RiJ Vol

RiJ Vol.6 No.34

September 22, 2009

Contact Ian McDonnell at all.4.one@hotmail.com

Contents:

¡ Japan Rugby Top League 2009-10

s Round Three Results

¡ 2009-10 Top League Team Profiles

s (4) Kobe Steelers

¡ The Grubber Kick:

s IRB Ranking: 14 (21 September 2009)

s Backchat: Stirling Mortlock the Voltex. Todd Louden the Red.

RiJ brings the reader all there is to know about Round 3 of Top League this issue. Meanwhile, Kobe is the team in profile this week.

TOP LEAGUE

2009-10 Round 3 Results

Round 3

Date	K/O	Teams	Score	Teams	Ground
Sat, 19 Sept 2009	17:00	Suntory (11Ts)	72-7	Kyuden (1T)	Chichibu, Tokyo
	19:00	Ricoh (3Ts)	27-21	NEC (3Ts)	Chichibu, Tokyo
	18:00	Toyota (3Ts)	20-3	Kintetsu	Toyota Stadium
	17:00	Kobe	15-16	Kubota (1T)	Kyoto
Sun, 20 Sept 2009	13:00	Toshiba (4Ts)	27-15	Yamaha (2Ts)	Tsukisamu, Hokkaido
	15:00	Sanyo (9Ts)	57-7	Honda (1T)	Ashikaga, Tochigi
	18:00	Sanix (2Ts)	21-27	Coca-Cola (3Ts)	Global Arena, Fukuoka

Round Three Preview

In the first of four Saturday games, Suntory Sungoliath are at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo for the first time this season to play Kyuden Voltex. Suntory had to settled for a 25-all draw with Kobe in Osaka in the first round and then beat Coca-Cola 46-13 in Nagasaki in round two. On the other hand, Kyuden lost 25-15 to Sanix in round one and again lost to Kintetsu 31-3 last weekend. Suntory produced some impressive rugby against Coca-Cola in scoring three tries in each half while restricting Coca-Cola to just one try. Centre Ryan Nicholas landed five from six conversions and also kicked two penalties to guarantee the Sungoliath the win and fullback Go Aruga also picked up two tries. Last year, Suntory convincingly beat Kyuden 65-26 and so Kyuden will have to put in a special team performance if they are to overcome the might of Suntory this year.

In the second game at Chichibu, Ricoh Black Rams and NEC Green Rockets meet in what promises to be an exciting match. In the second round of the 2009 National Championship back in February, Ricoh sprang an up-set when they defeated NEC 24-23 on this very ground. Five-eighth Yoshimitsu Kawano was the hero on that occasion scoring a try, converting all three tries and adding a penalty and again he will need to be in good form if Ricoh are to repeat the result of seven months ago. NEC could be perceived as vulnerable at the moment as they have opened their season with two straight losses and consequently sit on the very bottom of the Top League table. The Rockets lost 29-11 to Kubota and then 29-6 to Toshiba and so this game could be a turning point in their season as another loss could spell serious trouble. Ricoh beat Honda 23-15 on this ground in the opening round and then had a 22-6 lead late in the first half against Sanyo last Sunday before eventually going down 44-22. Thus, Ricoh could fancy their chances against NEC in this one.

At the Toyota Stadium in Nagoya Toyota Verblitz host Kintetsu Liners. Toyota had an 18-all draw with Yamaha in the opening round and then had a convincing seven tries to three 45-19 win over Honda last weekend and so they will be hard to beat at home. Kintetsu had an opening round loss going down 19-12 to Coca-Cola but then beat Kyuden 31-3 last week. There is not a lot between these two sides and Toyota No8 Takashi Kikutani and his forwards will have to front up this round to exert their dominance where it matters. Former IBM fullback Tadanobu Ko joined the Kintetsu ranks this year and he has been in good form with the boot so Toyota will have to be wary not to give away penalties within kicking range.

At the Nishi-Kyogoku Athletic Stadium in Kyoto, Kobe Steelers play Kubota Spears in the final Saturday game. In the opening round Kobe scrambled a 25-all draw with Suntory and then beat Sanix 12-9 in a low-scoring match last Saturday so they are yet to taste defeat in 2009-10. However, the same applies to Kubota who have opened their campaign in fine style when they defeated NEC 29-11 in round one and then defeated Yamaha 18-11 last week. Kubota five-eighth Shane Drahm collected the man-of-the-match award in both games and as he is in fine kicking form for the Spears and a penalty here or there could be the only difference between these two teams at fulltime.

At the Tsukisamu Stadium in Sapporo in far northern Hokkaido, Toshiba Brave Lupus face Yamaha Jubilo. Toshiba lost 24-18 to Sanyo in round one but then beat NEC 29-6 in round two while Yamaha had an 18-all draw with Toyota in round one then lost 18-11 to Kubota in round two. Yamaha will be desperate to improve their position on the points table with a win over the reigning champions but that will not be an easy feat to achieve. Toshiba showed in the way that they defeated NEC that they are going to be willing to put in the hard work up front and then throw the ball around through the backs. Man-of-the-match from that match was veteran fullback Goshi Tachikawa who picked up the award after scoring two fine tries for the Brave Lupus. Yamaha let a good led slip against Kubota in heavy conditions at Chichibu last round and they must come out firing this week if they are to earn their first win of the season.

Sanyo Wild Knights travel to Ashikaga city in Tochigi prefecture to play Honda Heat. Sanyo have won both their opening games and sit on top of the table on 9 points. In the season opener against Toshiba in Tokyo, the Knights came up with a crucial 24-18 victory and then followed that up with a 44-22 win over Ricoh in Yamagata. For newly promoted Honda the story is quite different as they have lost their first two games in Top League going down to Ricoh 23-15 and then 45-19 to Toyota. Sanyo played Coca-Cola on this same ground in round three last year and came away with an emphatic 75-17 and so the Knights will be hoping for more of the same this Sunday. Honda are going to have their work cut out containing Sanyo.

In the final game of round three, Fukuoka Sanix Blues play Coca-Cola West Red Sparks in a Kyushu derby at the Global Arena in Fukuoka. Sanix beat Kyuden 25-15 in round one and then pushed Kobe all the way before going down 12-9 in round two, whereas Coca-Cola beat Kintetsu 19-12 and then fell to Suntory 46-13 last round. Matches between Kyushu teams in front of home crowds are keenly contested and this should be no exception. Last year Coke won 25-10 and the year before Sanix won 17-13 and so it looks like another close tussle this year.

Round Three Wrap-up

After three rounds of the 2009-10 Top League season only two teams in Sanyo and Kubota have collected three wins. Sanyo sit on top of the table on 14 points followed by Suntory in second place on 12 points. Kubota are on the same 12 competition points as Suntory but are pushed into third place on points differential. Toyota and Toshiba are locked on 11 points while below them Ricoh and Coca-Cola are on 8 points. Kobe are in eighth place on 7 points while below them on 6 points sit Kintetsu and Sanix. Yamaha are down in eleventh place on 3 points from a draw and a bonus point while NEC are on one point. At the bottom off the table Honda and Kyuden and are still to garner any competition points.

In the first of four Saturday games, Suntory Sungoliath were at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo for the first time this season to play Kyuden Voltex. Suntory showed their strength in this competition with a convincing 72-7 win over Kyuden. Suntory had to settled for a 25-all draw with Kobe in Osaka in the first round and then beat Coca-Cola 46-13 in Nagasaki in round two. On the other hand, Kyuden lost 25-15 to Sanix in round one and again lost to Kintetsu 31-3 last weekend. Suntory produced some impressive rugby against Kyuden enjoying a 27-0 lead at halftime before adding a further 45 points in the second half. Meanwhile, the Sungoliath managed to restrict their opposition to just one try for the second week in a row. Flanker and captain, Takamichi Sasaki picked up two of the Suntory tries while centre Ryan Nicholas landed three conversions and five-eighth Tusi Pisiata also kicked four conversions and a drop goal to guarantee the Sungoliath the win. Last year, Suntory convincingly beat Kyuden 65-26 and so Kyuden experienced the might of Suntory again this year.

In the second game at Chichibu, Ricoh Black Rams and NEC Green Rockets met in what always promised to be an exciting match. In the second round of the 2009 National Championship back in February, Ricoh sprang an up-set when they defeated NEC 24-23 on this very ground. Five-eighth Yoshimitsu Kawano was the hero on that occasion scoring a try, converting all three tries and adding a penalty and again he was in good form as Ricoh repeated the result of seven months ago with a 27-21 win. On this occasion, Kawano again converted all three tries and also added a penalty and a drop goal. NEC are vulnerable at the moment as they have opened their season with two straight losses and consequently this third loss compounds things as they sit near the bottom of the Top League table. It was not all good news for Ricoh, however, as fullback Stephen Larkham received two yellow cards in the match that consequently became a send off. The first was near the end of the first half for a late charge and the second late in the game for an alleged spear tackle.

At the Toyota Stadium in Nagoya Toyota Verblitz beat Kintetsu Liners 20-3. Toyota had an 18-all draw with Yamaha in the opening round and then had a convincing seven tries to three 45-19 win over Honda last weekend and they proved to be hard to beat at home for the Liners. Kintetsu had an opening round loss going down 19-12 to Coca-Cola but then beat Kyuden 31-3 last week. There was not a lot between these two sides at halftime with Toyota leading 3-0 after a penalty goal to young five-eighth Yusuke Kuromiya. However, Toyota dominated the second forty minutes with tries to centres Keisuke Arita and Hideki Namba along with a third team try to fullback Steven Yates. Fullback Tadanobu Ko scored the only points for Kintetsu with a lone second half penalty.

At the Nishi-Kyogoku Athletic Stadium in Kyoto, Kobe Steelers lost to Kubota Spears 16-15 in the final Saturday game. In the opening round Kobe scrambled a 25-all draw with Suntory and then beat Sanix 12-9 in a low-scoring match last Saturday. However, Kubota have opened their campaign in fine style when they defeated NEC 29-11 in round one and then defeated Yamaha 18-11 last week. Kubota five-eighth Shane Drahm collected the man-of-the-match award in both games and as he was in fine kicking form for the Spears against Kobe with a conversion, two penalties and a drop goal proving to be the only difference between these two teams at fulltime. Kobe centre Daisuke Yamamoto kicked all his five attempts at penalty, but it was the only try in the match to Kubota centre and man-of-the-match Katoni Otukolo early in the second half that was the telling difference.

At the Tsukisamu Stadium in Sapporo in far northern Hokkaido, Toshiba Brave Lupus defeated Yamaha Jubilo 27-15. Toshiba lost 24-18 to Sanyo in round one but then beat NEC 29-6 in round two while Yamaha had an 18-all draw with Toyota in round one then lost 18-11 to Kubota in round two. Yamaha were desperate to improve their position on the points table with a win over the reigning champions but that was never going to be an easy feat to achieve. Toshiba showed in the way they defeated NEC that they are going to be willing to put in the hard work up front and then throw the ball around through the backs and this proved to be the case again in this match. Toshiba led 12-5 at the break and continued to deny Yamaha in the second stanza taking the game 27-15 in the end. Flanker Steven Bates scored two of the four Toshiba tries while five-eight David Hill kicked two conversions and a penalty.

Sanyo Wild Knights travelled to Ashikaga city in Tochigi prefecture where they beat Honda Heat 57-7. Sanyo have won all three of their opening games and sit on top of the table on 14 points. In the season opener against Toshiba in Tokyo, the Knights came up with a crucial 24-18 victory and then followed that up with a 44-22 win over Ricoh in Yamagata. For newly promoted Honda the story is quite different as they have lost their first three games in Top League going down to Ricoh 23-15 and then 45-19 to Toyota before this loss to Sanyo. Sanyo played Coca-Cola on this same ground in round three last year and came away with an emphatic 75-17 and so the Knights produced more of the same on Sunday. Sanyo scored nine tries to one and led 24-0 at halftime.

In the final game of round three, Fukuoka Sanix Blues lost to Coca-Cola West Red Sparks 27-21 in a Kyushu derby at the Global Arena in Fukuoka. Sanix beat Kyuden 25-15 in round one and then pushed Kobe all the way before going down 12-9 in round two, whereas Coca-Cola beat Kintetsu 19-12 and then fell to Suntory 46-13 last round. Matches between Kyushu teams in front of home crowds are keenly contested and this was no exception. Last year Coke won 25-10 and the year before Sanix won 17-13 and this was another close tussle this year. Sanix led 16-10 at halftime and then extended the lead to 21-10 early in the second half but Coca-Cola staged a spirited fight back led by fullback Shaun Webb who scored a try as well as kicking two conversions and a penalty in the second half flurry.

2009-10 Japan Rugby Top League Round Three

	Team	P	W	L	D	F	A	Diff	BP1	BP2	Pts
1	Sanyo	3	3	0	0	125	47	78	2	-	14
2	Suntory	3	2	0	1	143	45	98	2	-	12
3	Kubota	3	3	0	0	63	37	26	-	-	12
4	Toyota	3	2	0	1	83	40	43	1	-	11
5	Toshiba	3	2	1	0	74	45	29	2	1	11
6	Ricoh	3	2	1	0	72	80	-8	-	-	8
7	Coca-Cola	3	2	1	0	59	79	-20	-	-	8
8	Kobe	3	1	1	1	52	50	2	-	1	7
9	Kintetsu	3	1	2	0	46	42	4	1	1	6
10	Sanix	3	1	2	0	55	54	1	-	2	6
11	Yamaha	3	0	2	1	44	63	-19	-	1	3
12	NEC	3	0	3	0	38	85	-47	-	1	1
13	Honda	3	0	3	0	41	125	-84	-	-	0
14	Kyuden	3	0	3	0	25	128	-103	-	-	0

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).

The top four finishers qualify for the Microsoft Cup 2010, the finals series for the 2009-10 Top League season.

The top four finishers automatically qualify for the 47^th National Championship 2010 with the teams that finish 5^th to 10^th playing off to determine the final 2 Top League teams.

The bottom two finishers are automatically relegated to regional leagues for the 2010-11 season.

The teams that finish 11^th and 12^th go through the promotion and relegation play-offs against regional challengers to retain their places in Top League for 2010-11.

Leading Point Scorers

Sanyo fullback Atsushi Tanabe and Coca-Cola fullback Shaun Webb are on the top of the point scorers list after round three with 37 points.

	Name	Team	T	G	PG	DG	Pts
1	Atsushi Tanabe	Sanyo	-	8	7	-	37
1	Shaun Webb	Coca-Cola	1	4	8	-	37
3	Shane Drahm	Kubota	-	3	7	2	33
4	Yoshimitsu Kawano	Ricoh	-	7	4	2	32
5	Ryan Nicholas	Suntory	-	11	3	-	31
6	Kosei Ono	Sanix	-	3	7	-	27
7	Ayumu Goromaru	Yamaha	-	1	8	-	26
7	Tadanobu Ko	Kintetsu	-	4	6	-	26
9	David Hill	Toshiba	-	6	4	-	24
10	Eiji Ando	NEC	-	-	5	1	18

Leading Try Scorers

After round three.

Name	Team	Tries
Nili Latu	NEC	3
Takamichi Sasaki	Suntory	3
Go Aruga	Suntory	3
Takashi Miyake	Sanyo	3
Tomoki Kitagawa	Sanyo	3
Hideki Namba	Toyota	3

Top League Profiles 2009-10: (4) Kobe Kobelco Steelers

http://www.kobelcosteelers.com

Established: Kobe Steel as the team is commonly known was formed in 1928 in the port city of Kobe in western Japan. Kobe is one of the oldest and most successful corporate rugby teams in Japan and has been at the heart and soul of rugby and its development in this country. Kobe now officially calls itself the Kobe Kobelco Steelers and has also adopted the catchphrase Bodies of Steel, Hearts of Gold. The slogan for 2009-10 is “Ultra-attacking Rugby!”

The Company: Kobelco and the Kobe Steel Company Group is, as the name suggests, an iron and steel manufacturing concern. In addition, Kobe manufactures other metal products from titanium, aluminium and copper, as well as being a major manufacturer of welding products. Further, Kobelco is well known for its cranes, excavators and construction machinery, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Have a look at the company English homepage here.

Titles:

Top League

From the 2003-4 season to the 2005-6 season Top League (TL) consisted of 12 teams and the team that finished on top of the table claimed the title. From the 2006-7 season, TL 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 TL champion.

2008-9: 4^th on 43 points with 9 wins & 4 losses.

2007-8: 5^th on 46 points with 9 wins & 4 losses.

2006-7: 6^th on 42 points with 8 wins & 5 losses.

2005-6: 5^th on 33 points with 7 wins & 4 losses.

2004-5: 5^th on 34 points with 6 wins & 5 losses.

2003-4: Champions: first on 47 points with nine wins & two losses.

Microsoft Cup

From 2004 to 2006 the Microsoft Cup (MC) was a separate knock-out tournament for the top 8 finishers in TL. From 2007 the MC has acted as the play-off finals series to determine the overall Top League (TL) champion with the top four finishers on the TL ladder progressing to the MC.

2009: lost 26-7 to eventual champions Toshiba in semi-final.

2008: DNQ.

2007: DNQ.

2006: lost 38-7 to eventual champions Toshiba in first round.

2005: beat NEC 51-16 in first round, then knocked out in semis by eventual champions Toshiba 41-0.

2004: beat World 35-27 in first round, then knocked out in semis by eventual champions NEC 34-10.

National Championship - 9 times, including 7 years in a row between 1989 & 1995, then again in 2000 & 2001.

2009 (10 teams): Lost 30-29 to NEC in first round.

2008 (8 teams): DNQ as only top 4 TL teams qualified.

2007 (8 teams): DNQ as only top 4 TL teams qualified.

2006 (8 teams): DNQ as only top 4 TL teams qualified.

2005 (8 teams): DNQ as only top 4 TL teams qualified.

2004 (22 teams): Runners-up. Beat Kubota 52-12, beat NEC 34-29 & lost 22-10 to Toshiba in final.

Corporate Champions - 9 times (pre Top League era – 1949~2003) 2001, 2000, 1989 – 1995.

Colours: The traditional colours of red jersey and white shorts remain, while the second jersey is blue. The Kobe group name KOBELCO appears prominently on the front of the jersey. KOBELCO is a group name representing over 200 companies.

Style of Play: As a company club, Kobe have over the years consistently attracted some of the best young players from high profile universities and in turn been a major contributor to national teams. Established in 1928, they are also by far one of the oldest of the current TL clubs along with Kintetsu (1929). Toyota is the next oldest TL club, having been established in 1941. And with nine national titles and a further nine corporate titles they are also one of the most successful rugby teams in the history of Japanese rugby. Kobe are one of the three great corporate teams in Japanese rugby history. The two others are Yawata Steel (now playing in Top Kyushu) with 12 corporate titles from the early 1950s to late 1960s and Shin Nittetsu Kamaishi (now playing in Top East 11 as Kamaishi Seawaves) with nine corporate titles including a string of 7 in a row from 1979 to 1985 and 8 national titles. Although Kobe no longer have the same aura of invincibility as they did, what sets them apart from the other two historical teams is that they are still a major player in Japanese rugby. Adding to the mix is the return of Kobe legend Seiji Hirao who took over the coaching duties for the first time at Kobe from the 2007-8season.

Players to Watch: A number of players in the Kobe squad are coming to the end of their careers and so Kobe are currently going through something of a re-building phase, albeit generational change. Inside centre Yukio Motoki (38), who has played in four World Cups and is the Japanese record holder with 79 caps, and back rower Takeomi Ito (38 years old, 62 caps) are getting close to calling it a day. Veteran wing Daisuke Ohata (33), who overtook the world record of 64 test tries set by David Campese, and now holds the record with 69 tries from 58 tests broke down in 2007 with ruptures to both Achilles, however he is back this year and he also has the captaincy to boot. Kobe have relied on their stars and pulling power, but in the last few years other clubs have caught up with and overtaken the pace of the men in red. Although the team won the initial TL trophy, they have been just off the pace in the years since. Leading the charge of bright young players are Shota Goto at half, Kyohei Morita at five-eighth and international centre Yuta Imamura. Imamura has a great mentor in Motoki to ensure his star continues to rise.

In the forwards, Josh Blackie is back in the Kobe pack for a third season after provisionally parting ways with the team at the end of last season. Meanwhile, two metre Australian born lock Adam Wallace-Harrison is with Kobe for a second season. The pack has also been bolstered by international prop/hooker Yoshimitsu Yasue moving across from IBM to join a vibrant front row that also includes props Hisateru Hirashima and Hiroshi Yamashita who have also been part of recent national sides. Former captain and hooker Yuji Matsubara is now one of the senior players in the forwards and his leadership will be vital this year. Former Blues and Chiefs flanker Tom Harding is new on the side of the scrum and he will be competing with former Ricoh captain Shoji Ito for a place on the side of the scrum.

In the backs, former captain Shota Goto at halfback and Kyohei Morita at five-eighth will have to have outstanding seasons to ensure the backline gets good service with Morita adding a long kicking and passing game to the Kobe arsenal, something that has been desperately missing since the departure of Andrew Miller. Former Springbok Thinus Delport was a major signing for the club last year and he should be more comfortable in his second year in Japan. He should share the goal kicking duties with Morita. Competing for the same position with Morita this season will be former Toyota playmaker Kenji Shomen who will add depth to the Kobe backline. Further out, an exciting prospect this season is New Zealand born centre or wing Fraser Anderson who comes to Kobe from the Australian rugby league ranks. While former Western Force outside back James Hilgendorf joins Kobe after a season with Kintetsu.

Cap holders for Japan in the current squad: (13)

Given the prestige of the Kobe club, it is not surprising that players from the club fill the top three places on the test cap record holders list. Centre Yukio Motoki leads the way with 79 caps, followed by backrower Takeomi Ito with 62 and wing Daisuke Ohata with 58 while former wing Terunori Masuho is not far behind with 47. Motoki, Ito and Ohata are all still playing at club level for Kobe but are out of the picture for national selection.

Over the course of the 2009 Asian Five Nations series and the 2009 Pacific Nations Cup, props Hiroshi Yamashita and Hiroshi Yamashita, hooker Yoshimitsu Yasue and centre Yuta Imamura all took part in the two series. Yamashita played in all eight spring tests either as the run-on tighthead or from the bench. Yasue joined Kobe from IBM in the off-season and he made his test debut in the A5N, although he was not used in the PNC.

In the two home tests against the USA in November 2008, loose head prop Hisateru Hirashima made his test debut running on in the No.1 jersey in both tests. Uncapped prop Hiroshi Yamashita was a member of the 30-man squad but he was not used during the series.

In the inaugural Asian Five Nations (A5N) tournament in 2008, Kobe supplied centre Yuta Imamura who played in three of the four tests. In the 2008 edition of the Pacific Nations Cup (PNC), Kobe was represented by Imamura who played in two of the five tests.

At the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, Kobe was represented by hooker Yuji Matsubara and centre Yuta Imamura. Wing Daisuke Ohata ruptured his Achilles in the RWC led-up game against Portugal and had to be replaced. Pierre Hola, who plays his club rugby with Kobe, was also in France with Tonga as five-eighth.

Yukio Motoki 38 y/o, 79 caps (Japan test cap record holder) at centre.

Takeomi Ito 38 y/o, 62 caps at flanker/No8.

Daisuke Ohata 33 y/o, 58 caps at wing.

Yuta Imamura 24 y/o, 27 caps at outside centre or wing.

Yuji Matsubara 30 y/o, 23 caps at hooker.

Yuji Sonoda 36 y/o, 18 caps at halfback.

Kazuya Koizumi 36 y/o, 12 caps at lock.

Hisateru Hirashima 26 y/o, 8 caps at prop.

Hiroshi Yamashita 23 y/o, 8 caps at prop.

Kyohei Morita 25 y/o, 8 caps at five-eighth.

Shota Goto 26 y/o, 8 caps at halfback.

Yoshimitsu Yasue 25 y/o, 2 caps at hooker.

Kenji Shomen 26 y/o, 2 caps. He joined Toyota from Doshisha University for the 2006-7 season and he already had one cap to his name at that stage. His first cap was off the bench as five-eighth in the 45-34 loss to Korea in October 2002 as a 19-year-old. He then had to wait another four years for his next chance in a Japan jersey when he sat on the bench against Hong Kong during the final Asian Qualifiers for the 2007 RWC in November 2006. However, he was not used in that test but then earned his second cap against Korea the following game from the bench in the No.21 jersey when he replaced Hideyuki Yoshida at outside centre.

Takeshi Nozawa 30 y/o, 4 caps at flanker retired at the end of last season.

The Coach: the coach again this season is Kobe OB, Mr. Rugby himself Seiji Hirao (46), now in his third season. He replaced Terunori Masuho. Masuho coached the Steelers for three years and could not maintain the high standards of the team in the face of improving oppositions. Masuho was a product himself of the Kobe system and he too was used to winning so he took responsibility and fell on his sword. He in turn took over as head coach in March 2004 when previous coach Mitsutake Hagimoto went on to coach the Japan national side. In Masuho’s three years in charge Kobe finished mid table every year in Top League and failed to bring home any silverware.

Hirao was born in Kyoto on 21 January 1963 and started to play rugby at junior high school. He attended Fushimi Technical High School in Kyoto where he won the National High School Championship in his final year in 1981. The TV Drama School Wars was based around the time Hirao was at the school. He then went on to Doshisha University where he won three national university titles in 1983, 1984 & 1985. 2008 was the 44^th running of the National University Championship and Doshisha still remains the only school to have won three years in a row. This year also marks 23 years since Doshisha last won the championships in 1985. While still a student at Doshisha he made his test debut for Japan in 1982 at age 19 years and 4 months, which at the time made him the youngest ever Cherry Blossom. After graduation, he spent a year with Richmond in England. He joined Kobe in 1986 as a fly half or centre & was a major part in the Kobe sides during their 7 year reign as national champions (1989-95) until he retired in 1996. Hirao played 35 times for Japan, 12 as captain, including the 1987, 1991 and 1995 RWCs. At the 1991 event he was captain of Japan at inside centre and it was under his captaincy that Japan had its one and only RWC win to date, 52-8 against Zimbabwe. He retired from international rugby at that point but came back for two of the three games at the 1995 RWC in South Africa where he was the oldest member of the Japan squad at 32. After his playing days he went on to coach Japan from February 1997 to December 2000, including the 1999 RWC. He coached the Cherry Blossoms in 33 Tests which is still the record for a coach of Japan. When he became coach in 1997 it also made him the youngest ever national rugby coach of Japan. From 2004 he was General Manager of the 2011 RWC Bid Committee until its function was wound up in late 2005. It is 8 years since he coached Japan, though looking towards this season, Hirao wants to take out both the Top League/Microsoft Cup and National titles. The moustachioed Hirao is known as “Mr Rugby” in Japan and is probably the greatest son of the sport this country has produced.

The Captain: There has been a change of captain for the 2009-10 season with veteran wing Daisuke Ohata (33) taking over from halfback Shota Goto after he held the role for two years. Before Goto, hooker Yuji Matsubara was captain for three seasons and in turn before that halfback Yuji Sonoda was captain.

Ohata is in his eleventh season with Kobe and as the world record holder for most test tries with 69 tries from his 58 tests he is highly respected as a player and leader at the club. He will officially take on the captaincy at Kobe for the first time although he has captained Japan on a number of occasions. However, Ohata has been plagued with a well documented series of serious injuries over the past two or three seasons that included ruptures to both Achilles tendons and an operation on his left shoulder last season that kept him out of contact training up to this summer. Ohata cracked a bone in his left shoulder at training and then went into the semi-final of the 2009 Microsoft Cup against Toshiba but only made it a few minutes into the game before he had to come off. Ohata ruptured his right Achilles in January 2007 in a late season club game that threatened his ambitions to make the 2007 RWC squad. He went down the long and arduous road to recovery and eventually made the plane to France, but as fate would have it though, he ruptured the left one less than ten minutes into Japan’s final warm-up game against Portugal in Italy just days before the kick-off of the RWC. The man himself has also not given up on the idea of once again wearing the Sakura jersey for Japan although he has strongly hinted that this could be his last year as a player if he can go out on top with Kobe.

Losses: (9)

Kenta NANJO 36 y/o, prop, 180/105. To Kintetsu after 14 years with the club.

Arihiro KITAGAWA 33 y/o, prop, 174/100. After 4 years with the club.

Yoshimasa ISHII 29 y/o, prop, 173/115. Into the company workforce after 7 years with the club.

Royce WILLIS (NZ), 33 y/o, lock, 196/120, 12 caps for ABs, Blues & also Chiefs S12. After 6 years with the club.

Suguru KAMADA 25 y/o, lock, 187/110. Into the company workforce after 3 years with the club.

Takeshi NOZAWA 30 y/o, 4 caps at flanker, 170/100. Into the company workforce after 7 years with the club.

Masataka TSUJII 27 y/o, flanker, 177/98. Into the company workforce after 4 years with the club.

Yuki IMAMURA 30 y/o, five-eight, 168/78. To Canon after 7 years with the club.

Pierre HOLA (Tonga), 31 y/o, utility back, 183/105, 48 caps for Tonga. After 6 years with club.

Gains: (10)

Yoshimitsu YASUE, 25 y/o, prop/hooker, 175/100, from IBM. He represented Japan in two tests last spring.

Yu SHIMIZU, 23 y/o, lock, 185/110, from KGU. He has represented Japan at High School and U19.

Shoji ITO, 28 y/o, flanker, 191/95, from Ricoh (2003-08).

Thomas HARDING (NZ), 27 y/o, flanker, 182/97, Blues & also Chiefs S14.

Hajime UEMURA, 22 y/o, flanker, 187/102, from Doshisha Uni. He has represented Japan at U19 level.

Daiki HASHIMOTO, 22 y/o, flanker, 187/102, from Teikyo Uni. He has represented Japan at U21 level.

Satoru SAWATARI, 24 y/o, halfback, 166/75, from Honda (2008-9).

Kenji SHOMEN, 26 y/o, five-eighth, 175/84, from Toyota (2006-7 to 2008-9). Two caps for Japan.

Fraser ANDERSON (NZ), 25 y/o, centre, 193/105. He played with Brisbane Broncos & Cronulla Sharks in the NRL.

James HILGENDORF (Aus), 27 y/o, fullback, 182/89. He played with the Western Force in the S14 before spending last season at Kintetsu.

Overseas Players & Staff (8 + 2):

Pasuka MAPAKAITOLO (Tonga) 29 y/o, No8, 190/110, 4^th year, from Rissho Uni. He has 2 caps for Tonga represented Tonga at 7s & U21 levels.

Josh BLACKIE (NZ) 30 y/o, flanker, 193/105, 3^rd year, JAB, NZ7s, Highlanders S12/14, Otago NPC.

Adam WALLACE-HARRISON (Aus), 29 y/o, lock, 200/115, 2^nd year, Reds & also Brumbies S14.

Nathan ANDERSON (NZ), 25 y/o, halfback, 170/75, 2^nd year, from Ryutsu Keizai Univ. He has represented Japan at School, U21 & Japan A levels.

Thinus DELPORT (SA), 34 y/o, fullback, 188/102, 2^nd year, 18 caps for Springboks, Cats S14 and Worcester (Eng).

Thomas HARDING (NZ), 27 y/o, flanker, 182/97, 1^st year, Blues & also Chiefs S14.

Fraser ANDERSON (NZ), 25 y/o, centre, 193/105, 1^st year. He played with Brisbane Broncos & Cronulla Sharks in the NRL.

James HILGENDORF (Aus), 27 y/o, fullback, 182/89, 1^st year. He played with the Western Force in the S14 before spending last season at Kintetsu.

Steve Cumberland (NZ) 44 y/o, coach.

Sean Hedger (Aus) 35 y/o, coach.

The 2009-10 Squad: (49) The list starts with captain and vice-captains and then continues through forwards and backs in order from props to fullbacks.

Daisuke Ohata (c), Yuji Matsubara (v-c). Forwards: Takayuki Kanetake, Hisateru Hirashima, Tsubasa Yamamoto, Keisuke Tanaka, Yoshimitsu Yasue, Kenichi Konishi, Masanobu Yamauchi, Hiroshi Yamashita, Masayuki Murakami, Kazuya Koizumi, Yoshitaka Hayashi, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Eiko Yoshida, Hiroyuki Kondo, Yu Shimizu, Josh Blackie, Shoji Ito, Thomas Harding, Takahiro Suzuki, Hajime Uemura, Daiki Hashimoto, Yoshinobu Arai, Takeomi Ito, Pasuka Mapakaitolo, Itaru Taniguchi. Backs: Yuji Sonoda, Shota Goto, Nathan Anderson, Satoru Sawatari, Waku Kikuchi, Kenji Shomen, Kyohei Morita, Yukio Motoki, Kazuyuki Takakura, Daisuke Yamamoto, Ryo Oishi, Fraser Anderson, Satoshi Takagi, Yuta Imamura, Jin Ogasawara, Yoshikazu Ohashi, Masanobu Suefuji, Thinus Delport, Shinya Jinkawa, James Hilgendorf, Daisuke Ichiki, and Yusuke Hamashima. Coach: Seiji Hirao (46).

The Grubber Kick

The Grubber Kick brings the reader weekly news shorts, gossip and general happenings from the world of Rugby in Japan.

IRB ranking on 21 September 2009 - Japan was 14 (68.37).

Backchat: It seems injured Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock (32) paid a visit to Kyuden recently. Mortlock injured his knee in the 29-17 loss to the Springboks in Cape Town on August 8 and although he hopes to be back for the autumn tour that includes a Bledisloe clash in Tokyo he has been resigned to the sidelines. That left him free to pay a flying visit Japan in the week leading up to the clash with the Springboks in Brisbane on September 5. This is not the first time his name has been linked with Japan as RiJ reported in 2008 (Vol.5 No.5 and Vol.5 No.10) that in January 2008 the rumour had it Mortlock was being offered AUD1.25 million a season for a three-year deal by an unknown Japanese club. He eventually signed a new two-year deal to stay in Australia with the Wallabies and the Brumbies to take him through to the end of 2010, but it seems the Wallabies captain is now starting to explore his options beyond that point. It appears the trip had the blessing of both the ARU and the Brumbies.

News is coming out that Todd Louden, now in his second year as head coach at Ricoh, is applying for the vacant coaching job at the Queensland Reds after Phil Mooney was dumped last week. Louden could be going head-to-head with Ewen McKenzie who was recently chopped from Stade Francais by maverick owner Max Guazzini. Louden was attacking coach under McKenzie at the Waratahs in 2007 and so they know each other pretty well. Louden is backing himself on his ability to work with and understand the younger Generation-Y players now coming through at the Reds. Louden was raised in Canberra and played for the Kookaburras. He later lived and worked as a teacher in Sydney but he now seems keen on moving to sunny Queensland. If indeed this move does eventuate it will be a great loss to Japanese rugby and Ricoh in particular as he is doing a fantastic job. Rugby could do with a hundred coaches like Todd.

The Draw

The Draw gives the reader future dates for the diary and other great things to look forward to in Rugby in Japan.

Bledisloe Cup:

ARU CEO John O’Neill announced on 20 April 2009 that along with a rare Grand Slam tour in November (the last one being back in 1984), the Wallabies would also play a fourth Bledisloe Cup game for 2009 in Tokyo at the 57,000 seat National Stadium on Saturday, 31 October 2009. The above details were confirmed on Thursday, 25 June 2009. On 30 June 2009, the JRFU formally announced the deal at a news conference as the Bledisloe in Tokyo news took off around the rugby world. NZRU CE, Steve Tew and ARU deputy chief executive Matt Carroll were at the Tokyo news conference.

Canada Tour to Japan 2009

On 6 July 2009 the Japan Rugby Football Union announced that Canada would tour Japan for two test matches in November 2009. The tour is to be known as the Lipovitan D Challenge 2009 with Taisho Pharmaceuticals the official sponsor. Meanwhile, Canterbury of New Zealand Japan and Coca-Cola West are the official suppliers for the series. The first test will be played at the Yurtec Stadium in Sendai City in north-eastern Japan, while the second test will be held in Tokyo.

First Test: Japan v Canada, Sunday, 15 November 2009, kick-off at 2:00 PM, Yurtec Stadium, Sendai.

Second Test: Japan v Canada, Saturday, 21 November 2009, kick-off at 2:00 PM, Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

In July 2009 the Emperor and Empress of Japan toured Canada to mark the 80^th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1929. Canada and Japan also have deep rugby links with the inaugural tour by the Japan national side taking place to Canada in 1930. Japan played their first official test on that tour, a 3-all draw against British Columbia in Vancouver on September 24. Canada reciprocated in 1932 as the first country to visit Japan on a full test match tour. Japan beat Canada in the two tests played, winning 9-8 at the Hanazono Ground in Osaka on January 31 and then winning 38-5 at the Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo on February 11.

Previous Encounters:

Japan and Canada or British Columbia have met on 24 previous occasions with Japan winning 11, Canada/British Columbia 9 and there have been three draws.

Japan 12 drew with Canada 12, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, Bordeaux, 6^th RWC. (Test No.230)

Canada 15 d Japan 10, 29 May 2005, Chichibu, Tokyo, Super Cup final. (Test No.205)

Japan 34 d Canada 21, 30 May 2004, Chichibu, Tokyo, Super Powers Cup final. (Test No.195)

Japan 39 d Canada 7, 8 July 2001, Chichibu, Tokyo, 6^th PRC, play-off for 3^rd. (Test No.174)

Canada 62 d Japan 18, 15 July 2000, Toronto, 5^th PRC. (Test No.167)

Japan 23 d Canada 21, 1 May 1999, Chichibu, Tokyo, 4^th PRC. (Test No.153)

Canada 34 d Japan 25, 20 June 1998, Vancouver, 3^rd PRC. (Test No.147)

Canada 30 d Japan 22, 3 May 1998, Chichibu, Tokyo, 3^rd PRC. (Test No.142)

Canada 42 d Japan 18, 14 June 1997, Vancouver, 2^nd PRC. (Test No.140)

Japan 32 d Canada 31, 18 May 1997, Chichibu, Tokyo, 2^nd PRC. (Test No.137)

Canada 51 d Japan 30, 13 July 1996, Vancouver, 1^st PRC. (Test No.134)

Canada 45 d Japan 18, 9 June 1996, Chichibu, Tokyo, 1^st Pacific Rim Championship (PRC). (Test No.131)

Canada 49 d Japan 26, 11 May 1991, Vancouver. (Test No.110)

Japan 26 d Canada 21, 7 June 1986, Vancouver. (Test No.89)

Japan 16 d Canada 6, 18 April 1982, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.72)

Japan 24 d Canada 18, 11 April 1982, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.71)

British Columbia 38 d Japan 7, 12 May 1976, Vancouver. (Test No.51)

Japan 32 d British Columbia 3, 22 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.31)

Japan 33 d British Columbia 6, 13 April 1963, Vancouver. (Test No.22)

Japan 11 drew with Canada (British Columbia) 11, 22 March 1959, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.19)

Canada (British Columbia) 21 d Japan 17, 15 March 1959, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.18)

Japan 38 d Canada 5, 11 February 1932, Meiji Jingu, Tokyo. (Test No.3)

Japan 9 d Canada 8, 31 January 1932, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.2)

Japan 3 drew with British Columbia 3, 24 September 1930, Vancouver. (Test No.1)

Sevens

The East Asia Championship is to be held in Hong Kong in December 2009. The IRB is pushing for the abbreviated form of the game to be included in the Summer Olympics programme from 2016 and as part of this there is talk of cancelling the Sevens RWC and moving it into the Olympics with the proviso that players must have the nationality of the country they are representing. The JRFU announced an expanded 40-man Sevens squad on 12 June 2009 under head coach Wataru Murata. There is also the hint of having Sevens as a non-medal demonstration sport at the London Games in 2012 should the sport be officially included for 2016 and beyond.