Congratulations RIJ Newsletter 10th Anniversary 2003-2013
RiJ looks at the YCAC Sevens this week with Ryutsu Keizai University winning the 54th running of the annual tournament. Junior Japan completed their six-match tour of Australia and New Zealand without a win to show for their efforts, but as the saying goes, they will be better for the experience.
Ian McDonnell lives and works in Japan. He can be contacted at ianmcdo@apost.plala.or.jp
CONTENTS
- The 54th YC&AC Japan Sevens 2013
- Junior Japan at the Pacific Rugby Cup 2013
The 54th YC&AC Japan Sevens 2013
Ryutsu Keizai Uni Make it a first.
The YC&AC Japan Sevens was held on Sunday, 7 April 2013 at the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club facilities in Yokohama.
The YC&AC, the Kanto Rugby Football Union and the Kanagawa Prefecture Rugby Football Union hosted the event.
The participating teams were: Takushoku University, Nippon Sport Science University, Seikei University, Tokai University, Hokkaido Barbarians, Nihon University, Kanto Gakuin University, YC&AC, Teikyo University, Keio University, Waseda University, Tamariva Club, Ryutsu Keizai University, Aoyama Gakuin University, Chuo University and Tsukuba University.
In the last game of the day, Ryutsu Keizai University battled their way through to the final where they met another student outfit in the shape of Tokai University. Tournament hosts YC&AC were aiming to make it five in a row but they met their match in the semis when they were beaten 24-17 by Tokai. In the other semi-final, Ryutsu Keizai but an end to the Waseda University campaign winning 26-12 for a place in the final. Ryukei then convincingly won the big one 51-17 to claim their first title in what was the fifty-fourth running of this annual tournament.
In the Consolation Final, in a reverse result of the corresponding game from last year, Tamariva Club beat Takushoku University 19-17.
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.
Results
Tuesday 12 March 2013. Brisbane Academy 76 d Junior Japan 26
Monday 18 March 2013. Reds College XV 59 d Junior Japan 14
Saturday 23 March 2013. Sydney Academy 45 d Junior Japan 28
Thursday 28 March 2013. Blues Development XV 43 d Junior Japan 19
Game 5:
Highlanders Development XV 63 d Junior Japan 10 – Try: Issei Shige; Conversion: Takuya Yamasawa; Penalty: Takuya Yamasawa.
Date: Tuesday 02 April 2013.
Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.
Kick-off: 16:30.
Halftime: Highlanders Development XV 21 – Junior Japan 3.
Junior Japan: 1- Kengo Kitagawa, 2- Atsushi Sakate, 3- Kazuhiro Shibata, 4- Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 5- Kazuki Himeno, 6- Tsuyoshi Murata (c), 7- Hayato Nishiuchi, 8- Kyosuke Horie, 9- Takahiro Ogawa, 10- Takuya Yamasawa, 11- Kenki Fukuoka, 12- Yasuki Hayashi, 13- Tonisio Vaifu, 14- Takaaki Nakazuru, 15- Yoshikazu Fujita.
Reserves: 16- Haruki Ota, 17- Shohei Hirano, 18- Koki Yamamoto, 19- Takumi Mikami, 20- Hiroki Yamamoto, 21- Issei Shige, 22- Yuya Noguchi, 23- Rikiya Matsuda.
Comments by head coach Satoru Endo
We let in four quick tries in the opening stages of our previous game against the Blues XV and so concentration in defence from the outset was something we focussed on for this game. The players worked hard today but we could not finish off our opportunities in attack and turnovers led to counter-attacks. Fatigue set in as the second half wore on and as a result the final scoreline blew out. Despite the margin on the scoreboard, we played some pretty good rugby. We have one final game on tour and we want to give it our best shot.
Comments by captain Tsuyoshi Murata
We could not launch attacks from within the opposition 22 today. We produced some good patches of rugby but turnover ball and counters from broken play led to a number of tries against us. Our focus coming into this game was the second man at the breakdown and tackling low and we performed well in these aspects I feel. Our next game is our final game and we want to give it our all.
Game 6:
Hurricanes Development XV 73 d Junior Japan 43 – Tries: Takaaki Nakazuru, Kenki Fukuoka 3, Atsushi Sakate, Tonisio Vaifu, Yasuki Hayashi; Conversions: Takuya Yamasawa 3, Yosuke Morita.
Date: Sunday 07 April 2013.
Venue: Community Trust Domain, Levin.
Kick-off: 14:00.
Halftime: Hurricanes Development XV 31 – Junior Japan 29.
Junior Japan: 1- Kengo Kitagawa, 2- Atsushi Sakate, 3- Koki Yamamoto Kazuhiro Shibata, 4- Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 5- Kazuki Himeno, 6- Tsuyoshi Murata (c), 7- Hayato Nishiuchi, 8- Kyosuke Horie, 9- Takahiro Ogawa, 10- Takuya Yamasawa, 11- Kenki Fukuoka, 12- Yasuki Hayashi, 13- Tonisio Vaifu, 14- Takaaki Nakazuru, 15- Yoshikazu Fujita.
Reserves: 16- Haruki Ota, 17- Shohei Hirano, 19- Takumi Mikami, 20- Hiroki Yamamoto, 21- Issei Shige, 22- Yosuke Morita, 23- Rikiya Matsuda.
Comments by head coach Satoru Endo
In our final game on tour, we finally got our act together in attack. However, we also found ourselves in a lot of one-on-one situations in defence and with loose situations when our defences were not set we bled a lot of tries. We had to play six games across a tight schedule in the PRC against tough oppositions and although we did not get the results we hoped for the experience is valuable for this group of players. We are looking forward to a much better performance from Junior Japan next time round.
Comments by captain Tsuyoshi Murata
We finished the first half on close terms, but the opposition brought on a number of bigger players in the second half and we could not match it physically as the latter half wore on. Compared with the first game we played on tour, this team has grown a lot. We are looking to play attacking rugby but the defeats were tough on us. In reality, this is a starting point for these Junior Japan players and we are looking forward to much improved performances back in Japan.
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