RiJ has been working back through the history of Japan tests and this week looks at the third and final test against the visiting NZU in 1970. RiJ wraps up round one of Top League 2012-13.
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: 1970 NZU Third Test
- Japan Rugby Top League 2012-13: Round One
- IRB Ranking
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.
New Zealand Universities and British Columbia Tours to Japan 1970: NZU Third Test
In March 1970 New Zealand Universities and also the British Colombia Bears toured Japan in what was an overlapping triangular series involving the two touring teams and Japan.
Following the Japan test against BC, the Canadians then faced NZU at the same Chichibu venue mid-week losing 41-6. BC ended their tour with a win over one of the local universities at Chichibu the following Saturday before the series came to an end with Japan facing NZU for the third time on the Sunday.
NZU saved their best for last when they completed their undefeated nine match tour with an emphatic 46-14 win over the full Japan side in the third test at Chichibu on Sunday 29 March 1970. This was Japan test number 32 and Japan game number 71 and for head coach Tetsunosuke Onishi this was his tenth test in charge for 4 wins and 6 losses. Wing Tadayuki Ito and flanker Yoshiharu Yamaguchi scored first half tries with Yamaguchi also adding one conversion while the visitors managed two tries and two penalties to lead 12-8 at the break. The tight first half gave the 22,000 fans something to look forward to in the second half but their hopes were dashed as the students completely controlled the run of play, particularly at the maul, to deny their hosts any ball and in the process score a further seven tries to blow out the final scoreline. The only points Japan could muster in the second period were two Yamaguchi penalties.
After a bright start to the series when Japan held NZU to 16-6, the New Zealanders upped the ante to win the second test 28-14 and then complete the series with an overwhelming 46-14 win in the third and final test.
There were no debutants for Japan in the third test but with this being the final test before England toured Japan in the autumn of 1971, a number of players played their last tests for Japan. Prop Morio Kawasaki played his seventh and final test while for hooker Tadahiko Omata this was his third and final test playing all three internationals as captain. Elsewhere in the forwards, lock Katsumi Kamata ended his international career with five caps to his name. Kamata played his first test in 1967 but then had to wait three years for his next appearance when he played in all four tests in 1970. For number eight Satoru Matsuoka he too played his last international in what was his third test. Replacement centre Kishio Ishiyama also played his last test coming on from the bench for his second cap.
New Zealand Universities 36 d All-Waseda University 3, 01 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo.
New Zealand Universities 29 d All-Hosei University 14, 04 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo.
Japan 6 – New Zealand Universities 16. Sunday, 08 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.29, Japan Game No.68)
New Zealand Universities 46 d All-Doshisha University 12, 11 March 1970, Nishi-Kyogoku Stadium, Kyoto.
Japan 14 – New Zealand Universities 28. Sunday, 15 March 1970, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.30, Japan Game No.69)
British Columbia 57 d All-Keio University 6, 15 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo.
New Zealand Universities 79 d Toyota 8, 18 March 1970, Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya.
British Columbia 24 d All-Hiroshima 9, 18 March 1970, Hiroshima.
New Zealand Universities 35 d Kyushu 11, 21 March 1970, Heiwadai Stadium, Fukuoka.
Japan 32 – British Columbia 3. Sunday, 22 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.31, Japan Game No.70)
New Zealand Universities 41 d British Columbia 6, 25 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo.
British Columbia 32 d Nippon Sport Science University 0, 28 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo.
Japan 14 – New Zealand Universities 46. Sunday, 29 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.32, Japan Game No.71)
Japan Rugby Top League 2012-13
Round One
Round One
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Fri, 31 Aug 2012 | Suntory (5Ts) | 39-15 | NEC (2Ts) | 19:30 | Chichibu, Tokyo |
| Sat, 01 Sep 2012 | Ricoh (1T) | 13-44 | Panasonic (4Ts) | 17:00 | Chichibu, Tokyo |
|
| Toshiba (2Ts) | 26-16 | NTT Com (1T) | 19:00 | Chichibu, Tokyo |
|
| Kobe (1T) | 19-6 | Kintetsu | 18:00 | Kobe, Hyogo |
|
| Sanix (1T) | 31-13 | Kyuden (1T) | 18:00 | Level 5, Fukuoka |
|
| Toyota (2Ts) | 12-26 | Yamaha (2Ts) | 19:00 | Mizuho Stadium, Aichi |
|
| NTT Docomo (2Ts) | 14-38 | Canon (4Ts) | 19:00 | Nagai II, Osaka |
Round One Wrap-up
After the first round of the 2012-13 Japan Rugby Top League season played on the weekend of 31 August and 1 September 2012, Panasonic Wild Knights, Suntory Sungoliath and Canon Eagles secured top spot on the table with maximum points in their opening games. Fukuoka Sanix Blues, Yamaha Jubilo, Kobelco Steelers and Toshiba Brave Lupus also enjoyed first up wins, though without a bonus point. That leaves NTT Communications Shining Arcs, Kintetsu Liners, Toyota Verblitz, Kyuden Voltex, NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes, NEC Green Rockets and Ricoh Black Rams without any points to show for their efforts in the opening round of the new season.
In a night game at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Friday 29 August 2012, reigning champions Suntory Sungoliath beat NEC Green Rockets 39-15 to kick off the tenth season of Japan Rugby Top League. In a tight first half both sides scored a try apiece with Suntory taking a slim 11-10 lead into the halftime break. However, the sinbinning of flanker Takahisa Miyamoto early in the second period broke the rhythm for NEC with the Sungoliath gradually pulling away on the scoreboard as the half progressed. Fullback Go Aruga started the damage with a try in the fourth minute followed by further five-pointers to wing Hirotoki Onozawa, five-eighth Kosei Ono and replacement Tusi Pisi before NEC wing Nemani Nadolo closed out the match with a late try
In the first game of a double-header at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Saturday evening, Panasonic Wild Knights beat Ricoh Black Rams 44-13. Ricoh started the scoring with a penalty to five-eighth Yoshimitsu Kawano, but Panasonic responded with a try to wing Takeshi Miyake and a conversion and three penalties to fullback Atsushi Tanabe. Kawano had the final say in the opening half with a further penalty to narrow the halftime gap to 16-6. Panasonic continued to grind away with two more Tanabe penalties early in the second half before a ten minute period late in the game produced three tries to consolidate a good win. Wing Akihito Yamada got his season off to a bright start with a double while hooker Tetsuya Shitara scored the final Panasonic try.
In the second game in Tokyo, Toshiba Brave Lupus did it tough against a resilient NTT Communications Shining Arcs to come away with a 26-16 win. Toshiba led 13-7 at halftime before a short but intense downpour dampened things early in the second half. Try as they did, the Brave Lupus just could not put away NTT Com as they got out to a 19-16 lead by the hour mark. Replacement halfback Tomoki Yoshida sealed the deal in the twenty-sixth minute with the second Toshiba try but in the end there was to be no bonus point for the highly fancied Toshiba. Five-eighth Yoshio Kimishima kept the Shining Arcs in the game with a conversion and three penalties as NTT Com matched it with the five-times Top League champions.
In Kobe city on Saturday evening Kobelco Steelers beat Kintetsu Liners 19-6. In a low-scoring first half a single penalty to Kintetsu five-eighth Shotaro Onishi was the only time the scorekeeper was bothered as the Liners took a 3-0 lead into the break. The arm-wrestle continued as the second half progressed with three penalties from the boot of Kobe five-eighth Peter Grant getting the Steelers in front 9-6 by the twenty-fifth minute mark. Grant added his fourth penalty ten minutes later before prop Yoshimitsu Yasue touched down for the opening try of the match in the seventy-ninth minute of play. Man-of-the-match Grant then put the icing on the win with the conversion.
At the Level Five Stadium in Fukuoka in a Kyushu derby, Fukuoka Sanix Blues defeated newly promoted Kyuden Voltex 31-13. Both sides scored one try each but it was eight penalties and a conversion from Sanix five-eighth Hiroshi Tashiro that proved to be the difference in the end. Sanix led 16-6 at halftime and five Tashiro penalties over the latter half coupled with the sinbinning of Kyuden centre Ben Jacobs saw the Blues run out comfortable winners on the scoreboard. Not surprisingly, Tashiro was named man-of-the-match for his impressive kicking display as he missed only one shot from the kicking tee all day.
At the Mizuho Rugby Park in Nagoya, Toyota Verblitz went down to Yamaha Jubilo 26-12. Coming off the back of a poor showing in the 2011-12 season, Toyota did not have the start they were looking for in the opening game of the new season in front of their home fans. A first half try to flanker Kojiro Yoshida helped the Verblitz to a 7-6 lead by halftime before a second try to fellow flanker Hayden Hopgood early in the latter half widened the gap to 12-6. Yamaha then whittled away at the difference, firstly with a penalty to fullback Ayumu Goromaru before wing Shinji Nakazono put Jubilo in front with a try in the eighth minute with the successful conversion making it 16-12. The game was still there for either side to win but a further Goromaru penalty in the 35th minute made it all that much harder for the home side. Replacement Yuta Kasahara then put the final nail in the coffin when he touched down for the second Yamaha try at the death to deny Toyota even a losing bonus point.
At the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Canon Eagles got life in Top League off to a perfect start with a four-try bonus point 38-14 win over NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes. Canon got out of the blocks fast with a 17-0 lead by the half hour mark throwing down the challenge to the Osaka based NTT Docomo. A converted try to centre Siupeli Lokotui narrowed the difference to 17-7 by halftime but it left a lot to do for the Red Hurricanes in the second half. The Eagles then started the second half the way they started the first piling on the points to get out to an insurmountable 35-7 lead by the thirty minute mark. Former Japan captain and No8 Takuro Miuchi pegged one back for NTT Docomo with a try in the thirty-first minute, but the Eagles closed out the game with a late penalty to notch up a memorable win in their first ever game in Top League.
Japan Rugby Top League 2012-13
|
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP1 | BP2 | Pts |
| 1 | Panasonic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 13 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Suntory | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 15 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Canon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 14 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Sanix | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 13 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Yamaha | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | Kobe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Toshiba | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | NTT Com | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 26 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Kintetsu | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 19 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Toyota | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 26 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Kyuden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 31 | -18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | NTT Docomo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 38 | -24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | NEC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 39 | -24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Ricoh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 44 | -31 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Four points for win, two for draw, one bonus point for four tries or more (BP1) and one bonus point for losing by seven or less (BP2).
Leading Point Scorers
At the completion of round one, Sanix five-eighth Hiroshi Tashiro tops the point scorers list with 26 points.
|
| Name | Team | T | G | PG | Pts |
| 1 | Hiroshi Tashiro | Sanix | 0 | 1 | 8 | 26 |
| 2 | Atsushi Tanabe | Panasonic | 0 | 3 | 6 | 24 |
| 3 | David Hill | Toshiba | 0 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| 3 | Ayumu Goromaru | Yamaha | 0 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| 5 | Ryohei Mitomo | Canon | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| 6 | Ryan Nicholas | Suntory | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 | Peter Grant | Kobe | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| 8 | Yoshio Kimishima | NTT Com | 0 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| 9 | Nemani Nadolo | NEC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 9 | Akihito Yamada | Panasonic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Leading Try Scorers
At the completion of round one, NEC wing Nemani Nadolo and Panasonic wing Akihito Yamada top the try scorers list with 2 tries.
|
| Name | Team | Tries |
| 1 | Nemani Nadolo | NEC | 2 |
| 1 | Akihito Yamada | Panasonic | 2 |
Round 1 Man-of-the-match Awards
| Date | Teams | Score | Teams | Ground | MOTM |
| Fri 31 Aug 2012 | Suntory | 39-15 | NEC | Chichibu, Tokyo | |
| Sat 01 Sep 2012 | Ricoh | 13-44 | Panasonic | Chichibu, Tokyo | Yuji Kitagawa, Lock |
|
| Toshiba | 26-16 | NTT Com | Chichibu, Tokyo | |
|
| Kobe | 19-6 | Kintetsu | Kobe, Hyogo | Peter Grant, Five-eighth |
|
| Sanix | 31-13 | Kyuden | Level 5, Fukuoka | Hiroshi Tashiro, Five-eighth |
| Toyota | 12-26 | Yamaha | Mizuho Stadium, Aichi | Ayumu Goromaru, Fullback | |
|
| NTT Docomo | 14-38 | Canon | Nagai II, Osaka |
IRB ranking on 27 August 2012 - Japan were 16 on 67.93 points.
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