21 October 2014
CONTENTS
- Top League 2014-15: Stage 1, Round 7
- Gold Coast Sevens
- Odds and Sods-ARFU Asian Sevens Series
-Yuta Mochizuki
RiJ covers the final round of Top League, Stage 1 with the usual teams making it into the top group for the second half of the season. Domestic rugby in general and Top League in particular desperately needs to be restructured to balance the talent and make games more competitive. On another sour note, the Japan Sevens team put in an absolutely woeful performance in Beijing on the weekend in an indication that the short form of the game is not being given the respect it deserves in Japan.
Enjoy the read.
Japan Rugby Top League 2014-15
Stage One Round Seven
Pool A
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Sun, 19 Oct 2014 | Yamaha (1T) | 19-14 | Toshiba (1T) | 14:05 | Hanazono, Osaka |
| | NEC (8Ts) | 54-33 | Toyota Industries (3Ts) | 13:00 | Tendo, Yamagata |
| | Panasonic (4Ts) | 43-13 | NTT Comm. (1T) | 13:00 | Ota, Gunma |
| | Kubota (6Ts) | 42-28 | Sanix (4Ts) | 13:00 | Tenri, Nara |
Pool B
| Date | Team | Score | Team | K/O | Venue |
| Sun, 19 Oct 2014 | Ricoh (2Ts) | 12-13 | Toyota (1T) | 11:40 | Chichibu, Tokyo |
| | Suntory (9Ts) | 61-12 | NTT Docomo (2Ts) | 14:00 | Chichibu, Tokyo |
| | Kintetsu (4Ts) | 31-14 | Coca-Cola (2Ts) | 12:00 | Hanazono, Osaka |
| | Kobe (3Ts) | 17-14 | Canon (2Ts) | 13:00 | Matsuyama, Ehime |
Stage One Round Seven Wrap-up
Pool A
On Sunday, in the second game of a double header at Hanazono, Yamaha Jubilo played and beat table-topping Toshiba Brave Lupus 17-14. Yamaha already had enough points on the table to qualify for Group A in the second half of the season but in this clash, they were aiming for consistency and a psychological win over Toshiba. Only one try was scored in the first half with proceedings dominated by the boot with Yamaha fullback Ayumu Goromaru and Toshiba halfback Takahiro Ogawa attempting eight shots at penalty between them. The outcome was that Goromaru kicked four penalties and the conversion of the Rocky Havili try to Ogawa’s three penalties to give Yamaha a 19-9 lead at the break. Wing Shuhei Oshima scored the only points of the second half with a try in the thirteenth minute with Yamaha holding on for the win.
NEC Green Rockets and Toyota Industries Shuttles travelled to Tendo city in Yamagata prefecture for this game with NEC winning 54-33. After five straight losses, the Green Rockets chalked up only their second win of the season in spectacular fashion running in eight tries. There was little in the first half with the Shuttles managing to take a 19-14 lead into halftime before running out of steam in defence in the second half. Left wing Nemani Nadolo scored three of the six second half tries for NEC while on the other wing, Shindo Kamaike touched down twice. Nadolo was named man of the match for his significant contribution to the win. Five-eighth Yu Tamura was given plenty of goal kicking practice, successfully converting seven of the eight tries.
Panasonic Wild Knights hosted NTT Communications Shining Arcs in Ota city in Gunma prefecture in their final pool game, winning 43-13. In a tight first half, the scores were locked at 13-all at the break before the Wild Knights gradually exerted their dominance in the latter half. The home side added thirty unanswered points over the second half with centre Yasuki Hayashi scoring his second try of the match while Tadahiro Miwa and Masaki Tani completed the try scoring to bring up the bonus point. Berrick Barnes and Miwa both had a flawless day with their boots, kicking four conversions and five penalties between them.
Kubota Spears played Munakata Sanix Blues in Tenri city in the first-ever Top League game in Nara prefecture with Kubota winning 42-28. The Spears held a one-point, 15-14 lead at halftime before the second half opened up with both sides running the ball at every opportunity. Tries to Eroni Takitaki, Keegan Daniel, Kade Poki and Kenta Tanaka blew out the score to 39-14 before the Blues stormed back over the final quarter. Karne Hesketh and Bryce Robins added five pointers for the Blues to ensure at least a bonus point from the day’s activities. Japan international centre Harumichi Tatekawa was named man of the match for Kubota.
Pool B
On Sunday, in the first game of a double header at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo, Ricoh Black Rams lost to Toyota Verblitz 13-12. Ricoh opened the scoring with a try to No8 Daiki Yanagawa early in the game with the only other score in the first half a penalty goal to Toyota five-eighth Takaya Monji. With only two points in it at halftime, the game was there for either side to take, as the second half got under way. Monji put Toyota in front 6-5 in the ninth minute with his second penalty before replacement hooker Yoshikatsu Hikosaka extended the lead with a try in the thirty-second minute. Monji added the extras to give the Verblitz a 13-5 lead inside the final ten minutes. Amanaki Lotoahea scored a late try for the Rams with the conversion closing the gap to 13-12, but Toyota held on for the win.
In the second game at Chichibu, Suntory Sungoliath beat NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes 61-12. The Sungoliath have had a wobbly season but have still produced six wins for just the one loss to Kobe. In total contrast, NTT Docomo have had a poor season with seven straight losses to finish on the bottom of their pool as the only team in either pool without a win. The Red Hurricanes stayed with their rivals in the first period, trailing 14-12 at halftime but fell away when it mattered in the second half. Five-eighth Tusi Pisi ran in two tries and then kicked the conversions to open up a 28-12 lead early in the latter half, opening up the floodgates for five more tries. Pisi was then named man of the match for his efforts in turning the game in Suntory’s favour.
In the first game of a double header at the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground in Osaka, Kintetsu Liners beat Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 31-14 on their home ground. Kintetsu brought up their fourth win of the season to finish the pool stage on twenty-two competition points. Kintetsu fullback Kazuki Sakamoto posted first points with a try in the twelfth minute, but Coca-Cola were next on the scoreboard when lock Yusaku Kuwazuru touched down on the half hour. Centre Jeffrey Ierome made sure the Liners took a lead into the break with a try in the thirty-sixth minute with the conversion from Yasumasa Shigemitsu extending the lead to 14-7. Kintetsu sealed the win over the third quarter with tries to Lepuha Latuila and Li Yang along with two conversions and a penalty to Shigemitsu giving the hosts a 31-7 lead. Coca-Cola scored a late consolation try, but it was too little too late.
Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers played Canon Eagles in Matsuyama in Ehime prefecture on Sunday with the Steelers hanging on to win 17-14. Kobe finished the pool stage with six wins and a draw as the only side in either pool not to taste defeat this season. While on the other hand, this was a critical game for Canon because they still had not qualified for Group A in stage two later in the season, but the losing bonus point was enough to see them through. The Eagles had two players sinbinned in the first half and that allowed Kobe to put points on the board. Lock Andries Bekker and No8 Pasuka Mapakaitolo scored tries for Kobe in the first and twentieth minutes to get out to a 10-0 lead before Canon centre Tim Bennetts narrowed the gap with a try in the twenty-ninth minute. Centre partner Ryohei Mitomo potted the conversion to close the gap to 10-7 but hooker Mitsugu Yamamoto and Bennetts were sinbinned within two minutes of each other late in the half. In their absence, fullback Ryohei Yamanaka touched down for Kobe. Wing Tokiro Harada scored for Canon on the hour to make it 17-14 and from there neither side could add to the scoreboard.
Pool A
| | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP1 | BP2 | Pts |
| 1 | Panasonic | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 308 | 116 | 192 | 5 | 0 | 29 |
| 2 | Toshiba | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 218 | 141 | 77 | 4 | 2 | 26 |
| 3 | Yamaha | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 227 | 113 | 114 | 5 | 2 | 25 |
| 4 | NTT Comm. | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 172 | 169 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
| 5 | Kubota | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 171 | 201 | -30 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| 6 | NEC | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 194 | 233 | -39 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| 7 | Toyota Industries | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 123 | 249 | -126 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 8 | Sanix | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 129 | 320 | -191 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Pool B
| | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP1 | BP2 | Pts |
| 1 | Kobe | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 182 | 106 | 76 | 3 | 0 | 29 |
| 2 | Suntory | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 202 | 137 | 65 | 3 | 1 | 28 |
| 3 | Canon | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 184 | 142 | 42 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| 4 | Toyota | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 157 | 145 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 22 |
| 5 | Kintetsu | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 182 | 178 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 22 |
| 6 | Ricoh | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 183 | 160 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| 7 | Coca-Cola | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 90 | 210 | -120 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | NTT Docomo | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 117 | 219 | -102 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
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 1, Round 7, Toshiba halfback Takahiro Ogawa tops the point scorers list with 83 points.
| | Name | Team | T | G | PG | DG | Pts |
| 1 | Takahiro Ogawa | Toshiba | 1 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 83 |
| 2 | Berrick Barnes | Panasonic | 2 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 81 |
| 3 | Ayumu Goromaru | Yamaha | 0 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 77 |
| 4 | Yasumasa Shigemitsu | Kintetsu | 1 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 74 |
| 5 | Takaya Monji | Toyota | 1 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 72 |
| 6 | Daniel Peters | Ricoh | 2 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 68 |
| 7 | Harumichi Tatekawa | Kubota | 1 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 66 |
| 8 | Ryohei Mitomo | Canon | 1 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 64 |
| 8 | Tusi Pisi | Suntory | 3 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 64 |
| 10 | Tadahiro Miwa | Panasonic | 2 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 60 |
Leading Try Scorers
At the completion Stage 1, Round 7, Canon back rower Adam Thomson tops the try scorers list with nine tries.
| | Name | Team | Tries |
| 1 | Adam Thomson | Canon | 9 |
| 2 | Nemani Nadolo | NEC | 7 |
| 3 | Daisuke Komatsu | Ricoh | 6 |
| 3 | Takaaki Nakazuru | Suntory | 6 |
| 5 | Yoshimi Watanabe | NTT Docomo | 5 |
| 5 | Kyosuke Horie | Yamaha | 5 |
| 5 | Tomoki Kitagawa | Panasonic | 5 |
| 5 | Kenta Tanaka | Kubota | 5 |
| 9 | Steven Bates | Toshiba | 4 |
| 9 | Mose Tuiali’i | Yamaha | 4 |
| 9 | Deryck Thomas | Toyota | 4 |
| 9 | Seiichi Shimomura | Panasonic | 4 |
| 9 | Siale Piutau | Yamaha | 4 |
Stage One, Round Seven Man-of-the-match Awards
| | Group | Teams | Score | Teams | MOTM |
| Sun 19 Oct 2014 | B | Ricoh | 12-13 | Toyota | Yoshikatsu Hikosaka, |
| Toyota No.16 |
| | B | Suntory | 61-12 | NTT Docomo | Tusi Pisi, |
| Suntory No.10 |
| | B | Kintetsu | 31-14 | Coca-Cola | Kazuki Sakamoto, |
| Kintetsu No.15 |
| | A | Yamaha | 19-14 | Toshiba | Ayumu Goromaru, |
| Yamaha No.15 |
| | A | NEC | 54-33 | Toyota Industries | Nemani Nadolo, |
| NEC No.11 |
| | A | Panasonic | 43-13 | NTT Comm. | Yasuki Hayashi, |
| Panasonic No.12 |
| | B | Kobe | 17-14 | Canon | Tokiro Harada, |
| Canon No.11 |
| | A | Kubota | 42-28 | Sanix | Harumichi Tatekawa, |
| Kubota No.12 |
Japan Squad for Autumn Tests
On 14 October 2014, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced the 30-man squad for the autumn tests.
Japan Squad
| Name | Club | DOB | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
| Ryuhei ARITA (552) | Coca-Cola Red Sparks | 21/03/1989 | 25 | 176/100 | 7 |
| Shoji ITO (553) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 02/12/1980 | 33 | 191/100 | 26 |
| Keita INAGAKI (Uncapped) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 02/06/1990 | 24 | 183/115 | - |
| Hitoshi ONO (445) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 06/05/1978 | 36 | 192/106 | 85 |
| Shinnosuke KAKINAGA (Uncapped) | Suntory Sungoliath | 19/12/1991 | 22 | 180/114 | - |
| Takeshi KIZU (533) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 15/07/1988 | 26 | 183/114 | 28 |
| Hendrik TUI (565) | Suntory Sungoliath | 13/12/1987 | 26 | 189/107 | 25 |
| Luke THOMPSON (493) | Kintetsu Liners | 16/04/1981 | 33 | 196/108 | 48 |
| Kensuke HATAKEYAMA (515) | Suntory Sungoliath | 02/08/1985 | 29 | 178/115 | 58 |
| Hayden HOPGOOD (575) | Kamaishi Seawaves | 30/07/1980 | 34 | 190/105 | 1 |
| Shinya MAKABE (534) | Suntory Sungoliath | 26/03/1987 | 27 | 192/118 | 27 |
| Amanaki LELEI MAFI (Uncapped) | NTT Communications | 11/01/1990 | 24 | 189/112 | - |
| Masataka MIKAMI (567) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 04/06/1988 | 26 | 178/115 | 21 |
| Ryuta YASUI (572) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 06/12/1989 | 24 | 187/105 | 2 |
| Hiroshi YAMASHITA (523) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 01/01/1986 | 28 | 183/122 | 36 |
| Hiroki YUHARA (537) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 21/01/1984 | 30 | 173/102 | 16 |
| Michael LEITCH (518) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 07/10/1988 | 25 | 190/105 | 37 |
| | | | | | |
| Craig WING (571) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 26/12/1979 | 34 | 180/90 | 7 |
| Kosei ONO (492) | Suntory Sungoliath | 17/04/1987 | 27 | 171/83 | 22 |
| Ayumu GOROMARU (467) | Yamaha Jubilo | 01/03/1986 | 28 | 185/99 | 41 |
| Male SAU (568) | Yamaha Jubilo | 13/10/1987 | 27 | 183/97 | 18 |
| Harumichi TATEKAWA (557) | Kubota Spears | 02/12/1989 | 24 | 181/94 | 26 |
| Yu TAMURA (555) | NEC Green Rockets | 09/01/1989 | 25 | 181/92 | 25 |
| Toshiaki HIROSE (495) | Toshiba Brave Lupus | 17/10/1981 | 33 | 173/82 | 21 |
| Atsushi HIWASA (545) | Suntory Sungoliath | 22/05/1987 | 27 | 166/72 | 36 |
| Yoshikazu FUJITA (562) | Waseda University | 08/09/1993 | 21 | 184/90 | 18 |
| Karne HESKETH (Uncapped) | Munakata Sanix Blues | 01/08/1985 | 29 | 178/98 | - |
| Kotaro MATSUSHIMA (576) | Suntory Sungoliath | 23/02/1993 | 21 | 175/88 | 4 |
| Yuki YATOMI (481) | Yamaha Jubilo | 16/02/1985 | 29 | 176/82 | 13 |
| Akihito YAMADA (574) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 26/07/1985 | 29 | 181/90 | 9 |
Back-up Squad
| Name | Club | DOB | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
| Kazuhiko USAMI (Uncapped) | Canon Eagles | 17/03/1992 | 22 | 197/111 | - |
| Keisuke UCHIDA (558) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 22/02/1992 | 22 | 177/85 | 8 |
| Yusuke NAGAE (551) | Toyota Industries Shuttles | 19/07/1985 | 28 | 171/107 | 17 |
Unavailable
| Name | Club | DOB | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
| Justin IVES (544) | Canon Eagles | 24/05/1984 | 30 | 196/105 | 23 |
| Fumiaki TANAKA (510) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 03/01/1985 | 29 | 166/71 | 44 |
| Hisateru HIRASHIMA (514) | Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers | 15/01/1983 | 31 | 180/110 | 35 |
| Kenki FUKUOKA (569) | University of Tsukuba | 07/09/1992 | 22 | 175/83 | 11 |
| Michael BROADHURST (566) | Ricoh Black Rams | 30/10/1986 | 27 | 196/111 | 16 |
| Ryu Koliniasi HOLANI (512) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 25/10/1981 | 32 | 188/112 | 35 |
| Kyosuke HORIE (578) | Yamaha Jubilo | 11/07/1990 | 24 | 183/103 | 2 |
| Shota HORIE (530) | Panasonic Wild Knights | 21/01/1986 | 28 | 180/105 | 32 |
Odds & Sods
Odds & Sods brings the reader weekly news shorts, gossip and general happenings from the world of Rugby in Japan.
ARFU Asian Sevens Series
At the third and final round of the ARFU Asian Sevens Series at the Chaoyang Stadium in Beijing on 18 and 19 October 2014, Hong Kong claimed the series title beating South Korea in the final. In a high scoring decider, Hong Kong won 36-19 with Rowan Varty and Nick Hewson both scoring doubles. Hong Kong won all three legs of the series and remained unbeaten throughout after claiming the titles in Hong Kong and Malaysia earlier in the season.
An out-of-sorts Japan struggled to beat the Philippines and China in the pool stages, beat Kazakhstan 14-12 in the quarters and lost to South Korea 24-21 in the semis. For what it was worth, Japan beat Sri Lanka 24-19 in the third-place play-off. Head coach Tomohiro Segawa commented, “We finished third in Beijing, did not win any of the three legs on the series to finish third overall in a very disappointing season. It is everything to represent Japan and especially important for us maintain our position as the best team in Asia and as head coach I feel the responsibility. We were able to blood a number of younger players in international Sevens across the series but the inability to pick consistent squads remains an issue for us.”
A bright note from Beijing for Japan saw the Women beat China 24-19 in the final, though China won the overall series title.
Yuta Mochizuki
Toshiba tight forward Yuta Mochizuki brought up his one hundredth Top League game against Yamaha at Hanazono on Sunday 19 October 2014. Mochizuki has 7 caps for Japan and played his first Top League game back in the 2004-5 season
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