RUGBY IN JAPAN NEWSLETTER: Vol.10, No.14

Congratulations RIJ Newsletter 10th Anniversary 2003-2013

RiJ covers the Tokyo Sevens this issue while Junior Japan are in New Zealand for the second half of their tour Down Under.
Enjoy the read.

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

CONTENTS

• HSBC Sevens World Series
• Junior Japan at the Pacific Rugby Cup 2013

HSBC Sevens World Series

Tokyo Sevens 2013

 

The HSBC Sevens World Series Tokyo Sevens 2013 was held at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in the Japan capital on Saturday 30 March and Sunday 31 March 2013.

Teams that participated at the Tokyo Sevens, round seven of the HSBC Sevens World Series were: the 15 core teams that compete at every event in 2012-13 in New Zealand, South Africa, England, Fiji, Samoa, Australia, Wales, Argentina, Kenya, France, Scotland, Canada, Portugal, Spain and the USA along with hosts Japan.

In 2013, Tokyo was again the seventh stage of the nine stage season. Japan were in Pool C with New Zealand, France and Canada. After losing all five games in Tokyo in 2012, Japan as tournament host but as the only non-core team in Tokyo had the best possible start with a 14-10 win over Canada. Japan were completely overwhelmed by New Zealand in their second pool game losing 41-5 and then went down to France 24-7 in their third and final pool game. Japan, France and Canada all finished on five points from one win and two losses behind undefeated New Zealand in Pool C but an inferior points differential saw Japan finish bottom of the pool. In the knock-out stages, Wales proved too good for Japan winning their Bowl/Shield Quarterfinal clash 22-14. The loss to Wales in the Bowl/ Shield Quarterfinal put Japan into the Shield Semi-final where they came up with a 19-15 win over Portugal. Japan beat Canada in the pool stages but in the Shield Final the Canadians had their revenge with a 27-14 win. All-in-all, Japan won two and lost four of their six games played in Tokyo in 2013 under head coach Tomohiro Segawa and for their efforts the Japanese picked up two Series points for reaching the Shield final. For the record, Canada beat Japan 27-14 in the Shield final, England beat Argentina 38-0 in the Bowl final, USA beat Scotland 17-0 in the Plate final, Australia beat France 31-5 in the third place play-off while in the big one, South Africa claimed the Cup prize when they beat New Zealand 24-19 in the main final.

In 2012, Tokyo was the seventh stage of the nine stage season. Japan were in Pool A with England, Fiji and France. Japan lost to England 15-5 on the opening day and then went down to Fiji 26-7 before losing to France 24-5 in their final pool game. Japan finished fourth in their pool and this put them up against Portugal who finished third in Pool D in the Bowl Quarterfinals. Portugal beat Japan twice in Hong Kong last weekend and the trend continued at home with the Portuguese winning 21-5. The loss to Portugal put Japan into the Shield Quarterfinals against Kenya with the Africans going on to win 24-17 after the scores were locked at 17-all late in the game. All-in-all, Japan lost all five games in Tokyo in 2012 in a disappointing tournament for out-going coach Wataru Murata. For the record, Scotland beat Kenya 26-12 in the Shield final, France beat USA 17-12 in the Bowl final, Fiji beat South Africa 14-10 in the Plate final, New Zealand beat England 24-10 in the third place play-off while in the big one, Australia claimed the Cup prize when they beat Samoa 28-26 in the main final.

The Japan Sevens Squad

	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt
1	Harunori TSURUYA	Rissho University	22	185/87
2	Yusaku KUWAZURU	Coca-Cola West Red Sparks	27	188/97
3	Jamie HENRY	Rissho University	22	184/84
4	Satoshi OSHIMA	Suntory Sungoliath	25	181/90
5	Yuki SHISHIMOTO	Kubota Spears	24	184/100
6	Katsuyuki SAKAI (c)	Toyota Industries Shuttles	24	172/88
7	Kenichi YOKOYAMA	Ricoh Black Rams	27	180/80
8	Shuetsu NARITA	Suntory Sungoliath	28	169/68
9	Tokiro HARADA	Waseda University	22	163/67
10	Kosuke HASHINO	Canon Eagles	25	176/83
11	Lote TUQIRI	Hokkaido Barbarians	25	188/98
12	Kazushi HANO	Chuo University	21	183/80

Team Director: Osamu Ota.
Head Coach: Tomohiro Segawa.

Yusaku Kuwazuru, Katsuyuki Sakai and Lote Tuqiri were the only players in the squad to play at the Tokyo Sevens in 2012 while head coach Tomohiro Segawa took over from Wataru Murata who was in charge in Tokyo in 2012.

Pools

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
Fiji	Scotland	New Zealand	Samoa
South Africa	USA	France	Australia
Spain	Wales	Canada	England
Portugal	Kenya	Japan	Argentina

Pool C Games for Japan

Day 1: Saturday, 30 March 2013

(12:34) –Japan 14 d Canada 10

Japan: 2- Yusaku Kuwazuru, 4- Satoshi Oshima, 11- Lote Tuqiri, 8- Shuetsu Narita, 6- Katsuyuki Sakai (c), 3- Jamie Henry, 12- Kazushi Hano.
Reserves: 1- Harunori Tsuruya, 5- Yuki Shishimoto, 7- Kenichi Yokoyama, 9- Tokiro Harada, 10- Kosuke Hashino.

Japan Scorers: Tries: Lote Tuqiri and Jamie Henry; Conversions: Katsuyuki Sakai 2.

In their opening match, Japan as tournament host but as the only non-core team in Tokyo had the best possible start with a 14-10 win over Canada. Both sides scored two tries apiece with Lote Tuqiri and Jamie Henry touching down for Japan with the difference coming down to the two conversions kicked by captain Katsuyuki Sakai.

(16:19) – New Zealand 41 d Japan 5

Japan: 2- Yusaku Kuwazuru, 4- Satoshi Oshima, 11- Lote Tuqiri, 8- Shuetsu Narita, 6- Katsuyuki Sakai (c), 3- Jamie Henry, 12- Kazushi Hano.
Reserves: 1- Harunori Tsuruya, 5- Yuki Shishimoto, 7- Kenichi Yokoyama, 9- Tokiro Harada, 10- Kosuke Hashino.

Japan Scorers: Try: Jamie Henry.

In their second pool match, Japan were completely overwhelmed by New Zealand with the Sevens All Blacks scoring seven tries to one to easily take the game 41-5. As in the opening game, Jamie Henry touched down for Japan.

(19:25) – France 24 d Japan 7

Japan: 2- Yusaku Kuwazuru, 4- Satoshi Oshima, 11- Lote Tuqiri, 8- Shuetsu Narita, 6- Katsuyuki Sakai (c), 3- Jamie Henry, 12- Kazushi Hano.
Reserves: 1- Harunori Tsuruya, 5- Yuki Shishimoto, 7- Kenichi Yokoyama, 9- Tokiro Harada, 10- Kosuke Hashino.

Japan Scorers: Try: Lote Tuqiri; Conversion: Katsuyuki Sakai.

In their third and final pool match, Japan could not match it with France with scored four tries to one. The Japan cause was not helped with the sinbinning of Yusaku Kuwazuru and also Satoshi Oshima throughout the course of the match. Japan, France and Canada all finished on five points from one win and two losses behind undefeated New Zealand in Pool C but an inferior points differential saw Japan finish bottom of the pool.

Japan’s Knock-out Matches

Day 2: Sunday 31 March 2013

Bowl/Shield Quarterfinal: Wales 22 d. Japan 14

Japan: 2- Yusaku Kuwazuru, 4- Satoshi Oshima, 5- Yuki Shishimoto, 10- Kosuke Hashino, 6- Katsuyuki Sakai (c), 7- Kenichi Yokoyama, 3- Jamie Henry,.
Reserves: 1- Harunori Tsuruya, 8- Shuetsu Narita, 9- Tokiro Harada, 11- Lote Tuqiri, 12- Kazushi Hano.

Japan Scorers: Tries: Jamie Henry and Kazushi Hano; Conversions: Katsuyuki Sakai 2.

In the knock-out stages, Wales proved too good for Japan winning their Bowl/Shield Quarterfinal clash 22-14.

Shield Semi-final: Japan 19 d. Portugal 15

Japan: 2- Yusaku Kuwazuru, 4- Satoshi Oshima, 5- Yuki Shishimoto, 6- Katsuyuki Sakai (c), 10- Kosuke Hashino, 11- Lote Tuqiri, 12- Kazushi Hano.
Reserves: 1- Harunori Tsuruya, 3- Jamie Henry, 7- Kenichi Yokoyama, 8- Shuetsu Narita, 9- Tokiro Harada,.

Japan Scorers: Tries: Yusaku Kuwazuru, Shuetsu Narita and Katsuyuki Sakai; Conversions: Katsuyuki Sakai 2.

The loss to Wales in the Bowl/ Shield Quarterfinal put Japan into the Shield Semi-final where they came up with a 19-15 win over Portugal. Both sides scored three games but again the goal kicking prowess of captain Katsuyuki Sakai got Japan across the line.

Shield Final: Canada 27 d. Japan 14

Japan: 1- Harunori Tsuruya, 2- Yusaku Kuwazuru, 5- Yuki Shishimoto, 6- Katsuyuki Sakai (c), 10- Kosuke Hashino, 11- Lote Tuqiri, 12- Kazushi Hano.
Reserves: 3- Jamie Henry, 4- Satoshi Oshima, 7- Kenichi Yokoyama, 8- Shuetsu Narita, 9- Tokiro Harada,.

Japan Scorers: Tries: Katsuyuki Sakai and Kosuke Hashino; Conversions: Katsuyuki Sakai 2.

Japan beat Canada in the pool stages but in the Shield Final the Canadians had their revenge with a 27-14 win.

Junior Japan at the Pacific Rugby Cup 2013

The IRB PRC 2013 involves sixteen teams, namely, Waratahs, Fiji, Reds A, Tonga, Brumbies, Samoa, Brisbane Academy, Sydney Academy, Melbourne Rebels, Western Force, Highlanders XV, Blues XV, Hurricanes XV, Crusaders XV, Chiefs XV and Junior Japan.

Schedule

Date	Team	Score	Team	Kick-off	Venue
Tuesday 12 March 2013	Brisbane Academy	76-26	Junior Japan	18:00	Ballymore
Monday 18 March 2013	Reds College XV	59-14	Junior Japan	18:00	Ballymore
Saturday 23 March 2013	Sydney Academy	45-28	Junior Japan	16:00	Griffith Oval, Canberra
Thursday 28 March 2013	Blues Development XV	43-19	Junior Japan	18:30	Bell Park, Pakuranga RFC
Tuesday 02 April 2013	Highlanders XV	-	Junior Japan	16:30	Forsyth Barr Stadium
Sunday 07 April 2013	Hurricanes XV	-	Junior Japan	16:00	Community Trust Domain

 

Game 4:

Blues Development XV 43 d
Junior Japan 19 – Tries: Yoshikazu Fujita, Kenki Fukuoka and Atsushi Sakate; Conversions: Takuya Yamasawa 2 .

Date: Thursday 28 March 2013.
Venue: Bell Park, Pakuranga RFC.
Kick-off: 14:30.
Halftime: Blues Development XV 26 – Junior Japan 5.

Junior Japan: 1- Kengo Kitagawa, 2- Atsushi Sakate, 3- Koki Yamamoto, 4- Kazuhiko Usami, 5- Kazuki Himeno, 6- Kyosuke Horie, 7- Hayato Nishiuchi, 8- Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 9- Takahiro Ogawa, 10- Takuya Yamasawa, 11- Kenki Fukuoka, 12- Yasuki Hayashi (c), 13- Daishi Murata, 14- Yoshikazu Fujita, 15- Yasutaka Sasakura.
Reserves: 16- Haruki Ota, 17- Shohei Hirano (subbed 3, 26 min 2H), 18- Kazuhiro Shibata, 19- Yuji Kitagawa, 20- Hiroki Yamamoto (subbed 4, 26 min 2H), 21- Issei Shige (subbed 13, 26 min 2H), 22- Tonisio Vaifu (subbed 14, 12 min 2H), 23- Yosuke Morita (subbed 10, 32 min 2H).

Comments by head coach Satoru Endo
We found their defence tough to break in this match. We managed to score three tries but once the score started to blow out we lost our way and this is a bit of a concern. They fiercely contested the breakdown and this disrupted our approach in attack. When we get quick ball we can play at pace and doing this under pressure is something we want to work on at training for the remaining two games.

Comments by game captain Yasuki Hayashi
In this match we wanted to put on place the improvements we had shown in training but as we let in four tries in the first half we were behind the eight ball from that point. We fought back in the second half but a lack of concentration when it mattered let us down. We have a few things to fine tune but a win is not far off.