RUGBY IN JAPAN NEWSLETTER Volume 9, No.26

RiJ has been working back through the history of Japan tests and this week looks at the British Columbia tour to Japan in 1959. RiJ is pretty thick this week with a general wrap-up of the PNC and full coverage of the French Barbarians tour. Some people are asking about the Japan U20s, but right at the moment there is no time, but stay tuned.

Enjoy the read.

CONTENTS

• Japan Test Match & Player History Project: BC Tour to Japan 1959
• French Barbarians Tour to Japan 2012

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

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.

British Columbia Tour to Japan 1959

In February and March 1959 the British Columbia Bears toured Japan playing eight games on tour winning five, drawing two and losing one.

Game 1: British Columbia 17 d All-Meiji University 3, 26 February 1959, Chichibu, Tokyo.

Game 2: British Columbia 14 d All-Waseda University 5, 1 March 1959, Chichibu, Tokyo.

Game 3: British Columbia 40 d All-Keio University 9, 4 March 1959, Chichibu, Tokyo.

Game 4: Yawata Steel 3 drew with British Columbia 3, 7 March 1959, Kitakyushu.

Game 5: Kintetsu 16 d British Columbia 9, 11 March 1959, Nishinomiya.

Game 6: First Test.

Game 7: British Columbia 16 d Kanto 3, 18 March 1959, Chichibu, Tokyo.

Game 8: Second Test.

Japan 17 – British Columbia 21. Sunday, 15 March 1959, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.18, Japan Game No.29)

Japan 11 – British Columbia 11. Sunday, 22 March 1959, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.19, Japan Game No.30)

Tomoo Chiba was head coach of Japan for the British Columbia tour to Japan in March 1959. Chiba became the fifth coach of Japan and he only coached these two tests in his short stint in charge of the national side. As one of ‘The Originals”, Chiba played his one and only test as lock in the inaugural test Japan played on the tour of Canada in 1930. Twenty-nine years later at the age of 54, Chiba became the first person to represent Japan as a player and also coach Japan at the international level when he was head coach for two tests against British Columbia on their tour of Japan in March 1959. The test he played was against British Columbia which was a draw and the two tests he coached Japan were also against British Columbia for one loss and another draw. Interestingly, he is Japan player number five and he is Japan coach number 5. Chiba passed away in April 1974 at the age of 68.

In the first test played in Osaka on Sunday, 15 March 1959, BC beat Japan 21-17 in what was Test number 18 for Japan. Outside centre Tatsuya Aoi was captain, becoming the fifteenth captain of Japan in eighteen tests. The 26 year old Aoi played with the Yokogawa Electric Corporation club at the time and this was his third test. He would go on to play a total of six tests, four of them as captain with his final test again against BC in Vancouver in April 1963. In that final test, he was not only the captain but he was also the coach of Japan, the only player in the history of Japanese test match rugby to captain/coach Japan.

Under Chiba as coach and Aoi as captain, Japan had six players making their international debuts while flanker Toshiaki Tsuchiya was the most experienced player with ten caps to his name. All the new players in the team were university students with four of them coming from Waseda University in hooker Eiichi Shiga, lock Seiji Tanaka, No8 Hideki Tominaga and fullback Susumu Kitaoka while the other lock, Kenji Otsuka was from Doshisha University and flanker Kinichi Miyajima was from Keio University. Shiga passed away on 14 April 2012 in Inzai city, Chiba prefecture aged 74. The Canadians scored five tries to three and after leading 10-6 at the break went on with the match in the second half to win 21-17.

In the second test played at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Sunday, 22 March 1959 in front of 20,000 people, the two sides played out an 11-all draw in what was Test number 19 for Japan. Japan lead 8-3 at the break but the Bears won the second half by the same margin with the visitors having their second draw on tour. One interesting note about this test was that BC No8 Denis Beich played with only one arm.

French Barbarians Tour to Japan 2012

With the inspiration of the likes of Jean-Claude Skrela, Jacques Fouroux and Jean-Pierre Rives, members of the victorious France Grand Slam side of 1977, le Barbarian Rugby Club was officially established on 11 August 1979. Skrela had been invited to play for the England based Barbarians and this experience flowed on to the French form of Barbarians. Like their English counterparts, Les Babas are an invitational rugby team and they play in a three blue hooped jersey with players using their club socks. Players of any nationality playing in France are invited to play for the team.

The original Barbarians were based on Old Boys from Oxford University and Cambridge University and this has been incorporated into the French Barbarians strip with the Sky blue of Cambridge, the Navy blue of Oxford along with the Royal blue of the French flag making up the three blue colours of the jersey.

The French Barbarians played their first game against Scotland in Agen on 1 May 1980, winning 26-22 and before coming to Japan they most recently tour Argentina in June 2011, beating the Argentina Pumas 21-18 but losing to Argentina 23-19. It is the first time for the French Barbarians to visit Japan but it is not the first time the two sides have meet. Japan toured France in October 1985 under coach Hitoshi Oka and captain and prop Koji Horaguchi playing six games on tour including two tests against France XV. In between the two test, Japan played the French Barbarians at Cognac on 23 October 1985 losing 45-4 in what was Japan Game No.232. The game is significant because it marked the retirement of Jean-Pierre Rives and also because Jean-Pierre Elissalde who would later become the head coach of Japan in 2006 also played in the game.

Over the years, such French rugby greats as Skrela, Fouroux, Rives, Serge Blanco, Fabien Galthie and Philippe Sella have played for the Barbarians while John Eales and Nick Farr-Jones from Australia and Naas Botha from South Africa have also been invited to play for the club.

Game One

French Barbarians 40 d Japan XV 21

French Barbarians 40 – Tries: Benjamin Lapeyre 2, Thierry Lacrampe, Marvin O’Connor and Julien Arias; Conversions: Camille Lopez 3; Penalties: Benjamin Lapeyre, Camille Lopez and Pierre Bernard d.

Japan XV 21 – Tries: Kosei Ono, Yu Tamura and Shoji Ito; Conversions: Yu Tamura 2 and Ayumu Goromaru.

Competition: French Barbarians Tour to Japan 2012.

Date: Wednesday 20 June 2012.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 7:30 PM local Japan time.

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand).

Attendance: 3, 799.

Halftime: French Barbarians 32 – Japan XV 7.

Japan XV

Pos.	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt	Caps
1	Masakazu NAGANO	Yamaha Jubilo	25	182/110	-
2	Ryuhei ARITA	Coca-Cola West Red Sparks	23	176/100	7
3	Hiroshi YAMASHITA	Kobe Steelers	26	183/121	13
4	Koji SHINOZUKA	Suntory Sungoliath	28	196/101	6
5	Michael BROADHURST	Ricoh Black Rams	25	196/105	-
6	Tsuyoshi MURATA	NEC Green Rockets	23	185/100	-
7	Takamichi SASAKI	Suntory Sungoliath	28	184/95	13
8	Shoji ITO	Kobe Steelers	31	191/97	7
9	Jun FUJII	Toshiba Brave Lupus	29	170/77	6
10	Kosei ONO	Suntory Sungoliath	25	171/81	12
11	Sho TAKENAKA	Tsukuba University	19	176/88	-
12	Yu TAMURA	NEC Green Rockets	23	181/87	3
13	Tomohiro SEMBA	Toshiba Brave Lupus	29	183/97	7
14	Toshiaki HIROSE (c)	Toshiba Brave Lupus	30	173/81	8
15	Yasunori NAGATOMO	Suntory Sungoliath	26	176/85	9
16	Takeshi KIZU	Kobe Steelers	23	183/111	14
17	Hidetatsu TSUBOI	Chugoku Electric Power	23	181/115	2
18	Shinya MAKABE	Suntory Sungoliath	25	192/112	9
19	Yusaku KUWAZURU	Coca-Cola West Red Sparks	26	188/97	3
20	Keisuke UCHIDA	Tsukuba University	20	177/81	2
21	Harumichi TATEKAWA	Kubota Spears	22	181/93	7
22	Ayumu GOROMARU	Yamaha Jubilo	26	185/97	18

Head Coach: Eddie Jones (AUS).

All reserves used.

French Barbarians

Pos.	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt	Caps
1	Yannick Forestier	Clermont Auvergne	30	181/110	-
2	William Servat (c)	Toulouse	34	180/100	49 (FRA)
3	Rabah Slimani	Stade Francais	22	178/110	-
4	Mathias Rolland	Castres	32	198/115	-
5	Romain Millo Chluski	Toulouse	29	196/123	18 (FRA)
6	Ibrahim Diarra	Castres	29	185/105	1 (FRA)
7	Pierre Rabadan	Stade Francais	31	192/102	2 (FRA)
8	Damien Chouly	Perpignan	26	192/102	4 (FRA)
9	Thierry Lacrampe	Castres	24	177/70	-
10	Camille Lopez	Bordeaux	23	175/88	-
11	Marvin O’Connor	Aviron Bayonne	21	178/77	-
12	Guillaume Bousses	Racing Metro 92	30	184/92	1 (FRA)
13	Henry Chavancy	Racing Metro 92	24	181/95	-
14	Julien Arias	Stade Francais	28	178/82	2 (FRA)
15	Benjamin Lapeyre	Toulon	25	181/87	-
16	Mathieu Bonello	Castres	29	181/98	-
17	Aretz Iguiniz	Aviron Bayonne	29	183/116	-
18	Robins Tchale Watchou	Perpignan	29	198/134	-
19	Antonie Claassen	Brive	26	191/106	-
20	Romain Teulet	Castres	34	163/80	-
21	Pierre Bernard	Castres	23	187/89	-
22	Hugo Bonneval	Stade Francais	21	185/90	-

Coaches: Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit.

All reserves used.

Game Two

French Barbarians 51 d Japan XV 18

French Barbarians 51 – Tries: Hugo Bonneval, Thierry Lacrampe, Pierre Bernard, Pierrick Gunther, Antonie Claassen and Pierre Rabadan; Conversions: Romain Teulet 2, Pierre Bernard 4; Penalties: Pierre Bernard 3 d.

Japan XV 18 – Tries: Sho Takenaka and Michael Broadhurst; Conversion: Ayumu Goromaru; Penalties: Ayumu Goromaru 2.

Competition: French Barbarians Tour to Japan 2012.

Date: Sunday 24 June 2012.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 2:00 PM local Japan time.

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand).

Attendance: 5,628.

Halftime: French Barbarians 17 – Japan XV 8.

Japan XV

Pos.	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt	Caps
1	Yusuke NAGAE	Ricoh Black Rams	26	171/105	7
2	Takeshi KIZU	Kobe Steelers	23	183/111	14
3	Kensuke HATAKEYAMA	Suntory Sungoliath	26	178/111	34
4	Michael BROADHURST	Ricoh Black Rams	25	196/105	-
5	Hitoshi ONO (c)	Toshiba Brave Lupus	34	192/105	61
6	Takashi KIKUTANI	Toyota Verblitz	32	187/100	51
7	Yuta MOCHIZUKI	Toshiba Brave Lupus	30	184/105	7
8	Hendrik TUI	Panasonic Wild Knights	24	189/109	2
9	Atsushi HIWASA	Suntory Sungoliath	25	166/72	15
10	Kosei ONO	Suntory Sungoliath	25	171/81	12
11	Hirotoki ONOZAWA	Suntory Sungoliath	34	180/85	74
12	Harumichi TATEKAWA	Kubota Spears	22	181/93	7
13	Ryan NICHOLAS	Suntory Sungoliath	33	190/100	38
14	Sho TAKENAKA	Tsukuba University	19	176/88	-
15	Ayumu GOROMARU	Yamaha Jubilo	26	185/97	18
16	Ryuhei ARITA	Coca-Cola West Red Sparks	23	176/100	7
17	Hiroshi YAMASHITA	Kobe Steelers	26	183/121	13
18	Shinya MAKABE	Suntory Sungoliath	25	192/112	9
19	Shoji ITO	Kobe Steelers	31	191/97	7
20	Jun FUJII	Toshiba Brave Lupus	29	170/77	6
21	Yu TAMURA	NEC Green Rockets	23	181/87	3
22	Yasunori NAGATOMO	Suntory Sungoliath	26	176/85	9

Head Coach: Eddie Jones (AUS).

All reserves used.

French Barbarians

Pos.	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt	Caps
1	Lionel Faure	Clermont Auvergne	31	186/117	8 (FRA)
2	William Servat (c)	Toulouse	34	180/100	49 (FRA)
3	Aretz Iguiniz	Aviron Bayonne	29	183/116	-
4	Mathias Rolland	Castres	32	198/115	-
5	Robins Tchale Watchou	Perpignan	29	198/134	-
6	Ibrahim Diarra	Castres	29	185/105	1 (FRA)
7	Pierrick Gunther	Toulon	22	190/107	-
8	Antonie Claassen	Brive	26	191/106	-
9	Thierry Lacrampe	Castres	24	177/70	-
10	Pierre Bernard	Castres	23	187/89	-
11	Oliver Phillips	Stade Francais	28	180/92	-
12	Hugo Bonneval	Stade Francais	21	185/90	-
13	Henry Chavancy	Racing Metro 92	24	181/95	-
14	Jean Marc Mazzonetto	Stade Montois	28	180/90	-
15	Romain Teulet	Castres	34	163/80	-
16	Mathieu Bonello	Castres	29	181/98	-
17	Yannick Forestier	Clermont Auvergne	30	181/110	-
18	Romain Millo Chluski	Toulouse	29	196/123	18 (FRA)
19	Pierre Rabadan	Stade Francais	31	192/102	2 (FRA)
20	Marvin O’Connor	Aviron Bayonne	21	178/77	-
21	Guillaume Bousses	Racing Metro 92	30	184/92	1 (FRA)
22	Benjamin Lapeyre	Toulon	25	181/87	-

Coaches: Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit.

All reserves used.

Game Two Wrap-up

The visiting French Barbarians made it a clean sweep of the two game tour of Japan when they beat Japan XV 51-18 at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Sunday 24 June 2012. In the first game played mid week at the same venue, the French beat Japan XV 40-21.

After using a number of fringe test players in the first game, Japan head coach Eddie Jones bolstered his team for the return match with the bulk of the mainstay players used earlier in the season over the HSBC Asian Five Nations and IRB Pacific Nations Cup tournaments.

The scrum in particular was put under pressure in the opening encounter and so Jones re-vamped his forwards line-up with Yusuke Nagae, Takeshi Kizu and Kensuke Hatakeyama coming in as a completely new front row, while veteran Hitoshi Ono joined up and coming lock Michael Broadhurst in the second row. Broadhurst was the only player in the forwards to retain his place in the starting line-up while Ono was handed the captaincy in the absence of regular captain in wing Toshiaki Hirose. Further, the backrow of Takashi Kikutani, Yuta Mochizuki and Hendrik Tui took over for the second game.

Atsushi Hiwasa came into the run-on side at halfback, while outside him Kosei Ono kept his place at five-eighth. Harumichi Tatekawa and Ryan Nicholas were the new centre combination while teenager Sho Takenaka shifted from the left wing to the right to allow Hirotoki Onozawa to come back into the starting XV with Ayumu Goromaru returning as fullback. All-in-all, in a near full test strength side, Broadhurst in the forwards and Ono and Takenaka in the backs were the only players to start in both games.

In a warm but humid day in Tokyo with the expected highs in the mid 20s, Japan XV kicked off with the French Barbarians defending the northern scoreboard end of the ground. In the opening exchanges it soon became apparent that this was a much more competitive Japan outfit with improvements right across the board, including at scrum time.

Nevertheless, it was the visitors that posted first points, firstly through a penalty in the 15^th minute when New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence penalised the Japan scrum for collapsing and then a converted try in the 25^th minute when the French backs countered from an awry Hiwasa box kick with centre Hugo Bonneval winning the race to the ball from a chip kick. Five-eighth Pierre Bernard converted the try to create a 10-0 lead and increase the pressure on the Japan XV after a fine opening quarter.

The hosts were next to trouble the score keeper with a Goromaru penalty in the 28^th minute but then it was again the Barbarians that got on the scoreboard with their second try on the half hour mark to stretch the lead to 17-3. In the lead up to the try, the French got on the front foot with a quick lineout with Bernard then putting in another deft chip kick in behind the defensive line with the ball popping up nicely for halfback Thierry Lacrampe to dot down.

As the halftime hooter sounded, it looked like the teams would go to halftime with the French Barbarians leading 17-3, but from a quick tap from a penalty from in front of their own posts Japan caught the French unawares when they ran the ball right to find young Takenaka who virtually ran the length of the field, leaving defenders strewn in his wake as he scorched his way to the try line. Goromaru could not land the conversion but the Japanese narrowed the gap to 17-8 by the break.

In fitting running Barbarians style, the second half well and truly opened up with the Baabaas adding four converted tries to one. Goromaru and Bernard kicked early second half penalties but over the final twenty-five minutes the visitors cut loose with an intercept try to Bernard in the 15^th minute, followed by five-pointers to flanker Pierrick Gunther in the 25^th minute, No8 Antonie Claassen two minutes later and finally replacement Pierre Rabadan touched down at the death.

Lock Michael Broadhurst scored the only try for the Japan XV side in the second half after backing up an explosive mid field break from centre Ryan Nicholas but overall the Japanese had no answers to the inventive and expressive strength, speed and superior skill of the French.

After the match, hooker and captain in 34-year-old 49 test veteran William Servat bade au revoir to his professional rugby career by saying how honoured he was to captain the team on this tour. He went on to add that in the modern era as a professional rugby player, the simple joy of playing the game is often lost but playing here in Japan with the Barbarians rekindled that basic joy rugby for him.

For Eddie Jones as the losing coach, he made the following comments, “Sometimes you just get beaten by a better team. They played very well and their fundamentals are very good.” Despite the second loss to the Barbarians in the space of five days, Jones added, “The great thing for us, we actually got ourselves into a position to win the game. Unfortunately we made a lot of easy mistakes and this let us down in the end. This is the reality of where we’re at. We know where we want to go. In two years time we target to beat a team like that.”

Stand in captain Hitoshi Ono said, “We prepared well for this match, but one-on-one power and skill let us down. However, I believe this is nothing to get down about as this side is set to improve in leaps and bounds.”

In wrapping up the spring international season in his first year in charge, Jones said, “This year we have tried to develop a style of play that’ll give us a competitive edge in the future. We don’t yet have the consistency in games to play at high level all the time, but now we have to work on our strength and conditioning and our ability to consistently execute skills under pressure.”