the bye but they still have to face South Korea and Hong Kong and so in all reality the loser of this match is looking at relegation for next season. UAE performance manager Duncan Hall commented in the lead up to the game, “This was always going to be our crucial game and last week where South Korea beat Hong Kong makes this game even more critical.”

Wrap-up

In a high scoring match in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates beat Kazakhstan 46-31 at The Sevens on Friday 11 May 2011 for their first win in three games at the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2012. The UAE scored four first half tries to bring up a bonus point before the break as they scooted out to a 29-0 lead but the second stanza produced a try frenzy with Kazakhstan running in five while the hosts added another three five-pointers. In the end, both teams came away with a four-try bonus point but is was the hosts that claimed the vital five winning point that will go a long way towards maintaining they stay up in Top Five for next season. Kazakhstan face Korea in Almaty and Hong Kong away to close out their campaign with at least one win essential if they are to stay in the Asian top flight for 2013. Imad Reyal scored two of the seven UAE tries while Nikita Trofimov picked up a second half double for the Kazakhs.