Congratulations RIJ Newsletter 10th Anniversary 2003-2013
RiJ looks at the re-start of Top League this week with Stage Two, Round One. Meanwhile NEC is under review in the Top League team profiles series.
Enjoy the read.
CONTENTS
- Japan Top League 2013-14: Stage 2, Round 1
- Japan Rugby Top League Team Profiles 2013-14: NEC Green Rockets
Japan Rugby Top League 2013-14
Stage Two, Round One
Group A
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Sat, 30 Nov 2013 | NEC (1T) | 19-22 | Canon (3Ts) | 12:00 | Kumagaya, Saitama |
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| Panasonic (2Ts) | 24-20 | Yamaha (2Ts) | 14:00 | Kumagaya, Saitama |
| Sun, 01 Dec 2013 | Toyota (2Ts) | 12-27 | Toshiba (3Ts) | 14:00 | Hanazono, Osaka |
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| Kobe (3Ts) | 23-37 | Suntory (4Ts) | 13:00 | Kobe, Hyogo |
Group B
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Sat, 30 Nov 2013 | Kyuden (5Ts) | 38-36 | NTT Comm. (5Ts) | 12:00 | Level 5, Fukuoka |
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| Coca-Cola (4Ts) | 32-17 | Ricoh (2Ts) | 14:15 | Level 5, Fukuoka |
| Sun, 01 Dec 2013 | Kintetsu (2Ts) | 21-20 | NTT Docomo (3Ts) | 12:00 | Hanazono, Osaka |
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| Kubota (3Ts) | 30-7 | Toyota Industries (1T) | 13:00 | Nagaragawa, Gifu |
Stage Two, Round One Preview
Group A
In the first game of a double header at the Kumagaya Rugby Ground in Saitama prefecture on Saturday, NEC Green Rockets are close to home as they play Canon Eagles. NEC finished second in Pool A on 25 points from five wins and two losses and they take on Canon who finished fourth in Pool B on 20 points from four wins and three losses. With both these sides coming from different pools, this is their first meeting this season and for what it matters, the Green Rockets had a big 34-0 win over the Eagles when they met last season. That is now water under the bridge and with Canon making big strides in 2013-14 the score promises to be much closer this time round.
In the second game at Kumagaya, Panasonic Wild Knights play Yamaha Jubilo. Panasonic topped Pool B on 28 points from five wins, a draw and one loss and although Yamaha completed the same pool also with five wins, a draw and one loss, they took second place on the table with 25 points. Panasonic and Yamaha played out a 13-all draw at the Yamaha Stadium back in mid-September and both sides will be aiming to be clear winners in their second meeting this season. The Knights had a number of players involved in the autumn tests including hooker and captain Shota Horie and also test debutant in winger Akihito Yamada and jet lag and fatigue could play a role as the game wears on. Jubilo too had fullback Ayumu Goromaru and centre Male Sau in the Japan squad.
On Sunday, Toyota Verblitz play Toshiba Brave Lupus at the Hanazono ground in Osaka. Toyota finished fourth in Pool A on 22 points from five wins and two losses while Toshiba finished third in Pool B on 23 points from the same five wins and two losses. Although this is the first meeting between these two sides this season, the results so far suggest a very close battle is install. Matches between these two powerhouse tend to be fiercely contested with the Verblitz beating the Brave Lupus 29-21 in the rounds last season.
Also on Sunday, Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers face Suntory Sungoliath in Kobe. Kobe finished third in Pool A on 24 points from five wins and two losses while Suntory topped the same pool on 30 points from six wins and one loss. The Sungoliath accounted for the Steelers 29-20 when they met earlier in the season in Yokohama but the result in this one looks impossible to predict. Both clubs had a number of players involved in the autumn tests including captain Shinya Makabe and prop Kensuke Hatakeyama for Suntory while prop Hisateru Hirashima and centre Craig Wing were among the Kobe representatives.
Group B
In Group B, in the first game of a double header at the Level Five Stadium in Fukuoka on Saturday, Kyuden Voltex are on home soil to play NTT Communications Shining Arcs. Kyuden finished last in Pool A on no points from seven straight losses while NTT Comm. finished fifth on 19 points from four wins and three losses. One of those wins included the 41-19 win over the Voltex in round six. It has been anything but a happy season for Kyuden but the team has had the time to regroup over the November window month and the Shining Arcs will have to fight all the way is they are to repeat the dose.
In the second game at Level Five, Coca-Cola West Red Sparks play at home against Ricoh Black Rams. Coca-Cola finished last in Pool B with six points from one draw and six losses while Ricoh finished one place better in the same pool on nine points from one win, one draw and five losses. These two sides played out a 27-all draw at Chichibu in the opening round of the season back in August and after that both outfits struggled for form. Coca-Cola won promotion back to Top League for this season but the ride has been a very bumpy one and they will be hoping home town support can get them their first win of the season.
On Sunday, Kintetsu Liners are at home at Hanazono to play NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes. Kintetsu finished sixth in Pool B on thirteen points from two wins and five losses while NTT Docomo finished seventh in Pool A on ten points from the same two wins and five losses. Although these two sides meet for the first time this season the intensity should he high in this local derby for the two Osaka based teams. The Liners won 59-7 last season and that in itself should provide enough motivation for the red Hurricanes to try to turn the tables this time round.
Also on Sunday, Kubota Spears play Toyota Industries Shuttles in Gifu prefecture. Kubota finished fifth in Pool B on 20 points from four wins and three losses while Toyota Industries finished sixth in Pool A on eleven points from one win and six losses. Both these sides won promotion back into Top League this season from regional leagues but it has been pretty hard going against much stronger oppositions. In Group B, the fight is now on to avoid relegation and after all the hard work to get back into Top League neither the Spears or the Shuttles will be in the mood for a loss.
Stage Two Round One Wrap-up
Group A
In the first game of a double header at the Kumagaya Rugby Ground in Saitama prefecture on Saturday, NEC Green Rockets were close to home as they played Canon Eagles but that did not save them from going down 22-19. With both these sides coming from different pools, this was their first meeting this season and for what it matters, this was revenge for the Green Rockets big 34-0 win over the Eagles when they met last season. Canon are making big strides in 2013-14 and with wins over Panasonic and Yamaha earlier in the season they started the second half of Top League in perfect pitch. The Eagles scored three tries to one with the backs doing the damage with wings Tokiro Harada, Rocky Havili and fullback and captain Taku Wada touching down while centre Ryohei Mitomo was named man of the match.
In the second game at Kumagaya, Panasonic Wild Knights beat Yamaha Jubilo 24-20. Panasonic topped Pool B and Yamaha took second place in the same pool and after playing out a 13-all draw at the Yamaha Stadium back in mid-September the Knights emerged clear winners in their second meeting this season. Both sides scored two tries apiece but it was the four penalties from Panasonic five-eighth and man of the match Berrick Barnes that proved the difference in the end. The scores were locked at 7-all at the break but the Knights got out to 21-7 inside the last quarter of the match and despite a spirited fight back Panasonic hung in there for the win.
On Sunday, Toyota Verblitz played Toshiba Brave Lupus at the Hanazono ground in Osaka with the Brave Lupus winning 27-12. Toyota finished fourth in Pool A while Toshiba finished third in Pool B and this was the first meeting between these two sides this season. Toyota were still in it with a real chance only trailing 14-12 at the hour mark but Toshiba finished the stronger with a try to flanker and captain Michael Leitch while halfback Takahiro Ogawa potted the conversion and then added two penalties to see the Brave Lupus draw away on the scoreboard over the final quarter.
Also on Sunday, Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers faced Suntory Sungoliath in Kobe with Suntory winning 37-23. Kobe finished third in Pool A Suntory topped the same pool and after accounting for the Steelers 29-20 when they met earlier in the season in Yokohama the Sungoliath once again took the result. Suntory scored four tries to three with centre Ryan Nicholas having a fine day with the boot converting all four tries and adding two further penalties. Halfback Fourie du Preez was named man of the match as the reigning champions started the second half of the Top League in fine form.
Group B
In Group B, in the first game of a double header at the Level Five Stadium in Fukuoka on Saturday, Kyuden Voltex were on home soil to play NTT Communications Shining Arcs. Kyuden finished last in Pool A on no points from seven straight losses but reversed their fortunes with a 38-36 win over NTT Comm. to chalk up their first win of the season. In a high-scoring game where both sides scored five tries each, the Voltex literally left it to the last minute for the win with Yusuke Aramaki levelling the scores at 36-all leaving it for five-eighth Genki Saito to pot the match-winning conversion. The scores were locked on a number of occasions throughout the game and perhaps a draw would have been a just result but Kyuden were not to be denied.
In the second game at Level Five, Coca-Cola West Red Sparks played at home against Ricoh Black Rams. Coca-Cola finished last in Pool B with six points from one draw and six losses but made amends with their first win of the season with this 32-17 win over Ricoh. The Red Sparks ran in four tries to cap off the win with a bonus point. Fullback Tu Umaga-Marshall did most of the damage for Coca-Cola with two tries, three conversions and two penalties and not surprisingly was named man of the match.
On Sunday, Kintetsu Liners were at home at Hanazono to play NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes and made the most of their home-ground advantage with a heart-stopping 21-10 win. Kintetsu finished sixth in Pool B while NTT Docomo finished seventh in Pool A and although these two sides met for the first time this season the intensity was high in this local derby for the two Osaka based teams. NTT Docomo were leading 20-18 with the clock ticking down to fulltime only for Kintetsu five-eighth Yasumasa Shigemitsu to boot a penalty to enable the Liners to grab victory from the jaws of defeat.
Also on Sunday, Kubota Spears played and beat Toyota Industries Shuttles 30-7 in Gifu prefecture. Kubota finished fifth in Pool B while Toyota Industries finished sixth in Pool A. Both these sides won promotion back into Top League this season from regional leagues but it has been pretty hard going against much stronger oppositions. In Group B, the fight is now on to avoid relegation and after all the hard work to get back into Top League and the Spears were be in the mood for a loss with this convincing three tries to one victory. Kubota five-eighth Harumichi Tatekawa was named man of the match and after a shoulder injury sustained against the All Blacks early in November forced him to miss the national side tour of Europe he was back to his best form for his club side.
Group A
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| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP1 | BP2 | Pts |
| 1 | Suntory (+4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 23 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Panasonic (+4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Toshiba (+2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Canon (+1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | NEC (+3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Yamaha (+3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 24 | -4 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Kobe (+2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 37 | -14 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Toyota (+1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 27 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Group B
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| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP1 | BP2 | Pts |
| 1 | Kubota (+4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 7 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | Kintetsu (+3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Coca-Cola (+1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Kyuden (+1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
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| 5 | NTT Comm. (+4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 38 | -2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | NTT Docomo (+2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Toyota Industries (+3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 30 | -23 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Ricoh (+2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 32 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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 Stage One and then Stage Two, Round One, Yamaha fullback Ayumu Goromaru tops the point scorers list with 104 points.
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| Name | Team | T | G | PG | DG | Pts |
| 1 | Ayumu Goromaru | Yamaha | 2 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 104 |
| 2 | Ryan Nicholas | Suntory | 1 | 23 | 15 | 0 | 96 |
| 3 | Shaun Webb | NEC | 1 | 12 | 21 | 0 | 92 |
| 4 | Ryohei Mitomo | Canon | 1 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 79 |
| 5 | Harumichi Tatekawa | Kubota | 0 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 70 |
| 5 | Yasumasa Shigemitsu | Kintetsu | 2 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 70 |
| 7 | Yoshio Kimishima | NTT Comm. | 1 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 57 |
| 8 | Tadahiro Miwa | Panasonic | 0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 47 |
| 9 | Riaan Viljoen | NTT Docomo | 3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 46 |
| 10 | Jaque Fourie | Kobe | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
Leading Try Scorers
At the completion Stage One and then Stage Two, Round One, Kobe centre Jaque Fourie tops the try scorers list with 9 tries.
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| Name | Team | Tries |
| 1 | Jaque Fourie | Kobe | 9 |
| 2 | Akihito Yamada | Panasonic | 8 |
| 3 | Masakatsu Hikosaka | Toyota | 7 |
| 3 | Tokiro Harada | Canon | 7 |
| 5 | Radike Samo | Kintetsu | 6 |
| 5 | Shuetsu Narita | Suntory | 6 |
| 5 | JP Pietersen | Panasonic | 6 |
| 5 | Tim Bennetts | Canon | 6 |
| 5 | Shindo Kamaike | NEC | 6 |
| 10 | Naoki Chono | Suntory | 5 |
| 10 | Hiraku Tomoigawa | NTT Comm. | 5 |
Stage 2, Round 1 Man-of-the-match Awards
| Group | Teams | Score | Teams | MOTM | ||
| Sat 30 Nov 2013 | A | NEC | 19-22 | Canon | 12:00 | Ryohei Mitomo, |
| Canon No.12 | ||||||
| A | Panasonic | 24-20 | Yamaha | 14:00 | Berrick Barnes, | |
| Panasonic No.10 | ||||||
| B | Kyuden | 38-36 | NTT Comm. | 12:00 | Genki Saito, | |
| Kyuden No.10 | ||||||
| B | Coca-Cola | 32-17 | Ricoh | 14:15 | Tu Umaga-Marshall, | |
| Coca-Cola No.15 | ||||||
| Sun 01 Dec 2013 | A | Toyota | 12-27 | Toshiba | 14:00 | Michael Leitch, |
| Toshiba No.7 | ||||||
| A | Kobe | 23-37 | Suntory | 13:00 | Fourie du Preez, | |
| Suntory No.9 | ||||||
| B | Kintetsu | 21-20 | NTT Docomo | 12:00 | Kim Chul-Won, | |
| Kintetsu No.9 | ||||||
| B | Kubota | 30-7 | Toyota Industries | 13:00 | Harumichi Tatekawa, | |
| Kubota No.10 |
Top League Profiles 2013-14
(8) NEC Green Rockets
2013-14 Introduction: Last season (2012-13) NEC finished eighth on the final Top League table, dropping from fourth from the previous season.
A lot of the success at NEC in the past few seasons could be put down to one man: giant Fijian winger Nemani Nadolo. The larger than life Fijian international at 195cm and 129kg won the leading try scorer title in Top League two seasons back and he should again prove to be almost impossible to stop again this year. Nevertheless, NEC are far from a one man show and the club is gradually rebuilding with a lot of young talent coming through after some lean years over recent times. One of the up and coming stars is five-eighth Yu Tamura and his potential has not gone unnoticed either as he has gone on to national honours under Eddie Jones. Other rising players include flanker Tsuyoshi Murata and No8 Makoto Tosa. Other established players at NEC include Ryota Asano and Nili Latu in the forwards and Anthony Tuitavake and wing Koichiro Kubota in the backs. Finally, former Japan fullback Shaun Webb joins the Rockets from Coca-Cola this season.
Established: NEC (Nippon Denki Kabushiki geisha) are another of the relatively newer clubs in Top League having only been established in 1985 with the team based in the NEC factory complex in Abiko city in north-western Chiba prefecture. The green in Green Rockets refers to the grass of the playing fields upon which NEC battles. While the rocket is the image of a fast and powerful NEC leading the way in the 21st century. NEC also have in their sports stable the Blue Rockets (men’s volleyball team) and the Red Rockets (women’s volleyball team).
In 2011-12 NEC finished fourth on the table and qualified for the play-offs for the first time. In 2010-11 NEC finished sixth on the final Top League table after they slumped to tenth in 2009-10. NEC had relatively disappointing 2008-9, 2007-8 and 2006-7 seasons by their standards finishing fifth, sixth and seventh on the table respectively. However, apart from these seasons, the club has been very successful over recent years.
The team slogan for 2013-14 is “No Limit!”.
The Company: The company itself was founded in 1899 and was known in English as Nippon Electric Company, Limited until it was re-branded as NEC Corporation in 1983. NEC is an electrical, electronics and IT company. See www.nec.co.jp.
Titles:
Top League – none.
From the 2003-4 season to the 2005-6 season, Top League consisted of 12 teams and the team that finished on top of the table claimed the title. In the 2006-7 season, Top League was increased to 14 teams with the top four finishers on the ladder progressing to the Microsoft Cup, the play-off series to determine the overall Top League champion. From the 2009-10 season, the Microsoft company did not renew their naming rights sponsorship and so the finals series became known as the Top League Play-off Tournament.
2012-13 (14 teams): 8th on table on 32 points with 6 wins and 7 losses.
2011-12 (14 teams): 4th on table on 41 points with 8 wins and 5 losses. Lost to Suntory 56-8 in play-off semi-finals.
2010-11 (14 teams): 6th on table on 34 points with 7 wins and 6 losses.
2009-10 (14 teams): 10th on table on 25 points with 4 wins and 9 losses.
2008-9 (14 teams): 5th on table on 37 points with 8 wins and 5 losses.
2007-8 (14 teams): 6th on table on 42 points with 9 wins and 4 losses.
2006-7 (14 teams): 7th on table on 38 points with 7 wins and 6 losses.
2005-6 (12 teams): 3rd on table on 41 points with 9 wins and 2 losses.
2004-5 (12 teams): 3rd on table on 44 points with 9 wins and 2 losses.
2003-4 (12 teams): 6th on table on 27 points with 5 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses.
National Championship –3 times (2006 (joint champions with Toshiba after final drawn at 6-all), 2005 and 2002).
For 2013, the Wildcard Tournament again featured six teams, that is, the six teams that finished fifth to tenth on the final Top League table for the 2012-13 season. In the first round, eighth placed NEC Green Rockets beat ninth placed NTT Communications Shining Arcs 38-14 and seventh placed Kintetsu Liners beat tenth placed Ricoh Black Rams 43-21. In the second round the following weekend, sixth placed Yamaha Jubilo beat Kintetsu 70-12 and fifth placed Toyota Verblitz beat NEC 41-23. The two winners from the second round in Yamaha and Toyota qualified for the National Championship as the Wildcard Qualifiers.
2013 (50th NC - 10 teams): DNQ.
2012 (49th NC - 10 teams): Beat Kobe 17-10 in 1st round, Canon 62-19 in 2nd round and lost to Panasonic 41-3 in semi-finals.
2011 (48th NC - 10 teams): Beat Ricoh 38-33 in Wildcard Tournament to qualify. Lost to Toshiba 21-10 in first round.
2010 (47th NC - 10 teams): Beat Sanix 33-5 and Kubota 22-21 in Wildcard Tournament to qualify for NC. Drew with Suntory 10-all in first round but won on lottery ballot, beat Teikyo Uni. 38-5 in QFs then lost to Sanyo 25-16 in SFs.
2009 (46th NC - 10 teams): Beat Kobe 30-29 in first round, then lost to Ricoh 24-23 in second round.
2008 (45th NC - 8 teams): DNQ as only top 4 TL teams qualified.
2007 (44th NC - 8 teams): DNQ as only top 4 TL teams qualified.
2006 (43rd NC - 8 teams): Joint Champions. Beat Coca-Cola 69-24 in QFs & Sanyo 24-16 in SFs. Drew the final 6-all with Toshiba.
2005 (42nd NC - 8 teams): Champions. Beat Yamaha 24-13 in SFs, Sanix 55-21 in QFs & Toyota 17-13 in final.
2004 (41st NC - 22 teams): Beat KGU 43-13, Suntory 34-27 in QFs & lost 34-29 to Kobe in SFs.
Corporate Championship – none. The Corporate Championship started in 1949 and ended with the 55th Corporate Championship in 2003 as a consequence of the introduction of Top League as the national corporate league in the 2003-4 season.
Colours: Dark green and white hooped jersey, dark green shorts and socks. The alternative strip is white.
Style of Play: Consistency was rewarded with the club’s first major title coming in the form of National Championship in 2002 and then again in 2005 and 2006 (The 2006 title was shared with Toshiba when the final was drawn 6-all). This was complemented by winning the inaugural Microsoft Cup in 2004. NEC finished sixth in the inaugural Top League season then managed third place in the following two seasons before dropping to seventh in 2006-7, sixth in 2007-8, fifth in 2008-9. In the 2009-10 season NEC finished tenth after losing nine of their ten opening games. They then improved in 2010-11 rising to sixth place. In 2011-12, NEC finished fourth on the table, though admittedly a long way behind Suntory, Panasonic and Toshiba, to make the Top League play-offs for the first time. In 2012-13, NEC finished in eighth place.
NEC are continuing through something of a generational change at the moment with a significant number of their mainstay players over the Top League era reaching the end of their careers or moving on. For instance, Jaco van der Westhuyzen returned to South Africa at the end of the 2009-10 season after six years with the club while former club and national captain Takuro Miuchi moved to NTT Docomo at the end of the 2009-10 season after 11 years with the Rockets.
For 2013-14, the team is looking to strike a balance between young up and coming players, the veteran players in the squad and also their overseas contingent as they try to shape a strong team for the future and get back to the standard they were at six or seven years ago. In all likelihood, NEC may not be up there competing for the Top League title this season and they will have a lot of competition for a place in the top four from sides like Kobe, Yamaha and Toyota, but the club is rebuilding and over the long term they have to map out a way to get back to the top. The challenge is there for NEC in the short term and this season will be a step along the long path of reinventing themselves and creating a squad that can eventually compete with the best.
Players to Watch: Simply put, two of the main players to watch at NEC in the 2013-14 season are Nemani Nadolo and Yu Tamura. Nadolo, the giant Fijian wing at 195cm and 125kg headed the try scorers list in the 2011-12 season with 19 tries, equalling the record set by Sanyo wing Tomoki Kitagawa in the 2006-7 season. That record was broken in 2012-13 when Panasonic wing Akihito Yamada finished the season with 20 tries but if he gets the ball in space he is almost unstoppable. The goal kicking Tamura played his rookie season in the senior ranks in the 2011-12 season at five-eighth and inside centre and ended up catching the eye of national coach Eddie Jones. Tamura has now established himself in the national side and is well down the road to a long career for Japan.
Elsewhere though, in the forwards, a lot of inspiration will again come from flanker Nili Latu, now in his seventh season with NEC. However, flanker Ryota Asano will also have to play at his best this season with the added responsibilities of the captaincy. Some of the mainstays of the NEC pack include prop Yuta Inose and veteran lock Tomoo Yasuda but a number of younger players continue their rise at the club including flanker Tsuyoshi Murata who is a fringe national player, No8 Makoto Tosa who is in his fifth season with the club after spending time at Oxford while flanker Taro Kenjo is another one to keep an eye on this year. Meanwhile, Welshman Gareth Delve has linked up with the Green Rockets this year from the Melbourne Rebels.
In the backs, Shaun Webb joins NEC from Coca-Cola and with Tamura should form a solid combination at No.10 and No.12 and they will be effective in getting the backs going. In the midfield, Tsutomu Sakuraya and Shindo Kamaike now have considerable experience while further out in the backs are the talents of Koichi Ohigashi, who can play halfback as well as wing or fullback and speedy wing Koichiro Kubota out wide. The inclusion of centre Neil Brew from Toshiba is a boost in the firepower of the NEC backs while Nadolo will be looking to make an impact again this season.
Cap holders for Japan in the current squad: (6)
In 2013, in the HSBC A5N series, NEC were represented by five-eighth, inside centre Yu Tamura who had game time in all four tests. In the IRB PNC series, NEC were represented by Tamura who made appearances in all four tests. In the middle of the PNC series, Wales toured Japan for two tests and NEC were represented by Tamura in both tests.
Shaun WEBB (511) 31 y/o (30/12/1981), 33 caps at five-eighth and fullback.
Ryota ASANO (437) 34 y/o (25/09/1979), 22 caps at flanker.
Yu TAMURA (555) 24 y/o (09/01/1989), 17 caps at five-eighth and inside centre.
Koichi OHIGASHI (444) 34 y/o (03/10/1979), 7 caps at halfback and wing.
Yuta INOSE (508) 31 y/o (15/03/1982), 6 caps at prop.
Koichiro KUBOTA (455) 35 y/o (15/09/1978), 3 caps at wing.
Keiji TAKEI (452) 33 y/o (01/06/1980), 6 caps at wing/fullback. Retired at the end of the 2012-13 season.
The Coach: Greg Cooper (10/06/1965, 48) is in his second year as head coach at NEC for the 2013-14 season after acting as coaching coordinator. Cooper played seven tests for the All Blacks at fullback between 1986 and 1992 and played his provincial rugby with Auckland and Otago. After his playing days, Cooper had various coaching roles with the Blues and the Highlanders including head coach with the latter in 2008 while he has also coached U21 New Zealand. He was coaching director at NEC from the 2008-9 season till last season. Keith Roberts is conditioning coach.
The Captain: Flanker Ryota Asano is again the captain at NEC for the 2013-14 season for the second year in a row. In fact, this is the second coming for Asano as captain as he previous had the role for three seasons from 2005-6 to 2007-8. The 34-year-old Asano is in his twelfth season with the club.
Losses: (7)
PAK Sung-Koo (Korea), 30 y/o (22/07/1983), prop, 180/113, 6 caps for Korea, from Yamaha. To Kubota after 3 seasons with club.
Shigeaki GEN 28 y/o (19/01/1985), lock, 189/105, retired after 6 seasons with club.
Ryo UCHIDA 27 y/o (25/07/1986), halfback, 168/73, into company workforce after 4 seasons with club.
Cameron McINTYRE (NZL), 32 y/o, (03/06/1981), five-eighth, 181/90, SR Crusaders, NPC Canterbury. To Toyota after 2 seasons with club.
Takeshi MATSUO 34 y/o (17/07/1979), five-eighth, 172/83, into company workforce after 11 seasons with club.
Anthony TUITAVAKE (NZL), 31 y/o (12/02/1982), centre, 183/96, 6 caps for All Blacks, NZ Sevens, S14 Blues, NPC North Harbour. To Montpellier after 3 seasons with club.
Keiji TAKEI (452) 33 y/o (01/06/1980), fullback, 174/80, 6 caps at wing/fullback, into company workforce after 11 seasons with club.
Gains: (7)
Takuma HORI, 23 y/o (25/05/1990), prop, 187/115, from Ryutsu Keizai Univ.
Mao ENOKI, 22 y/o (02/03/1991), prop, 178/119, from Meiji Univ, he has represented Japan at U20, High School and U17 levels.
Gareth DELVE (Wales), 30 y/o (30/12/1982), No8, 191/112, 11 caps for Wales, from SR Melbourne Rebels.
Kaito SHIGENO, 23 y/o (21/11/1990), halfback, 170/70, from Daito Bunka Univ.
Shaun WEBB (Japan/NZ), 31 y/o (30/12/1981), five-eighth/fullback, 181/90, 33 caps for Japan, Kobe (2005-6 to 2006-7), World (2007-8 to 2008-9), from Coca-Cola (2009-10 to 2012-13).
Neil BREW (NZL), 34 y/o (08/03/1979), wing/centre, 182/96, NPC Otago, S12 Highlanders and Bristol (Eng). He has represented NZ Maori, from Toshiba (2009-10 to 2012-13).
Yuki MIYAMAE, 23 y/o (03/08/1990), wing, 176/87, from Tenri Univ.
Overseas Players & Staff: (7 + 2)
Nili LATU (Tonga) 31 y/o (19/02/1982), flanker, 182/101, 7th year, S14 Hurricanes, ANC BoP, 33 caps Tonga and 6 caps Pacific Islands, Tonga Sevens.
Nemani NADOLO (FIJ), 25 y/o (31/01/1988), wing, 195/125, 3rd year, 8 caps for Fiji, Exeter (Eng) 2011, Bourgoin (Fra) 2010, Waratahs 2008-10, St Joseph’s College.
KIM Kwang-Sik (Korea), 28 y/o, (08/11/1985), prop, 183/130, 3rd year, 19 caps for Korea, from POSCO.
Isileli VAKAUTA (Tonga), 24 y/o (09/07/1989), No8, 186/120, 2nd year, from Ryutsu Keizai Univ. He has represented Japan at high school level.
Gareth DELVE (Wales), 30 y/o (30/12/1982), No8, 191/112, 1st year, 11 caps for Wales, from SR Melbourne Rebels.
Shaun WEBB (Japan/NZ), 31 y/o (30/12/1981), five-eighth/fullback, 181/90, 1st year, 33 caps for Japan, Kobe (2005-6 to 2006-7), World (2007-8 to 2008-9), from Coca-Cola (2009-10 to 2012-13).
Neil BREW (NZL), 34 y/o (08/03/1979), wing/centre, 182/96, 1st year, NPC Otago, S12 Highlanders and Bristol (Eng). He has represented NZ Maori, from Toshiba (2009-10 to 2012-13).
Greg COOPER (48), head coach.
Keith ROBERTS (64), conditioning coach.
The 2013-14 Squad: (45) the list starts with captain and vice-captains and then continues through forwards and backs in order from props to fullbacks.
Ryota Asano (c), Yosuke Usui (v-c), Taro Kenjo (v-c), Tomohiro Sakurai (v-c), Shindo Kamaike (v-c). Forwards: Yuta Inose, Naoto Yoshimura, Kim Kwang-Sik, Takahiro Doi, Sunao Takizawa, Hikaru Tanaka, Takuma Hori, Mao Enoki, Takaharu Yamamoto, Shin Kawamura, Tomoo Yasuda, Taku Hirosawa, Yuta Onodera, Takahisa Miyamoto, Tsuyoshi Murata, Ryoya Sakai, Yoshiya Hosoda, Ken Hidaka, Nili Latu, Gareth Delve, Makoto Tosa and Isileli Vakauta. Backs: Kyohei Fujito, Tsukuru Nishida, Kaito Shigeno, Shaun Webb, Yosuke Morita, Yu Tamura, Neil Brew, Shigeki Morita, Tsutomu Sakuraya, Koichiro Kubota, Hayato Sezaki, Koshiro Shuto, Hidefumi Yamamoto, Hiromasa Yoshihiro, Nemani Nadolo, Yuki Miyamae, Koichi Ohigashi and Hiroshi Yamashita. Coach: Greg Cooper (48).
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