RiJ has been working back through the history of Japan tests and this week looks at the Oxford and Cambridge tour to Japan in 1959. RiJ also wraps up Japan at the IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2012.
Enjoy the read.
Ian McDonnell lives and works in Japan. He can be contacted at ianmcdo@apost.plala.or.jp
CONTENTS
- Japan Test Match & Player History Project:Japan Tour to Canada 1963
- IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, USA 2012
- Think Tank-Players in and Outs in Japan.
- Autumn Tests
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.
Japan Tour to Canada 1963
In April 1963 Japan toured Canada playing five games on tour winning four and losing one.
Game 1: Japan 23 d University of British Columbia 5, 4 April 1963, UBC, Vancouver. (Japan Game Number 35)
Game 2: Vancouver 39 d Japan 5, 6 April 1963, Brockton Point, Vancouver. (Japan Game Number 36)
Game 3: Japan 20 d Victoria 10, 10 April 1963, MacDonald Park, Victoria. (Japan Game Number 37)
Game 4: Test v British Columbia.
Game 5: Japan 3 d British Columbia Juniors 0, Brockton Point, Vancouver. (Japan Game Number 39)
British Columbia 6 – Japan 33. Saturday, 13 April 1963, Brockton Point Oval, Vancouver. (Test No.22, Japan Game No.38)
In the spring of 1959 Japan played host to British Columbia on a tour that included two tests against the full Japan national side, while in the autumn of the same year a combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities team visited Japan on a tour that also included two tests.
Then, in 1960 and again in 1961 the Japan side did not assemble but in September 1962 the French Universities toured Japan. On a long tour that was typical of the period, the French played nine games, winning seven and drawing one for just the one loss to a Kyushu representative side. The tour included two non-tests against the full Japan side with the students winning on both occasions, firstly 19-6 in Osaka and then 25-11 in Tokyo. The powers that be in the Japan Union in the post-war period had hitherto recognised games between Oxford University (1952), Cambridge University (1953), Australian Universities (1956), and Oxford and Cambridge (1959) and the full Japan side as tests and awarded caps accordingly, but oddly this did not apply to the French Universities in 1962. The two games are, however, recognised as Japan games rather than tests, with the non-test in Osaka Japan Game Number 33 and the one in Tokyo Japan Game Number 34.
Japan played their inaugural test against British Columbia in Vancouver in September 1930 where they drew 3-all and in some ways it was fitting that British Columbia in Canada was the destination for the next Japan tour overseas, albeit 36 years later in 1963. On the 1930 tour, Japan won six of the seven tour games while drawing the test and the 1963 tour followed a somewhat similar pattern with Japan winning four, including the test for one loss.
Centre Tatsuya Aoi was captain of Japan in the two tests against British Columbia in the spring of 1959 and then in one of the two tests against Oxford and Cambridge in the autumn and he retained his place in the side as captain in the two non-tests against French Universities in 1962. Further, he was picked in the 24-man squad that toured British Columbia in April 1963 not only as captain but also as coach. At the time, it was felt the position of the captaincy of the Japan side needed to be strengthened and so no separate coach was attached to the squad with Aoi as the incumbent captain fulfilling both roles. Thus, Aoi has the unique place in Japanese test match rugby history as being the only person to captain-coach Japan in an international.
The previous test against Oxford and Cambridge in Tokyo in October 1959 marked the final test for thirteen of the fifteen Japanese players that took part in the test, so it goes without saying that the Japan side that played the test against British Columbia in Vancouver in April 1963 was a very inexperienced one at the international level. In fact, only the 30-year-old Aoi who was playing his sixth and final test at outside centre, along with left wing Kunio Miyai in his eleventh and final test and fullback Yozo Matsuoka in his second and final test were capped.
Furthermore, Japan would not play their next test till 1967 and so eleven of the fifteen players in this test against BC would be making their last appearances in an international.
All five tour games were played in Vancouver with the test against British Columbia played at Brockton Point Oval on Saturday, 13 April 1963. In what was Japan Test Number 22, the visitors had an emphatic 33-6 win. However, BC scored two first half tries to one to led 6-5 at halftime, but Japan piled on six tries and 28 unanswered points in the second half to run away with the result in the end.
It was the backs that did the damage for Japan in attack with right wing Tadayuki Ito scoring a hat-trick on debut, left wing Miyai picked up a double in his eleventh and final test while five-eighth Haruhiko Kitajima and inside centre Masayoshi Ozaki completed the try scorers list. Aoi converted four tries while Ozaki kicked a further two conversions. However, the effort in defence, particularly by the forwards was fundamental to the win.
The 21-year-old Ito from Hosei University made a spectacular debut on the right wing with three tries and although eleven of the fifteen Japanese players in this team would never play another test, Ito was the exception. He would graduate from university and go on to play with the Ricoh club in Tokyo representing Japan in a total of 19 tests, three as captain. Ito would earn his final test cap from the bench in the 24-21 win over NZU in Wellington in May 1974.
IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, USA 2012
The U20 age-grade IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy 2012 was held at Murray Rugby Park Stadium in Salt Lake City in the United States of America from 18-30 June 2012.
The eight participating teams were divided into two pools of four teams each with Chile, Russia, Tonga and hosts the USA in Pool A, while Canada, Georgia, Japan and Zimbabwe fought out Pool B.
Japan U20 Squad 2012
| Position | Name | University/School | Hgt/Wgt |
| Props | Shoya MATSUNAMI | Meiji | 186/110 |
|
| Ryo INOUE | Kwansei Gakuin | 180/110 |
|
| Kengo KITAGAWA | Doshisha | 178/110 |
|
| Kanta HIGASHIONNA | Teikyo | 178/112 |
| Hooker/Prop | KIM Gwan-Tae | Kwansei Gakuin | 175/108 |
| Hooker | Raiko KATSUKI | Meiji | 174/104 |
| Locks | Kazuhiko USAMI | Ritsumeikan | 196/105 |
|
| Shinya OSUGI | Meiji | 187/92 |
|
| Hiroki TERATA | Meiji | 194/92 |
| Locks/Flankers | Ryota HASEGAWA | Daito Bunka | 188/95 |
|
| Yoshitaka TOKUNAGA | Kwansei Gakuin | 185/90 |
| Flankers | Takuya ISHIBASHI | Keio | 180/78 |
|
| Hayato NISHIUCHI | Hosei | 180/90 |
| Flanker/Hooker | Atsushi SAKATE | Teikyo | 180/98 |
| No8 | Ryota SUGINAGA | Teikyo | 183/86 |
| Halfbacks | Kotaro NAKAO | Waseda | 177/77 |
|
| Yutaka NAGARE | Teikyo | 165/69 |
| Five-eighth | Jumpei OGURA (c) | Waseda | 172/72 |
| Wings | Tatsuki URANO | Keio | 172/74 |
|
| Seiyu KOHARA | Tokai | 183/88 |
|
| Kentaro KAWAHARA | Keio | 182/87 |
| Centres | Shunsuke NUNOMAKI | Waseda | 178/86 |
|
| Masaki KOBAYASHI | Kwansei Gakuin | 176/83 |
|
| Kentaro INAMI | Tokai | 181/89 |
|
| KIM Yong-Hwi | Hosei | 174/77 |
| Fullbacks | Tsubasa KIZAKI | Teikyo | 176/76 |
|
| Yutaro MURAI | Meiji | 175/74 |
|
| Rikiya MATSUDA | Fushimi Technical HS | 178/77 |
Staff
Ryuji Nakatake, head coach (JRFU)
Masahiro Nakase, coach (Tokyo Gas)
Satoru Endo, forwards coach (Atariya Printing Corporation)
Kiyokazu Gotanda, doctor (Saiseikai Fukuoka General Hospital)
Yasuhisa Shimono, strength and conditioning coach (JRFU)
Kazuo Fujiwara, trainer (Try Works)
Taiki Murakami, analyst (JRFU)
Yasuhiro Iijima, general (JRFU)
Prop Kengo Kitagawa and centre Shunsuke Nunomaki also played in the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in Georgia in 2011.
Pool A
| Team | P | W | L | F | A | BP | Pts. |
| USA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 112 | 49 | 2 | 14 |
| Tonga | 3 | 2 | 1 | 114 | 43 | 2 | 10 |
| Chile | 3 | 1 | 2 | 92 | 114 | 1 | 5 |
| Russia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 151 | 0 | 0 |
Pool B
| Team | P | W | L | F | A | BP | Pts. |
| Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 113 | 100 | 3 | 15 |
| Georgia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 103 | 60 | 3 | 11 |
| Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 118 | 114 | 3 | 7 |
| Zimbabwe | 3 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 148 | 3 | 3 |
Day 1 Results
Monday 18 June 2012
Pool A
Chile 53 d Russia 19
Kick-off: 14:00 (local time).
USA 22 d Tonga 11
Kick-off: 18:00 (local time).
Pool B
Japan 39 d Zimbabwe 36
Kick-off: 12:00 (local time).
Georgia 31 d Canada 17
Kick-off: 16:00 (local time).
Day One
On Monday 18 June 2012, the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, USA 2012 got under way with four games at Murray Rugby Park Stadium in Salt Lake City. The eight team tournament was divided into two pools of four teams with Chile, Russia, Tonga and hosts the USA in Pool A, while Canada, Georgia, Japan and Zimbabwe fought out Pool B.
In Pool A, Chile defeated Russia 53-19. The young Chilean Condors dominated the match to get the South Americans off to the best possible start in the tournament. Chile led the Bears 29-14 at halftime and in the Utah heat and went on with the job in the second period. Francisco Urroz crossed twice for Chile while Jose Tomas Munita and Nicholas Undurraga were some of the other try scorers for the victors. For Russia, Ilya Zakharov scored an individual try early in the first half off an intercept but as the game wore on the Russians fell off the pace.
In the other Pool A game, tournament hosts the USA shocked Tonga to score and upset 22-11 win in their first game. Tonga as the top seeds in the tournament got out to an 11-6 lead early in the second half and looked to be on course for an opening win before their discipline let them down. Michael Faleafa was the worst offended as he was red carded leaving the USA the opportunity to fight their way back into the close game. Second half tries to Madison Hughes and Cameron Falcon helped the hosts overtake and then pull away from Tonga on the scoreboard in front of their home fans.
In Pool B, Japan had to come from behind for a dramatic 39-36 win over Zimbabwe. These two teams are no strangers to each other in the JWRT as Japan defeated Zimbabwe 37-24 at the Shevardeni Stadium in Georgia on the opening day last year while these two sides played out a 20-all draw in Moscow in 2010. On this occasion it was replacement back Yutaro Murai that was the hero with a late try enabling the young Japanese to try snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after a penalty had given Zimbabwe a 36-34 with time almost up. Sean Linfield and wing Justin Coles were among the five try scorers for Zimbabwe while lock Shinya Osugi and five-eighth and captain Jumpei Ogura also joined Murai on the scoreboard.
In the other Pool B game, Georgia and Canada met at the same stage of the tournament last year with the hosts claiming victory 38-9 and in 2012 it was more of the same with Georgia winning 31-17. Georgia did not have things all their own way though and with the lead changing several times throughout the first half the Lelos finally managed to take a 19-17 lead into halftime. However, Georgia came out and dominated the second half with Lasha Lomidze and Giorgi Tetrashvili among the try scorers but the victory was soured when Giorgi Bitsadze was shown a red card late in the game.
Japan on Day One
Japan 39 d Zimbabwe 36
Venue: Murray Rugby Park Stadium, Salt Lake City.
Kick-off: 12:00 PM local Utah time. (3:00 AM, Wednesday 19 June Japan time).
Halftime: Japan 22 – Zimbabwe 14.
Japan: 1- Kengo Kitagawa, 2- Kim Gwan-Tae, 3- Shoya Matsunami, 4- Hiroki Terata, 5- Shinya Osugi, 6- Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 7- Hayato Nishiuchi, 8- Ryota Suginaga, 9- Yutaka Nagare, 10- Jumpei Ogura (c), 11- Kentaro Kawahara, 12- Shunsuke Nunomaki, 13- Kim Yong-Hwi, 14- Seiyu Kohara and 15- Rikiya Matsuda.
Reserves: 16- Kanta Higashionna, 17- Raiko Katsuki, 18- Ryota Hasegawa, 19- Atsushi Sakate, 20- Kotaro Nakao, 21- Masaki Kobayashi and 22- Yutaro Murai.
Scorers for Japan: Tries: Shinya Osugi, Shoya Matsunami, Hayato Nishiuchi, Seiyu Kohara, Kentaro Kawahara, Jumpei Ogura and Yutaro Murai; Conversions: Rikiya Matsuda 2.
Kick-off: 18:00 (local time).
Japan No.10 and captain Jumpei Ogura with ball in hand against Zimbabwe.
Pool B
Georgia 43 d Zimbabwe 7
Kick-off: 12:00 (local time).
Japan 38 d Canada 35
Kick-off: 14:00 (local time).
Day Two
Friday 22 June 2012 saw action on day two at the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, USA 2012 at Murray Rugby Park Stadium in Salt Lake City.
In Pool A, Tonga chalked up their first win of the tournament with an emphatic 62-7 victory over Russia. In the opening round top seeds Tonga surprisingly went down to the USA 22-11 while Russia suffered their second loss after losing 53-19 to Chile in their first up match on Monday. From the point when halfback Taniela Vakauta scored the opening try in the 12th minute Tonga were always in control and with a 31-0 lead by the break the young Tongans were never going to be beaten. Wing Hosea Suamaki scored a hat-trick for Tonga while the only five-pointer for the young Bears came through Denis Barabantsev.
In the other Pool A game, tournament hosts the USA beat Chile 54-25 to record their second win in as many games in Salt Lake City. The win puts the USA on top of Pool A with one pool game still to play against Russia. In a high scoring affair, Madison Hughes came away with 35 of his team’s points, while home town boys Kingsley McGowan and Tua Laei also got on the scoreboard for the hosts. Mario Mayol and Matias Nordenflycht scored tries for Chile but it was not enough to spoil the party for the USA.
In Pool B, Georgia had their second win when they beat Zimbabwe 43-7. Inside centre Levan Gogolashvili led the way for the Lelos with three tries of his own as the young Georgians used their size, strength and speed to put Zimbabwe to the sword. Georgia had to do it without wing Giorgi Bitsadze who was suspended during the week after he was shown a red card late in the opening game against Canada.
In the other Pool B game, Japan again did it tough as they came up with another dramatic display to beat Canada 38-35. Canada were out to a 28-17 lead at one stage in the second half, but Japan held their nerve and fought back to head the Canadians 38-28. A late converted try to Andrew Ferguson still gave Canada a chance of stealing the game but the clock beat them in the end and Japan held on to keep their unbeaten record intact and set up a showdown with Georgia in the final Pool B match. Both sides scored five tries apiece with lock Shinya Osugi and flanker Hayato Nishiuchi scoring the first half tries for Japan while Nishiuchi added two more five-pointers in the second period to bring up his hat-trick with prop Kengo Kitagawa, who also represented Japan in this tournament last year in Georgia adding the other try. After landing only two from seven conversions in the first match, fullback Rikiya Matsuda put in a much better kicking display converting all five tries while also adding a penalty and this proved the difference in the end.
Japan on Day Two
Japan 38 d Canada 35
Venue: Murray Rugby Park Stadium, Salt Lake City.
Kick-off: 2:00 PM local Utah time. (5:00 AM, Saturday 23 June Japan time).
Halftime: Japan 17 – Canada 14.
Japan: 1- Kengo Kitagawa, 2- Kim Gwan-Tae, 3- Shoya Matsunami, 4- Hiroki Terata, 5- Shinya Osugi, 6- Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 7- Hayato Nishiuchi, 8- Ryota Suginaga, 9- Yutaka Nagare, 10- Jumpei Ogura (c), 11- Tsubasa Kizaki, 12- Shunsuke Nunomaki, 13- Kim Yong-Hwi, 14- Seiyu Kohara and 15- Rikiya Matsuda.
Reserves: 16- Kanta Higashionna, 17- Raiko Katsuki, 18- Ryota Hasegawa, 19- Atsushi Sakate, 20- Kotaro Nakao, 21- Masaki Kobayashi and 22- Yutaro Murai.
Japan forwards on the burst against Canada.
Day 3 Results
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Pool A
Tonga 41 d Chile 14
Kick-off: 16:00 (local time).
USA 36 d Russia 13
Kick-off: 18:00 (local time).
Pool B
Canada 66 d Zimbabwe 45
Kick-off: 12:00 (local time).
Japan 36 d Georgia 29
Kick-off: 14:00 (local time).
Day Three
Day three at the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, USA 2012 took place on Friday 22 June 2012 at the at Murray Rugby Park Stadium in Salt Lake City.
In Pool A, Tonga finished the pool stages of the tournament with their second win when they beat Chile 41-14. In the opening round top seeds Tonga surprisingly went down to the USA 22-11 but then beat Russia 62-7 in their next game and this win over Chile meant they finished in second place on the table in Pool A behind the unbeaten USA. Wing Hosea Suamaki scored another hat-trick for Tonga as the island boys just proved too strong for the South Americans. Tonga had all but wrapped up the result by the completion of the first half with a 29-7 lead at the break and even though Tomas Ianiszewski added a second try for Chile in the latter half it had no influence on the end result.
In the other Pool A game, tournament hosts the USA beat Russia 36-13 to record their third straight win in as many games to top Pool A. The win puts the USA on top of Pool A and into the final where they will play Japan. Mike Te’o scored two tries while Madison Hughes kept the scoreboard ticking over as the Americans got out to a commanding 24-5 lead by halftime. The young Eagles kept up the pressure in the second half and the second try to Te’o brought up the four try bonus point to put the icing on the win for the home side.
In Pool B, in a high scoring match with over a century of points scored, Canada had their first win at Salt Lake City when they beat Zimbabwe 66-45. It was the third straight loss for Zimbabwe condoning the Africans to the wooden spoon in Pool B. Canada started the game on fire building up a threatening 35-0 lead after only 11 minutes of play. Connor McCann, Jon West and Taylor Paris were among the multiple try scorers for Canada as the tries kept coming from both sides for the remainder of the match hardly giving the score keeper time to catch his breath.
In the other Pool B game, Japan secured top spot in the pool with their third win in a row when they beat Georgia 36-29. With both sides unbeaten going into this match and a place in the tournament final the reward for the winner there was everything to play for. Japan had a dramatic 39-36 win over Zimbabwe in their opening game followed by a close 38-35 win over Canada and this much anticipated clash with Georgia was expected to be just as fiercely contested. However, as things panned out, Japan stunned the Georgians to grab a 29-5 lead by halftime leaving an uphill battle for the Lelos if they were to make the final. Japan scored four first half tries through left wing Tsubasa Kizaki, flanker Hayato Nishiuchi, right wing Seiyu Kohara and fullback Rikiya Matsuda with Matsuda adding three conversions and a penalty. The young Japanese took the foot off the accelerator in the second half allowing Georgia to score four tries to one in the latter half but Japan had the runs on the board and wrapped up the win with a try late in the game to replacement forward Ryota Hasegawa.
Japan on Day Three
Japan 36 d Georgia 29
Venue: Murray Rugby Park Stadium, Salt Lake City.
Kick-off: 2:00 PM local Utah time. (5:00 AM, Wednesday 27 June Japan time).
Halftime: Japan 29 – Georgia 5.
Japan: 1- Kengo Kitagawa, 2- Raiko Katsuki, 3- Kanta Higashionna, 4- Kazuhiko Usami, 5- Shinya Osugi, 6- Takuya Ishibashi, 7- Hayato Nishiuchi, 8- Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 9- Yutaka Nagare, 10- Jumpei Ogura (c), 11- Tsubasa Kizaki, 12- Shunsuke Nunomaki, 13- Kim Yong-Hwi, 14- Seiyu Kohara and 15- Rikiya Matsuda.
Reserves: 16- Shoya Matsunami, 17- Kim Gwan-Tae, 18- Ryota Hasegawa, 19- Atsushi Sakate, 20- Kotaro Nakao, 21- Masaki Kobayashi and 22- Yutaro Murai.
Scorers for Japan: Tries: Tsubasa Kizaki, Hayato Nishiuchi, Seiyu Kohara, Rikiya Matsuda and Ryota Hasegawa; Conversions: Rikiya Matsuda 4; Penalty: Rikiya Matsuda.
Japan celebrate their victory over Georgia.
Day Four: Play-off Results
Saturday 30 June 2012
7th Place Play-off
Zimbabwe (4th Pool B) 22 d Russia (4th Pool A) 10
Kick-off: 12:00 (local time).
5th Place Play-off
Chile (3rd Pool A) 43 d Canada (3rd Pool B) 31
Kick-off: 14:00 (local time).
3rd Place Play-off
Tonga (2nd Pool A) 31 d Georgia (2nd Pool B) 29
Kick-off: 16:00 (local time).
Final
USA (1st Pool A) 37 d Japan (1st Pool B) 33
Kick-off: 18:00 (local time).
Day Four
The fourth and final day at the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, USA 2012 took place on Saturday 30 June 2012 at the at Murray Rugby Park Stadium in Salt Lake City.
In the play-off for seventh place between Russia and Zimbabwe as the bottom teams in each pool, the young Zimbabweans held on for a 22-10 win to hand the wooden spoon for the tournament to the Russians. The Africans scored all their points in the first half and at one point late in the half led 22-0 after tries to Joshua Broomberg, Tapiwa Tsomondo and Mclean Muhambi leaving Russia plenty of work to do over the remainder of the match. Russia pegged back the difference to go to halftime 22-5 behind and try as they might in the latter half there was little headway against a solid Zimbabwe defence with a lone try to Vladislav Sozonov all they could show for their efforts.
In the play-off for fifth place between the two teams that finished third in each pool, Chile beat Canada 43-31. Canada posted first points through an early penalty to Connor McCann, but that was to be the only time the young Canucks would hold the lead with Chile going on to take a 22-10 lead into halftime. Both sides piled on the points in the second half with McCann, Taylor Paris and Cam Stones among the try scorers for Canada while Gustavo Carrasco helped the South Americans to a well deserved victory.
In the play-off for third between Tonga and Georgia, Tonga had to come from behind late in the piece to claim a dramatic 31-29 win for the bronze. The two sides traded penalties early in the game before Giorgi Tetrashvili posted the first try to put Georgia ahead 10-3 at the break. The game opened up in the second period with Michael Faleafa helping to tie things up at 10-all with the opening try for Tonga only for Georgia to grab the lead back with tries to Merab Sharikadze in the 46th minute and Davit Khidesheli in the 54th minute. Tonga narrowed the gap to 22-17 through an intercept try and as the clock would down Georgia held onto a tenuous 29-24 lead. With the game still alive after time was up Manase Folau scored the vital try with the conversion from Amanaki Lea’atoa handing Tonga the win.
In the final of the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy 2012, the USA as hosts of the tournament defeated a gallant Japan 37-33. In a nail-biter in which both sides scored five tries apiece the young Eagles held on to repel a last-ditch offensive effort from Japan and claim the title in the process. Japan scored first half tries through right wing Seiyu Kohara in the 8th minute and captain and five-eighth Jumpei Ogura in the 18th minute with fullback Rikiya Matsuda converting both tries but Japan still trailed 15-14 at the break. Japan added a further three five-pointers in the second half through inside centre Shunsuke Nunomaki in the 6th minute, No8 Yoshitaka Tokunaga in the 17th minute and Kohara in the 21st minute but in the end fell just short of enough points for victory. The lead changed constantly throughout this thrilling final with winger Noah Tarrant scoring his third try in the 76th minute to put the Americans back in front and from there the defence denied the Japanese any final comeback. Two penalties from Madison Hughes one in either half proved to be the difference in the end with the United States winning promotion to the higher division Junior World Championship for 2013.
Japan on Day Four
JWRT Final: USA 37 d Japan 33
Venue: Murray Rugby Park Stadium, Salt Lake City.
Kick-off: 6:00 PM local Utah time. (9:00 AM, Sunday 01 July Japan time).
Halftime: USA 15 – Japan 14.
Japan: 1- Kengo Kitagawa, 2- Raiko Katsuki, 3- Kanta Higashionna, 4- Kazuhiko Usami, 5- Shinya Osugi, 6- Takuya Ishibashi, 7- Hayato Nishiuchi, 8- Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 9- Yutaka Nagare, 10- Jumpei Ogura (c), 11- Yutaro Murai, 12- Shunsuke Nunomaki, 13- Kim Yong-Hwi, 14- Seiyu Kohara and 15- Rikiya Matsuda.
Reserves: 16- Kim Gwan-Tae, 17- Shoya Matsunami, 18- Ryota Hasegawa, 19- Atsushi Sakate, 20- Kotaro Nakao, 21- Masaki Kobayashi and 22- Kentaro Inami.
Scorers for Japan: Tries: Seiyu Kohara 2, Jumpei Ogura, Shunsuke Nunomaki and Yoshitaka Tokunaga; Conversions: Rikiya Matsuda 4.
Captains in the final, Jumpei Ogura and Will Magie with the trophy.
Wrap-up
The USA deny Japan in the JWRT Final
The USA celebrate victory.
Tournament hosts the USA defeated Japan 37-33 in the final of the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, USA 2012 at the Murray Rugby Park Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday 30 June 2012. For the young Japan under twenty side it was anything but third time lucky in their third JWRT final in a row after losing 36-7 to Italy in Moscow in 2010 and then losing 31-29 to Samoa in Tbilisi, Georgia last year as they were yet again denied promotion to the IRB Junior World Championship for another year.
The paths of the two finalists will go in very different directions from this point with the USA as the winners now setting their sights on joining the top U20 sides in the world in the elite IRB Junior World Championship to be held in France in 2013. Meanwhile, Japan as the losers now have to regroup to battle through the Asian Rugby Junior Championship to be held in Hong Kong from 29 July to 5 August 2012 to qualify for the JWRT for next year.
Comments by Head Coach Ryuji Nakatake
The final was very different to the earlier games with our concentration levels high in the opening exchanges of the first half enabling us to put on two tries. I wanted the boys to continue in this vein but a bit of bad luck and a good kicking game from the USA produced points for them. Combined with a superior one-on-one strength that got them across the gain line eventually shifted the momentum of the game to the USA side.
We also had difficulty putting their set piece under sufficient pressure and as the second half wore on we could not get our attack to work the way we wanted it to. However, the boys never gave up throughout the final and we regained the lead on a number of occasions and the fact that we lost our shape when it really mattered when we had our chances at the end is the overall responsibility of the coaching staff. The level at the tournament this year has definitely improved and we will have to work a whole lot harder to overcome this barrier next year.
Comments by Captain Jumpei Ogura
The long process of national selection for this squad started for us way back in February. At the tournament itself, we won all three pool games to make the final where unfortunately we fell just short of victory. Firstly, thanks to the efforts of Nakatake coach and all the staff we managed to get this far but we just could not take that one final step to victory. The guys who are still 18 and 19 will not forget the pain of getting so close and I believe they will take this experience into this tournament next year. Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their support.
The Japan U20 side took part in the 8-team IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, USA 2012 in Salt Lake City in the United States of America from 18-30 June 2012. Japan were joined by Canada, Georgia, Russia, Tonga, the USA as the host nation, Chile and Zimbabwe. The eight participating teams were split across two pools of four teams with all games at the at Murray Rugby Park Stadium on Monday 18 June, Friday 22 June, Tuesday 26 June and Saturday 30 June 2012. Japan was in Pool B with Canada, Georgia and Zimbabwe.
In their opening Pool B game on Monday 18 June, Japan had to come from behind to defeat Zimbabwe 39-36 in a high scoring match. These two sides played out a 20-all draw in Moscow in 2010 and the Japanese won in Tbilisi last year, but they did it the hard way this time around. On this occasion it was replacement back Yutaro Murai that was the hero with a late try enabling the young Japanese to try snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after a penalty had given Zimbabwe a 36-34 with time almost up.
In their second pool game on Friday 22 June, Japan again did it tough as they came up with another dramatic display to beat Canada 38-35. Canada were out to a 28-17 lead at one stage in the second half, but Japan held their nerve and fought back to head the Canadians 38-28. A late converted try to Andrew Ferguson still gave Canada a chance of stealing the game but the clock beat them in the end and Japan held on to keep their unbeaten record intact and set up a showdown with Georgia in the final Pool B match.
In their third and final Pool B game on Tuesday 26 June, Japan secured top spot in the pool with their third win in a row when they beat Georgia 36-29. With both sides unbeaten going into this match and a place in the tournament final the reward for the winner there was everything to play for. As things panned out, Japan stunned the Georgians to grab a 29-5 lead by halftime leaving an uphill battle for the Lelos if they were to make the final. Japan scored four first half tries and fullback Rikiya Matsuda added three conversions and a penalty. The young Japanese took the foot off the accelerator in the second half allowing Georgia to score four tries to one in the latter half but Japan had the runs on the board and wrapped up the win.
In the final on Saturday 30 June, the USA as hosts of the tournament defeated a gallant Japan 37-33. In a nail-biter in which both sides scored five tries apiece the young Eagles held on to repel a last-ditch offensive effort from Japan and claim the title in the process. Japan trailed 15-14 at the break and in the end fell just short of enough points for victory. The lead changed constantly throughout this thrilling final with winger Noah Tarrant scoring his third try in the 76th minute to put the Americans back in front and from there the defence denied the Japanese any final comeback with the United States winning promotion to the higher division Junior World Championship for 2013.
Final Standings
1 USA
2 Japan
3 Tonga
4 Georgia
5 Chile
6 Canada
7 Zimbabwe
8 Russia
The Think-tank:
It has come to light this week that Sonny Bill Williams will join Panasonic for the 2012-13 season with a possible mover back to rugby league with the Sydney Roosters in 2013.
South African centre Wynand Olivier is also heading to Japan to play with Ricoh. Olivier has 37 caps for the Springboks and has played over a hundred games for the Bulls. He will return to SA rugby in February 2013.
Further, the Blues will lose Isaia Toeava to Canon for the up-coming season, while Mark Gerrard also looks to return to Japan from the Rebels.
Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom now with the Waratahs is another player coming to Japan to play with Kobe on a two year deal that will allow him the option of playing in Europe in the off-season.
Autumn Tests
Georgia and also Romania will tour Japan in the autumn of 2012.
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