Congratulations RIJ Newsletter 10th Anniversary 2003-2013
RiJ covers Week Five of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 this issue.
Enjoy the read.
Ian McDonnell lives and works in Japan. He can be contacted at ianmcdo@apost.plala.or.jp
CONTENTS
- HSBC Asia 5 Nations 2013 Week 5
- HSBC Asia 5 Nations Wrap Up
HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013
This year is the sixth edition of the HSBC Asian Five Nations with Japan having now won all six Top Five tournaments. In 2013 Japan kicked off the defence of their title with a 121-0 win against the newest team to play in the top division in the form of the Philippines in Fukuoka on Saturday 20 April before travelling to Hong Kong the following weekend where they beat hosts Hong Kong 38-0. Japan then returned home to take on Korea in Tokyo on Saturday 4 May in their third game where they claimed an impressive 64-5 win and then finished off the series with a 93-3 away win over the United Arab Emirates in a Friday evening game on 10 May 2013.
Top Five Previous Champions
2013: Japan (24 points from 4 wins).
2012: Japan (24 points from 4 wins).
2011: Japan (24 points from 4 wins).
2010: Japan (24 points from 4 wins).
2009: Japan (24 points from 4 wins).
2008: Japan (24 points from 4 wins).
HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 Results
| Week | Date | Team | Score | Team | Kick-off | Venue |
| 1 | Saturday 20 April 2013 | Japan | 121-0 | Philippines | 14:00 | Level 5 Stadium, Fukuoka |
|
|
| Hong Kong | 53-7 | UAE | 14:00 | Hong Kong Football Club |
|
|
| Korea bye |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 | Friday 26 April 2013 | UAE | 10-75 | Korea | 17:00 | Al Ain RFC, Al Ain |
|
| Saturday 27 April 2013 | Hong Kong | 0-38 | Japan | 16:03 | Hong Kong Football Club |
|
|
| Philippines bye |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 3 | Saturday 04 May 2013 | Japan | 64-5 | Korea | 14:00 | Chichibu, Tokyo |
|
|
| Philippines | 20-59 | Hong Kong | 19:00 | Rizal Stadium, Manila |
|
|
| UAE bye |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 4 | Friday 10 May 2013 | UAE | 3-93 | Japan | 20:00 | The Sevens, Dubai |
|
| Saturday 11 May 2013 | Korea | 62-19 | Philippines | 12:00 | Ansan Wa Stadium, Ansan |
|
|
| Hong Kong bye |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 5 | Saturday 18 May 2013 | Korea | 43-22 | Hong Kong | 12:00 | Ansan Wa Stadium, Ansan |
|
|
| Philippines | 24-8 | UAE | 19:00 | Rizal Stadium, Manila |
|
|
| Japan bye |
|
|
|
|
HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 Table
| Pos. | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | 4TBP | LBP | Pts |
| 1 | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 316 | 8 | 298 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| 2 | Korea | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 185 | 115 | 70 | 3 | 0 | 18 |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 134 | 108 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| 4 | Philippines | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 63 | 250 | -187 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | UAE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 245 | -217 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Five points for win, three points for draw, one bonus point for scoring four tries or more and one for losing by seven points or less.
Week Five Wrap
South Korea 43 d Hong Kong 22
Date: Saturday 18 May 2013
Venue: Ansan Wa Stadium, Ansan
Kick-off: 12:00
South Korea wrapped up second place on the final table for the second year in a row with an emphatic 43-22 win over Hong Kong in Ansan on Saturday 18 May 2013 in the final weekend of the HSBC Asian Five Nations for 2013. The hosts crossed the Hong Kong try line on seven occasions with five-eighth Oh Youn Hyung bagging a hat-trick to finish the tournament as the top point scorer with 68 points. Further out wide, wing Kim Gwong Min also picked up a double to finish as top try scorer with 8 touchdowns. Korea only held a 12-6 lead at the end of a tight first half, but opened up in the latter period to overwhelm the visitors. Two sinbinnings late in the game reduced Korea to 13 men at one stage but by then the game was well and truly won.
Philippines 24 d United Arab Emirates 8
Date: Saturday 18 May 2013
Venue: Rizal Stadium, Manila
Kick-off: 19:00
In a battle to avoid relegation between the two winless sides going into the final game of the Top Five division of the HSBC Asian Five Nations tournament for 2013, the Philippines made the most of their home ground advantage to scrap home 24-8 over the United Arab Emirates. The Volcanoes are playing in the top division for the very first time in 2013 and they consolidated their place in the highest level of Asian rugby for next season with this hard-fought win. On the other hand though, four straight losses for the UAE this season sees them drop back to Division One for 2014 for the first time since 2009 with their place to be taken by Sri Lanka. The hosts scored four tries to one in front of 5,700 vociferous fans, the highest ever attendance for a rugby match in the country.
Bye: Japan.
Japan Players Used in the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013
Below is a list of the players used in the four HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 test matches.
The table lists the four tests in chronological order, that is, the Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. This is followed by a total cap count for each player. Column numbers for the tests indicate jersey numbers worn by players. A number in brackets indicates unused reserve player and thus no cap awarded. A dash indicates the player was not included in the XXIII for that game. The captain for each match is indicated by (c).
Head coach Eddie Jones in his second year in the role used a very stable squad throughout the tournament with two players starting in all four games while a further eleven players made appearances in all four games.
A total of 31 players were used across the four tests with 7 players making their international debuts.
Halfback Fumiaki Tanaka played with the Otago Highlanders in Super Rugby 2013 while hooker Shota Horie played with the Melbourne Rebels in the same competition as the first Japanese players to play Super Rugby. Michael Leitch was also registered with the Waikato Chiefs.
Wing Hirotoki Onozawa is the most capped player in the current squad with 78 caps followed by lock Hitoshi Ono with 67 caps, while backrower Takashi Kikutani has 57 caps and prop Kensuke Hatakeyama has 40 caps.
The oldest players in the current squad are Onozawa and Hitoshi Ono who are both 35 years old, while Yoshikazu Fujita is the youngest at 19 years of age.
| Club | DOB | Age | Hgt/Wgt | PHI | HKG | KOR | UAE | Caps | |
| Masataka MIKAMI (TBC) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 4/06/1988 | 24 | 178/113 | 1 | 1 | -17 | 1 | 3 |
| Takuma ASAHARA (TBC) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 7/09/1987 | 25 | 179/114 | 17 | 17 | 1 | 17 | 4 |
| Hiroki YUHARA (537) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 21/01/1984 | 29 | 173/105 | 2 | - | 2 | - | 11 |
| Takeshi KIZU (534) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 15/07/1988 | 24 | 183/112 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 16 |
| Yusuke AOKI (490) | Suntory Sungoliath | 19/06/1983 | 29 | 176/95 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 26 |
| Hiroshi YAMASHITA (523) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 1/01/1986 | 27 | 183/120 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 19 |
| Kensuke HATAKEYAMA (515) | Suntory Sungoliath | 2/08/1985 | 27 | 178/116 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 40 |
| Hitoshi ONO (445) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 6/05/1978 | 35 | 192/102 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 67 |
| Shinya MAKABE (533) | Suntory Sungoliath | 26/03/1987 | 26 | 192/110 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 5 | 13 |
| Shoji ITO (553) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 2/12/1980 | 31 | 191/100 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 4 | 11 |
| Justin IVES (544) | Canon Eagles | 24/05/1984 | 29 | 196/100 | 20 | 20 | 5 | - | 11 |
| Hendrik TUI (565) | Suntory Sungoliath | 13/12/1987 | 25 | 189/100 | 21 | 6 | 21 | 6 | 8 |
| Michael BROADHURST (566) | Ricoh Black Rams | 30/10/1986 | 26 | 196/110 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Takashi KIKUTANI (474) (v-c) | Toyota Verblitz | 24/02/1980 | 33 | 187/100 | 6 | 8 | 6 (c) | 8 (c) | 57 |
| Ryuta YASUI (TBC) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 6/12/1989 | 23 | 187/105 | - | - | - | 20 | 1 |
| Ryu Koliniasi HOLANI (512) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 25/10/1981 | 31 | 188/111 | 8 | 21 | 8 | - | 25 |
| Atsushi HIWASA (545) | Suntory Sungoliath | 22/05/1987 | 26 | 166/71 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 21 |
| Keisuke UCHIDA (558) | Tsukuba University | 22/02/1992 | 21 | 177/85 | - | - | - | 9 | 3 |
| Kosei ONO (492) | Suntory Sungoliath | 17/04/1987 | 26 | 171/82 | 10 | 10 | 10 | - | 17 |
| Yu TAMURA (555) | NEC Green Rockets | 9/01/1989 | 24 | 181/88 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 10 | 7 |
| Ryoto NAKAMURA (TBC) | Teikyo University | 3/06/1991 | 21 | 177/93 | - | - | - | 22 | 1 |
| Harumichi TATEKAWA (557) | Kubota Spears | 2/12/1989 | 23 | 181/93 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 23 | 13 |
| Craig WING (TBC) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 26/12/1979 | 33 | 180/89 | - | - | - | 12 | 1 |
| Male SAU (TBC) | Yamaha Jubilo | 13/10/1987 | 25 | 183/98 | 13 | 13 | 13 | - | 3 |
| Seiichi SHIMOMURA (454) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 20/09/1981 | 31 | 175/85 | - | - | - | 13 | 4 |
| Yuta IMAMURA (480) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 31/10/1984 | 28 | 178/93 | - | 11 | 23 | 11 | 36 |
| Kenki FUKUOKA (TBC) | Tsukuba University | 7/09/1992 | 20 | 175/83 | 23 | - | 11 | - | 2 |
| Hirotoki ONOZAWA (416) | Suntory Sungoliath | 29/03/1978 | 35 | 180/85 | 11 | - | - | 15 | 78 |
| Yoshikazu FUJITA (562) | Waseda University | 8/09/1993 | 19 | 184/86 | - | 23 | 14 | 14 | 4 |
| Toshiaki HIROSE (c) (495) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 17/10/1981 | 31 | 173/80 | 14 (c) | 14 (c) | - | - | 12 |
| Ayumu GOROMARU (467) (v-c) | Yamaha Jubilo | 1/03/1986 | 27 | 185/96 | 15 | 15 | 15 | - | 2 |
Staff
Eddie Jones, head coach, JRFU.
Scott Wisemantel, technical adviser, JRFU.
John Pryor, strength and conditioning coordinator, JRFU.
Takahiro Murakami, strength and conditioning coach, Vital Strength Co., Ltd.
Yuji Takazawa, team doctor, Juntendo University.
Hidenori Izawa, physiotherapist, Dome Co., Ltd.
Junnosuke Aono, physiotherapist, JRFU.
Shota Nakajima, analyst, JRFU.
Takenori Omura, team manager, JRFU.
Julia Nakazawa, translator, Field of Dreams.
Mayuko Watanabe, media manager, JRFU.
Japan Point Scorers in the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013
Below is a list of the point scorers for Japan in the four tests played during the HSBC A5N 2013.
Fullback Ayumu Goromaru with 63 points from 2 tries, 25 conversions and one penalty was the leading point scorer for Japan in the A5N 2013. The overall leading point scorer in the competition was South Korean five-eighth Oh Youn Hyung with 68 points.
Wing Yuta Imamura and backrower Takashi Kikutani were the leading try scorers for Japan with five 5-pointers each. The overall leading try scorer in the competition was South Korean wing Kim Gwong Min with eight tries.
A total of 49 tries were scored across the four tests, including one penalty try, 34 of which were converted by the four goal kickers used. Goromaru kicked the only penalty for Japan.
| Name | T | C | P | Total |
| Ayumu Goromaru | 2 | 25 | 1 | 63 |
| Takashi Kikutani | 5 | - | - | 25 |
| Yuta Imamura | 5 | - | - | 25 |
| Harumichi Tatekawa | 3 | 5 | - | 25 |
| Kenki Fukuoka | 4 | - |
| 20 |
| Yoshikazu Fujita | 4 | - | - | 20 |
| Male Sau | 3 | - | - | 15 |
| Hitoshi Ono | 2 | - |
| 10 |
| Ryu Koliniasi Holani | 2 | - |
| 10 |
| Toshiaki Hirose | 2 | - | - | 10 |
| Hirotoki Onozawa | 2 | - | - | 10 |
| Takuma Asahara | 2 | - | - | 10 |
| Yusuke Aoki | 2 | - | - | 10 |
| Kosei Ono | 2 | - | - | 10 |
| Michael Broadhurst | 1 | - |
| 5 |
| Shinya Makabe | 1 | - |
| 5 |
| Masataka Mikami | 1 | - |
| 5 |
| Kensuke Hatakeyama | 1 | - |
| 5 |
| Takeshi Kizu | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| Hendrik Tui | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| Ryuta Yasui | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| Atsushi Hiwasa | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| Yu Tamura | - | 2 | - | 4 |
| Ryoto Nakamura | - | 2 | - | 4 |
| Penalty try | 1 | - | - | 5 |
| TOTALS | 49 | 34 | 1 | 316 |
Cards
In the four tests of the HSBC A5N 2013, Japan did not receive any cards.
Milestones
A total of seven players made their international debuts for Japan including props Masataka Mikami and Takuma Asahara, loose forward Ryuta Yasui, Teikyo University five-eighth Ryoto Nakamura, former Australian rugby league player Craig Wing, centre Male Sau and 20-year-old Tsukuba University wing Kenki Fukuoka.
At the completion of the HSBC A5N 2013, Hirotoki Onozawa who occupied the left wing position in one test and fullback in another finished the series with 78 caps for Japan and now only has record holder former centre Yukio Motoki (79) ahead of him. Furthermore, lock Hitoshi Ono has earned 67 caps, with only Onozawa and Motoki ahead of him on the all time list of appearances for Japan.
The two tries Onozawa scored in the series took his overall total to fifty-five international tries leaving only Shane Williams on 59 (90 tests, Wales, Lions, (2000-2011), David Campese on 64 (Australia, 101 tests, 1982-1996) and Daisuke Ohata on 69 (Japan, 58 tests, 1996-2006) ahead of him.
The five tries backrower Takashi Kikutani scored took his total to thirty-one test tries, moving him ahead of former wing Terunori Masuho (28) into third place on the all time try scorers list for Japan behind Onozawa and Ohata. Further, Kikutani finished the series with 57 caps and only has Ohata (58), former backrower Takeomi Ito (62), Ono (67), Onozawa (78) and Motoki (79) ahead of him. A leg injury to regular captain Toshiaki Hirose also saw Kikutani captain Japan in the final two tests of the series, the first time he captained Japan since Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.
Tighthead prop Kensuke Hatakeyama finished the series with 40 caps, equalling the most appearances by a prop with Shin Hasegawa.
The 63 points fullback Ayumu Goromaru scored in the series took his total to 245 international points, sixth on the leading points scorers list for Japan behind Onozawa (275), James Arlidge (286), Ohata (345), Toru Kurihara (347) and Keiji Hirose (413).
In the final test against the UAE, Seiichi Shimomura started at outside centre, earning his fourth cap for Japan, playing his first test since April 2007.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment