RiJ Vol.6 No.9
March 3, 2009
Contact Ian McDonnell at all.4.one@hotmail.com
Contents:
¡ 46th National Championship 2009: Final
s
Sanyo 24 d Suntory 16
¡ The Grubber Kick:
s
Back-chat:
s
Fraser Anderson to
s
Daisuke Ohata.
¡ The Draw:
s
Sevens
s
Asian Nations Cup 2009
s
Etc
RiJ is moving house this month. Our home address
will be in Kita-Karuizawa in Gunma prefecture, though I will be working down
the hill in Karuizawa, which is in
RiJ reports on the season closing final of the 2009 National
Championship with Sanyo beating Suntory 25-16 to take out
back-to-back titles. Congratulations Sanyo. RiJ also noted in the press in the
days after the final that the Sanyo company has decided to continue to fully
support its rugby team while they are still winning. Sanyo was recently taken
over by Panasonic and RiJ dreads to know what will happen when Sanyo are no longer
winning. RiJ hates to be a soggy piece of sushi, but really, the National
Championship as a concept is a lost cause and desperately needs replacing. It
is the same top ranked Top League teams getting to the final as the Microsoft
Cup and it is just not working as a crowd figure of just over 11,000 points
out. In The Grubber Kick, the news coming out of
The 46th National Championship 2009: Final
Sanyo 24 d Suntory 16.
The National Championship had an 8-team format over
the previous three years, but for 2009 the number of teams has been increased
to ten with the inclusion of two extra Top League sides. The National
Championship involves the top 6 finishers in Japan Rugby Top League, the
two top university teams, the winner of the Top Challenge Series
and the top club team. The first round of the National Championship
kicks off on Saturday, 7 February 2009.
Recent National Championship Finals
2009 (46th): Sanyo 24 d Suntory 16.
2008 (45th): Sanyo 40 d Suntory 18.
2007 (44th): Toshiba 19 d Suntory 10.
2006 (43rd): Toshiba 6 drew with NEC
6. (Joint champions)
2005 (42nd): NEC 17 d
2004 (41st): Toshiba 22 d
Final:
Sanyo Wild Knights (TL 2) 24 (Tries: Tomoki Kitagawa 2, Takashi Yoshida; Conversions: Masakazu Irie 3;
Penalty: Irie.) defeated
Suntory Sungoliath (TL 3) 16 (Try: Junichi Hojo; Conversion: Ryan Nicholas; Penalties: Nicholas 3.)
Date: Saturday, 28 February 2009.
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby
Ground,
Kick-off: 2:00 PM.
Referee:
Shinsuke Shimoi.
Attendance: 11,709.
Halftime: Sanyo 3 –
Suntory 9.
Sanyo: 1- Naoki Kawamata, 2-
Mitsugu Yamamoto, 3- Tomokazu Soma, 4- Young-Nam Yu, 5- Daniel Heenan, 6-
Kieran Black, 7- Daishi Wakamatsu, 8- Koliniasi Ryu Holani, 9- Fumiaki Tanaka,
10- Masakazu Irie, 11- Takashi Miyake, 12- Jumpei Enomoto (c), 13-
Seiichi Shimomura, 14- Tomoki Kitagawa and 15- Hiroshi Yamashita. Reserves:
16- Shota Horie, 17- Daisuke Tachikawa, 18- Yoichi Iijima, 19- Dai
Suntory: 1- Takashi Hayashi, 2-
Yusuke Aoki, 3- Kensuke Hatakeyama, 4- Takahiro Hayano, 5- Koji Shinozuka, 6-
Hale T-Pole, 7- Kota Kamimura, 8- Juntaro Takemoto, 9- Kiyonori Tanaka, 10-
Yoshinori Sogabe, 11- Hirotoki Onozawa, 12- Ryan Nicholas, 13- Daigo
Yamashita (c), 14- Junichi Hojo and 15- Yasunori Nagatomo. Reserves:
16- Takashi Yamaoka, 17- Tateo Kanai, 18- Shinki Gen, 19- Koji Taira, 20-
Shuetsu Narita, 21- Naoya Nomura and 22- Go Aruga.
Preview: The final of
the 2009 National Championship will be a repeat of last year with Sanyo Wild
Knights again playing Suntory Sungoliath. In the 2008 version Sanyo
took out their first ever national title when they beat Suntory to the tune of
40-18. On the other hand, Suntory are playing in their third National
Championship final in a row after being beaten by Sanyo last year and then
Toshiba in 2007, and so the Sungoliath will be hoping for third time lucky to
add to their two previous titles in 2002 and 1996.
Sanyo finished second in the 2008-9
Sanyo claimed their place in the final
when they beat Ricoh Black Rams 59-3 in the semi-finals. Suntory had to
come the long way to the final beating Kubota Spears 62-17 in the first
round and Waseda University 59-20 in the second round before picking up
a bye in the semi-final with the withdrawal of Toshiba Brave Lupus from
the tournament following a positive drug test to wing Christian Loamanu.
Both sides have plenty of talent right
across the board with the likes of lock Daniel Heenan, No8 Koliniasi
Ryu Holani, halfback Fumiaki Tanaka and five-eighth Masakazu Irie
in the Sanyo side and up and coming prop Kensuke Hatakeyama, the
experienced Tongan international Hale T-Pole on the side of the scrum,
the elusive Yoshinori Sogabe at five-eight and Ryan Nicholas in
the centres for Suntory.
Wrap-up: Suntory kicked
off the closing game of the domestic season but unfortunately the Yoshinori Sogabe kick failed to
go the required 10 metres. However, from the ensuing Sanyo scrum in the centre
of the field Suntory gained possession and instantly went on attack. Suntory
dominated possession and territory in the opening minutes and this forced Sanyo
to concede an early penalty around the five minute mark within kicking distance
for Suntory centre Ryan Nicholas. Nicholas made sure of the kick to open
a 3-0 lead to the Sungoliath. Nicholas kicked his second penalty in the 11th
minute to extend the Suntory lead to 6-0. Nicholas was handed his third attempt
at penalty in the 17th minute when Sanyo were penalised for not
rolling away at the breakdown and the
In the 23rd minute Sogabe tried to extend the
lead even further with a drop goal from about 40 metres out but the kick flew
wide of the right hand upright. However, from the drop out that followed
Suntory continued to throw the ball around with abandon adding to the pressure
on the Sanyo defence.
Sanyo had their first opportunity for points in the 28th
minute from a penalty at the breakdown from a rare forage into Suntory
territory. Five-eighth Masakazu Irie stepped up to the mark and landed
the kick to get the Knights on the board at 9-3. Over the closing minutes of
the half Sanyo managed to get their hands on more ball and this helped the
defending champions stay in touch on the scoreboard.
In the 36th minute Sogabe again threw
caution to the wind with a second long range drop goal attempt but like the
first shot it too failed to find its target. Not to be outdone, in the shadows
of halftime Irie tried a drop goal of his own but this too was unsuccessful and
this sent the teams to the break with Suntory leading 9-3 at the completion of
a tryless first half.
The second half carried on from where the
first half left off with Suntory continuing to dominate possession and
territory with Sanyo reduced to living off scraps. In the thirteenth minute
Nicholas lined up his fourth penalty after the Sanyo forwards were penalised for
not rolling away from a ruck on the Sanyo goal line. However, he could not
repeat the success of his first three kicks and the halftime score remained
unchanged at 9-3.
In the 15th minute Tony Brown
was introduced to the fray from the Sanyo bench to see if he could break the
deadlock. The game continued in its helter skelter style with Brown having an
immediate impact on the flow of the Sanyo play. Sanyo seemed to change gear
with the presence of Brown on the field and all of a sudden they had more of
the ball and were pressuring the Suntory goal line. The pressure told around
the hour mark with replacement back Takashi Yoshida slipping through the Suntory defence for the
opening try of the final. Irie kicked the easy conversion to put Sanyo in front
for the first time at 10-9.
With Suntory now behind Sogabe tried
another drop goal but it too went the way of his earlier attempts. Not long
after Sanyo made a break in open play with the ball ending up in the hands of
wing Tomoki Kitagawa who was awarded a try that had some doubt about the
grounding. However, the try stood and Irie kicked the conversion to extend the
Sanyo lead to 17-9.
In the 30th minute Nicholas
missed with another penalty meaning Suntory had to score twice in the final ten
minutes. However, with the rhythm of the game well and truly changed in favour
of the Knights, Kitagawa was in for his second try in the 32nd
minute. Irie converted the third Sanyo try to push out the score to 24-9.
With the clock winding down and the game
slipping away from Suntory they threw the ball about in an attempt to salvage
the final. This method proved successful with right wing Junichi Hojo scoring the first Suntory
try in the 37th minute. Nicholas kicked the conversion from out wide
but in the end it was not enough as the clock beat them with Sanyo running out
winners for the second year in a row. The final score line read Sanyo 24 –
Suntory 16.
Semi-finals:
Sunday, 22 February 2009.
Game 7 – Toshiba
Brave Lupus (TL 1) v winner of game 5, Chichibu in Tokyo at 2:10 PM.
NB: Toshiba Brave
Lupus have withdrawn from the National Championship after wing Christian
Loamanu failed a doping test conducted by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA).
Consequently, the semi-final set for Tokyo on 22 February 2009 has been
cancelled. Further, Suntory Sungoliath (TL 3) as the winner of Game 5
proceeds directly to the final.
Game 8 –
Sanyo Wild Knights (TL 2) 59 (Tries: Seiichi Shimomura 2, Kieran Black, Young-Nam Yu, Shota Horie,
Fumiaki Tanaka, Masakazu Irie, Tony Brown, Mitsugu Yamamoto; Conversions:
Masakazu Irie 7.) defeated
Ricoh Black Rams (Top Challenger) 3 (Penalty: Yoshimitsu Kawano.),
Venue: Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground,
Osaka.
Kick-off: 2:10
PM.
Referee: Shinji Aida.
Attendance: 4,132.
Halftime: Sanyo 33 –
Ricoh 3.
Yellow Card: Hiroyuki
Tanuma (Ricoh, No.4).
Sanyo: 1- Naoki Kawamata, 2-
Mitsugu Yamamoto, 3- Tomokazu Soma, 4- Young-Nam Yu, 5- Daniel Heenan, 6-
Kieran Black, 7- Daishi Wakamatsu, 8- Koliniasi Ryu Holani, 9- Fumiaki Tanaka,
10- Masakazu Irie, 11- Takashi Miyake, 12- Jumpei Enomoto (c), 13-
Seiichi Shimomura, 14- Tomoki Kitagawa and 15- Hiroshi Yamashita. Reserves:
16- Shota Horie, 17- Daisuke Tachikawa, 18- Yoichi Iijima, 19- Dai Kawaguchi,
20- Tony Brown, 21- Ryohei Miki and 22- Takashi Yoshida.
Ricoh: 1- Hideaki Takahashi, 2-
Yoshiyuki Takizawa, 3- Yusuke Nagae, 4- Hiroyuki Tanuma, 5- Satoru Endo, 6-
Ryota Ai, 7- Koji Ai, 8- Keigo Goto, 9- Wataru Ikeda (c), 10- Yoshimitsu
Kawano, 11- Daisuke Komatsu, 12- Ryo Kanazawa, 13- Joel Wilson, 14- Yusuke
Kobuki and 15- Stephen Larkham. Reserves: 16- Yuki Mori, 17- Tomoshige
Sato, 18- Takayuki Inoue, 19- Keiichiro Suenaga, 20- Naotaka Yuasa, 21-
Yasuharu Uryu and 22- Shinsuke Ikegami.
Preview: On paper at
least, this game must be considered a miss-match with the second best Top
League side in Sanyo up against Ricoh, who played in the regional Top East
11 competition this season. However, Ricoh showed in the second round with
their heart-stopping 24-23 win over NEC that they should not be written
off so easily.
Ricoh played in the first five seasons of
Top League before suffering automatic relegation at the end of the 2007-8
season for finishing second last. Relegation was a wake up call for the company
as they set about the process of regaining their place in Top League. Central
to this revitalisation has been the new coaching regime under head coach Todd
Louden and the acquisition of the likes of Wallabies legend Stephen
Larkham and his former Brumbies team mate Joel Wilson. Ricoh went
through their ten games in Top East undefeated and then won both their games in
the Top Challenge series to gain promotion to Top League for 2009-10 and also
qualify as the Top Challenger for the National Championship. In the first round
of the Championship they drew 25-all with Teikyo University but thanks
to the fact they out-scored the students 3 tries to 2 they managed to progress
to the second round where they came back from a 16-7 halftime deficit to snatch
victory from the more fancied NEC.
In the six years of the Top League era to
date, Ricoh is only the second non-Top League side to make it as far as the
semis after Waseda University got that far in 2006. Waseda lost to
Toshiba on that occasion and so Ricoh will be hoping to do one better and be
the first side outside of the Top League competition to make the final.
However, as defending national champion
Sanyo are going to be extremely tough to overcome. Sanyo defeated Suntory 40-18
in the final last year and with Suntory already in the final with the
withdrawal of Toshiba from the Championship; Sanyo will be aiming for a repeat
performance. To achieve that end, Sanyo will first and foremost have to put
down the challenge of Ricoh. Although the Black Rams are yet to taste defeat
this season, this clash with Sanyo is going to be the toughest challenge they
have faced all year.
Sanyo will field a strong side that
includes Japan tight head prop Tomokazu Soma, the versatile Daniel
Heenan at lock and Tongan-born No8 Koliniasi Ryu Holani in the
forwards. The starting line-up in the backs is an all Japanese affair starting
with the tricky Fumiaki Tanaka at halfback. Masakazu Irie will
start at five-eight ahead of Tony Brown on the bench, while in the
centres captain Jumpei Enomoto and Seiichi Shimomura will do the
job with Tomoki Kitagawa and Takashi Miyake the wing pairing.
Sanyo surely will look to dominate up front to lay the platform for their
speedy backs to do their work.
On the other hand, Ricoh will have to
match Sanyo in the forwards with their all Japanese pack through the likes of
hooker Yoshiyuki Takizawa, veteran locks Hiroyuki Tanuma and Satoru
Endo along with the Ai brothers, Ryota and Koji on the
side of the scrum. Former Sanyo halfback Wataru Ikeda will start in the
No.9 jersey as captain and he will be keen to put one over his former team
mates. Outside him is the gutsy Yoshimitsu Kawano at five-eighth with Ryo
Kanazawa and Joel Wilson in the centres, Daisuke Komatsu and Yusuke
Kobuki on the wings with former Wallabies Stephen Larkham at the
back. The forwards will have to compete well with their opposition if the likes
of Larkham and the exciting runners in the Ricoh backline are to get any
quality ball. Importantly too will be the stamina of the Ricoh side over 80
minutes of tough rugby.
Wrap-up: Playing in their alternative white jersey,
Ricoh opened the scoring in this semi-final with a penalty to five-eighth Yoshimitsu Kawano in
the opening minutes of the game. However, Sanyo scored the opening try of the
match in the 11th minute from a deft cross kick from five-eighth Masakazu
Irie that was scooped up by left wing Takashi Miyake who passed back
inside for centre Seiichi Shimomura to touchdown unopposed. The Irie
conversion attempt hit the upright but Sanyo put their noses in front for the
first time at 5-3. Flanker Kieran Black crossed for the second Sanyo try
in the 16th minute after the Knights used the width of the field to
give the ball plenty of air. This time, Irie landed the conversion from out
wide on the left hand side of the field to push his side out to a 12-3 lead.
In the 27th minute veteran
Ricoh second rower Hiroyuki Tanuma was sinbinned which gave Sanyo the
advantage of an extra man. Sanyo opted for a scrum for the penalty and from the
ensuing play Korean international lock Young-Nam Yu crossed for the
third Sanyo try. Irie landed the conversion to open up a 19-6 lead. In the 34th
minute replacement hooker Shota Horie was rewarded with a try for
backing up and running straight. Irie again made sure of the conversion to push
the score out to 26-3. Elusive halfback Fumiaki Tanaka caught the
defence napping just before the break from a lineout inside the Ricoh 22 to nip
in under posts to close the scoring in the first half. The Irie conversion saw
the teams go to halftime with Sanyo enjoying a 33-3 lead.
Ricoh kicked off to get the second half
under way with a big task in front of them. From a lineout near halfway in the
third minute of play, Sanyo spread the ball right with centre Shimomura
eventually finding his way to the Ricoh goal line for his second try. Again,
Irie was on target with the conversion to extend the lead to 40-3. Then, Irie
was in for a try himself in the 6th minute and his conversion took
the scoreboard to 47-3. In the 10th minute Tony Brown was
introduced to the game for Sanyo to give him valuable game time. Brown made his
presence felt in the 20th minute when he scored a try by grounding
the ball against the base of a goalpost. Irie missed the conversion but Sanyo
were out to a 52-3 lead. Hooker Mitsugu Yamamoto scored the next Sanyo
try when he was lurking out on the end of the backline in the 29th
minute of the half. Irie kicked the conversion for a 59-3 lead. In the end,
this was the final score line as Sanyo defeated Ricoh 59-3 to book their place
in the final next week against Suntory.
Second round:
Sunday, 15 February 2009.
Game 5 – Suntory
Sungoliath (TL 3) 59 d Waseda University (Uni 1) 20,
Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground,
Tokyo.
Kick-off: 2:10 PM.
Referee: Masahiro
Sakuraoka.
Attendance: 14, 011.
Halftime: Suntory 24 –
Waseda 6.
In the first round, Suntory beat Kubota 62-17 and
Waseda beat Tamariba Club 55-13 to progress to the second round. Suntory coach Katsuyuki
Kiyomiya coached Waseda from 2001 to 2006 winning the University
Championship three times along the way before moving to the Sungoliath two
years ago and so he will be very familiar with the Waseda set up. Furthermore,
a number of the Suntory players are relatively recent graduates of Waseda, for
example, captain and wing Daigo Yamashita, prop Kensuke Hatakeyama,
hooker Yusuke Aoki and five-eighth Yoshinori Sogabe and so they
will know what to expect from the students. On the other hand, Waseda will try
to use their speed and youthful enthusiasm to out smart Suntory, but that
should prove to be a very difficult task.
Suntory scored 8 tries to 2 to defeat Waseda 59-20 in
this second round clash. The Sungoliath lead all the way after opening up a
24-0 lead midway through the first half with tries to wing Hirotoki Onozawa,
fullback Yasunori Nagatomo and halfback Kiyonori Tanaka. Inside
centre Ryan Nicholas also landed three conversions and a penalty. Waseda
got on the scoreboard with two late penalties to fullback Hideki Tanabe
to go to the break 24-6 in arrears.
Suntory started off the second half in the same bright
way they started the first half with further tries to right wing Junichi
Hojo and prop Takashi Hayashi. Nicholas converted both tries to open
up a 38-6 lead to all but wrap up the game as a contest. Around the hour mark,
Waseda scored their first five-pointer through halfback Kosuke Enomoto
with Tanabe adding the extras to help narrow the gap to 38-13. However, Suntory
responded with a second try to Onozawa, again converted by Nicholas to further
push out the lead to 45-13. Waseda captain and No8 Masakazu Toyota led
from the front with the second try to the students in the 70th
minute but Suntory closed out the match with late tries to No8 Juntaro
Takemoto and lock Takahiro Hayano. Nicholas again landed the
conversions to make it a perfect day with the boot for a personal tally of 19
points for the match.
Game 6 – Ricoh
Black Rams (Top Challenger) 24 d NEC Green Rockets (TL 5) 23,
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby
Ground, Tokyo.
Kick-off: 12:00 PM.
Referee: Minoru Fuji.
Attendance: 11, 257.
Halftime: NEC 16 –
Ricoh 7.
Yellow Cards: Ryota Ai
(Ricoh No.6), Tomo Yasuda (NEC, No.5).
Ricoh topped the Top East 11 competition and then won
the Top Challenge Series to earn their place in the National Championship. In
the first round Ricoh did it the hard way when they drew with Teikyo University
25-all. It was only because they scored 3 tries to one that they were able to
move on to the second round. Head coach Todd Louden has promised a
better performance from the Rams this week if they are to stand a chance of
beating NEC. NEC finished fifth in Top League and this qualified the Green Rockets
for the National Championship. NEC left it to the last moments of their first
round clash with fourth placed Top League side Kobe to come from behind and
take the game 30-29. However, that was enough to keep their hopes alive of
taking out their first national title since they shared the title with Toshiba
in 2006 when they drew the final 6-all.
Ricoh sprang the upset of the second round when they
came back from 16-7 down at halftime to hold on long enough to beat NEC by the
slimmest of margins at 24-23. Ricoh drew with Teikyo University 25-all in the
first round and only progressed due to the fact that they outscored the
students 3 tries to 2. However, the bar was well and truly raised for the clash
with fifth placed Top League side NEC. In a reversal of fortunes, NEC stormed
home over the closing stages of their first round match against Kobe to steal
the game 30-29, but this week they were on the losing side of the one point
score line.
In the opening minutes of the first half, NEC opened
up a 10 point lead through a try to centre Yuya Mizuta and a conversion
and a penalty to Takeshi Matsuo playing at five-eighth. At this stage it
looked like NEC might run away with the game, but Ricoh stayed in contact with
a try to inside centre Joel Wilson which was converted by five-eighth Yoshimitsu
Kawano. Matsuo kicked two penalties for NEC over the second quarter of the
match to increase the lead to 16-7, while Ricoh finished the half with 14
players after flanker Ryota Ai was sinbinned.
Kawano was in the thick of the action in the early
exchanges of the second half scoring the second try of the match for Ricoh
inside the opening minute. He converted his own try and then kicked a penalty
at the ten minute mark to push Ricoh in front for the first time a 17-16. The
lead was extended when wing Daisuke Komatsu crossed for the third Ricoh
try in the 35th minute. Kawano landed the all important conversion
to open up an eight point gap at 24-16, meaning NEC had to score twice to win.
In the scrambling closing stages of the match, NEC No8 Takuro Miuchi
scored a try and replacement back Jaco van der Westhuyzen kicked the
conversion, but the Green Rockets were out of time and luck as Ricoh ran out
ultimate winners 24-23.
First round:
Saturday, 7 February 2009.
Four games involving all teams except Toshiba
and Sanyo as the top two Top League finishers.
Game 1 - Suntory (TL 3) 62 d Kubota
(TL 6) 17, Hanazono in Osaka at 2:00 PM.
Suntory finished third on the final Top League table
with 51 points from 10 wins and 3 losses and they are set to meet Kubota who
finished sixth on 37 points from 8 wins and 5 losses. In round 3 Suntory beat
Kubota 36-25 in Tokyo, so the Sungoliath will be trying to back up for a second
win over the Spears this season. Suntory lost their Microsoft Cup semi-final
32-22 to Sanyo last weekend whereas Kubota played their last game 3 weeks ago
in round 13 on 18 January. In what promises to be a tight game, the difference
might just come down to the form of the respective kickers in centre Ryan
Nicholas for Suntory and five-eighth Shane Drahm for Kubota.
In the end, Suntory ran out convincing winners over
Kubota 62-17. Rebounding from their Microsoft Cup semi-final loss to Sanyo last
weekend, the Sungoliath scored 9 tries to 2 after leading 31-10 at the break.
Captain and wing, Daigo Yamashita scored two of the tries while centre Ryan
Nicholas contributed with 7 conversions and a penalty.
Game 2 - Waseda (Uni 1) 55 d Tamariba
Club (Club Champion) 13, Chichibu in Tokyo at 2:00 PM.
Waseda University and the Tamariba Club have met on a
number of occasions at the same stage of the National Championship in recent
years. Last year in 2008 Waseda won 48-0, while the students also ran out
winners 47-7 in 2006 and 59-5 in 2005. The speed and fitness of the student
game should again be too much for Tamariba.
Waseda made it to the next round with a convincing
55-13 win over Tamariba. The students scored 9 tries to 2 and led 19-5 at
halftime. Fitness told in the second half with Waseda running in six further
tries to blow out the final score line. Captain and No8 Masakazu Toyota
scored two early tries while centre Katsuyuki Sakai also picked up a
double.
Game 3 - Teikyo (Uni 2) 25 drew
with Ricoh (Top Challenger) 25, Chichibu in Tokyo at 12:00 PM.
Teikyo played in their first ever university final
when they went down to Waseda on 10 January and now they back up for their
first National Championship since the expanded 22-man tournament in 2004. The
students are facing a resurgent Ricoh at a time when they boast the likes of
former Wallabies Stephen Larkham in their ranks and thus the power and
experience of the company side should prove to be too much for the students.
Although the final score was 25-all, under the
tournament rules the team that scores more tries is declared the winner. With
Ricoh scoring 3 tries to 2 this was enough for the Black Rams to progress to
the next round. Centre Ryo Kanazawa picked up a double for Ricoh with
two touchdowns while fullback Hikaru Funatsu kept the students in the
game with five penalties. Unfortunately though, Funatsu was forced from the
field late in the game with cramp and a penalty attempt for his replacement Daiki
Numajiri at the death fell short that resulted in the draw.
Game 4 - NEC (TL 5) 30 d Kobe
(TL 4) 29, Hanazono in Osaka at 12:00 PM.
Kobe finished fourth on the final Top League table
with 43 points from 9 wins and 4 loses and they take on NEC who finished fifth
on 37 points from 8 wins and 5 losses. Kobe beat NEC 20-10 way back in round
one in Osaka in early September and this game has the feel about it that it
could go either way. Kobe lost 26-7 to Toshiba in a semi-final of the Microsoft
Cup last weekend whereas NEC played their last game 3 weeks ago in round 13 on
18 January.
NEC stormed home over the closing stages of this game
after they trailed 29-20 at the 24th minute of the second half. A
converted try to Nili Latu and then an opportunist drop goal from
fullback Takeshi Matsuo in the 36th minute allowed NEC to
come over the top and steal the game 30-29.
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
23 February 2009 - Japan was 16 (68.05).
Back-chat: Japan
to Pillage the NRL! Headlines of this sort have been doing the
rounds this week in the Australian press as a number of prominent names in
rugby league have been linked with corporate teams here in Japan. In the
opinion of Grubber the threat that Japanese company teams are going to ransack
the elite ranks of league are totally unfounded and have been blown out of all
proportion.
The
favourable AUD-JPY exchange rates for Japanese companies importing players at
the moment and the possibility that Japan could be looking ahead to secure
overseas players under the 3-year residency rule to be eligible to play for
Japan at the 2011 RWC in NZ have grounds, but the likely Japanese companies to
attack are far from numerous and hardly orchestrated by the impotent JRFU.
To
be sure, Fraser Anderson has signed with Kobe and Benji Marshall and Karmichael
Hunt have been linked with Sanyo and Suntory respectively but the NRL is
quickly moving to cut off the Japan option for the latter pair. That leaves one
confirmed signing at this stage amidst the hysteria and scare mongering, hardly
a mass exodus that is going to decimate the league ranks. League has been
losing players to domestic Australian rugby as well as European clubs and the
Japan threat is simply one arrow in the quiver.
One
only has to look at the business pages in newspapers or on-line news services
to realise that all is not well in corporate Japan. IBM, World and Secom have
all but pulled out of rugby and the ground is starting to look a thin under the
boots of the company rugby system. Japanese company rugby is becoming more and
more a case of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ with only about seven of the
fourteen Top League teams really in it to win it. Toshiba, Suntory, Sanyo, Kobe,
Yamaha, NEC, Toyota and possibly Kubota are in a league of their own with the
other seven teams, along with every other company team in the land well and
truly behind the eight ball. This means that the companies prepared to part
with as much as AUD1 million a season for one league player are like hens
teeth. The reality too is that these figures are grabbed out of the air by the
headline makers and player agents back in Australia and are grossly
over-inflated.
Waratahs
fullback Sam Norton-Knight (25) is coming off contract at the end of the
current S14 season and the rumour has it Japanese clubs are sniffing around. If
it is not Japan than it could well be the Cardiff Blues in Wales.
What
exactly is going on in Aussie leaguie land? First it was West Tigers Benji
Marshall coming to Japan, then it was Brisbane Broncos fullback Karmichael Hunt
(22) and now it is 100kg Cronulla utility back, NZ-born Fraser Anderson (24).
Rumour has it Anderson has signed a 2-year deal with Kobe Steelers worth about
AUD400,000~500,000 a season. His Cronulla bosses were not impressed and he was
cut loose from the remaining year with the Sharkies. It seems the exchange rate
at the moment is good for Japan in the player market while there is also the
hint that Japan is looking ahead to the 2011 RWC with overseas players like
Anderson that will squeeze in under the 3 year qualification period for the
Cherry Blossoms.
The
NRL is certainly in the sights of various rugby raiding parties of late and not
just from Japan. Of course, Mark Gasnier, Craig Gower and Sonny Bill Williams
are playing in France while the S14 franchises have also been busy with former
Raiders back Mark McLinden (29) having been recruited by the Reds along with
former Melbourne Stormer Will Chambers (20). Of course, Timana Tahu is now in
his second season with the Waratahs. Not to be outdone, the ARU has also come
out in the press with its intentions of plundering the junior league ranks with
former Rooster Shaun Foley (22) now in the Australian Sevens squad. Former
Cronulla bad boy Greg Bird (25) has also crossed the floor to play with
Southern Districts.
Still
more on Benji Marshall. Sanyo and possibly even Suntory are the names
coming up as possible landing sites for the Kiwi and yes, the man who advises
to all rugby clubs known to mankind, a Mr E Jones is what else, an adviser!
Not
to be outdone, Karmichael Hunt is also being linked to Suntory.
Grubber reported recently that Kobe
wing Daisuke Ohata (33) needed an operation on his left shoulder. Ohata
is the world test try scoring record holder with 69 tries but his playing
career has been thwarted over the past few years when he ruptured first one and
then the other Achilles tendon, the latter denying him a place at the 2007 RWC.
Strive as he may, he has struggled to find the form of old and the shoulder op
looked like ending his career point blank. Well, he came out in the press this
week stating he would turn out for one more season in the 2009-10 Top League
season in an attempt to out on his own terms.
The Draw
The Draw gives the reader future dates for the
diary and other great things to look forward to.
RiJ mentioned that 2009 is going to be busy. Listed
below are some of the reasons why…
Sevens:
Japan will participate in the following Sevens events
in 2009 -
The
5th IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009:
To
be held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from Thursday 5 to
Saturday 7 March 2009.
Twenty-four
nations will take part in the men’s RWC which will be the fifth since its
inception in 1993. Meanwhile, 16 nations will compete in the first ever women’s
RWC. Both the Japan men’s and women’s teams qualified for the Dubai event by
winning their respective qualifying tournaments in Hong Kong in October this
year.
Men’s Teams:
Of the 24 participating nations, the eight
quarterfinalists from 2005 automatically qualified along with host the Arabian
Gulf, while the 15 remaining nations qualified through qualification rounds.
The competing countries are: Fiji, NZ, England, SA, Australia, France, Scotland,
Argentina, Arabian Gulf, Uruguay, Portugal, Wales, Georgia, Ireland, Italy,
Samoa, Tonga, Japan, Hong Kong, USA, Canada, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Tunisia.
Men’s Pools:
There
are 24 countries in 6 pools of 4 teams. The six pool winners and the best two
runners-up proceed to the Melrose Cup knock-out stages.
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
NZ
|
Fiji |
S.
Africa |
Samoa |
England |
Argentina |
Tonga |
France |
Scotland |
Australia |
Kenya |
Wales |
Arabian
Gulf |
USA |
Canada |
Portugal |
Tunisia |
Zimbabwe |
Italy |
Georgia |
JAPAN |
Ireland |
Hong
Kong |
Uruguay |
IRB Hong Kong Sevens:
27-29 March 2009 in Hong Kong.
Pools:
There are 24 countries in 6 pools of 4 teams.
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
S.
Africa |
England |
NZ |
Argentina |
Fiji |
Kenya |
France |
Wales |
Australia |
Portugal |
Samoa |
USA |
Uruguay |
JAPAN |
Zimbabwe |
Tonga |
Canada |
Scotland |
Korea |
China |
Sri
Lanka |
Hong
Kong |
Chinese
Taipei |
West
Indies |
Day 1: Friday, 27 March 2009
Game 11: 20:38 - Wales v Japan.
Day 2: Saturday, 28 March 2009
Game 23: 14:10 - England v Japan.
Game 29: 16:22 - China v Japan.
Day 3: Sunday, 29 March 2009
IRB Australia Sevens:
4-5 April 2009 in Adelaide.
Teams (16): Argentina, Australia, Cook
Islands, England, Fiji, France, Kenya, NZ,
Portugal, Scotland, SA, USA and Wales.
Oxbridge Tour to Japan
2009:
A combined Oxford-Cambridge team is set to tour Japan
in March 2009. The tour is also helping to promote the 150th
anniversary of the opening of the port of Yokohama, the 150th
anniversary of the founding of Keio University and the 125th
anniversary of the founding of the Kanto Gakuin University.
Sunday, 22 March: All-KGU v Oxbridge, at the Mitsuzawa
Stadium in Yokohama. Kick-off at 2:00 PM.
Saturday, 28 March: All-Keio v Oxbridge, at the
Mitsuzawa Stadium in Yokohama. Kick-off at 2:00 PM.
Japan Schoolboys Tour
to England 2009:
The Japan Schoolboys are set to tour England in March
2009.
Sunday, 22 March: England U18 v Japan Schools,
in Plymouth.
Wednesday, 25 March: Leicester Tigers Academy v Japan
Schools, in Plymouth.
Sunday, 29 March: England U18 v Japan Schools,
in Exeter.
The 10th
Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament 2009:
This annual high school tournament is again set for
the Golden Week period from 27 April to 6 May at the Global Arena in Munakata
in Fukuoka. Eight overseas schools chosen by their respective unions compete
with eight top Japanese schools. Four of the local schools are chosen from
Kyushu with the remaining four schools from other parts of Japan.
Overseas Schools: Prairiewood High
(Australia), Ivybridge Community College (England), Hamilton BHS (NZ).
Japanese Schools:
Asian Five Nations
2009:
April-May 2009.
Now in its second year, the Asian Five Nations 2009
involves defending champion Japan, along with Korea, Hong Kong,
Kazakhstan and Singapore. Singapore won Division 1 and replaces
the Arabian Gulf in the Top Five division for 2009.
Week 1
Saturday, 25 April 2009:
Japan v Kazakhstan, Hanazono, 3:00 PM.
Korea v Singapore, Tancheon Sports Complex, 2:00 PM.
Week 2
Saturday, 2 May 2009:
Hong Kong v Japan, HKFC, 4:00 PM.
Kazakhstan v Korea, Central Stadium, 4:00 PM.
Week 3
Saturday, 9 May 2009:
Singapore v Kazakhstan, Yio Chu Kang Stadium, 5:00 PM.
Korea v Hong Kong, Tancheon Sports Complex, 2:00 PM.
Week 4
Saturday, 16 May 2009:
Japan v Korea, Hanazono, 3:00 PM.
Hong Kong v Singapore, HKFC, 4:00 PM.
Week 5
Saturday, 23 May 2009:
Singapore v Japan. Yio Chu Kang Stadium, 5:00
PM.
Kazakhstan v Hong Kong, Central Stadium, 4:00 PM.
IRB Junior World Championship Japan 2009:
5-21
June 2009
Pools -
Pool A:
NZ, Argentina, Ireland, Uruguay.
At
the Mizuho Rugby Stadium in Nagoya.
Day
1: Friday, 5
June 2009.
Argentina
v Ireland, 5:00 pm.
NZ v
Uruguay, 7:00 PM.
Day
2: Tuesday,
9 June 2009.
Argentina
v Uruguay, 5:00 pm.
Ireland
v NZ, 7:00 PM.
Day
3: Saturday
13 June 2009.
Ireland
v Uruguay, 1:00 pm.
Argentina
v NZ, 3:00 PM.
Pool B:
England, Samoa, Scotland, Japan.
At
the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo.
Day
1: Friday, 5
June 2009.
Samoa
v Scotland, 5:00 pm.
England
v Japan, 7:00 PM.
Day
2: Tuesday,
9 June 2009.
England
v Scotland, 5:00 pm.
Japan v Samoa, 7:00 PM.
Day
3: Saturday
13 June 2009.
England
v Samoa, 1:00 pm.
Japan v Scotland, 3:00 PM.
Pool C:
SA, France, Italy, Fiji.
At
the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground in Osaka.
Day
1: Friday, 5
June 2009.
France
v Italy, 1:00 pm.
Fiji
v SA, 3:00 PM.
Day
2: Tuesday,
9 June 2009.
Fiji
v France, 1:00 pm.
Italy
v SA, 3:00 PM.
Day
3: Saturday
13 June 2009.
Fiji
v Italy, 1:00 pm.
France
v SA, 3:00 PM.
Pool D:
Wales, Australia, Canada, Tonga.
At
the Best Amenity Stadium in Saga.
Day
1: Friday, 5
June 2009.
Australia
v Canada, 5:00 pm.
Tonga
v Wales, 7:00 PM.
Day
2: Tuesday,
9 June 2009.
Australia
v Tonga, 5:00 pm.
Canada
v Wales, 7:00 PM.
Day
3: Saturday
13 June 2009.
Canada
v Tonga, 1:00 pm.
Australia
v Wales, 3:00 PM.
Knock-out
stages –
Group
1: At the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo.
Group
2: At the Level 5 Stadium in Fukuoka.
Group
3: At the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground in Osaka.
Group
4: At the Mizuho Rugby Stadium in Nagoya.
NB:
all knock-out games held on Wednesday 17 & Sunday 21 June 2009.
IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2009:
June
2009.
Now
in its fourth year, the IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2009 involves the Junior
All Blacks (JAB) from New Zealand, the three island nations Fiji, Samoa
and Tonga along with Japan. The JAB replace the Maori for 2009,
while Australia A will not participate in this year’s tournament.
The
tournament this year is to be held in Fiji rather than the home and away
format of the three previous years.
Round
1:
Friday,
12 June 2009: Samoa v JAB, Apia, 4:00 PM.
Saturday,
13 June 2009: Tonga v Fiji, in Tonga, 12:00 PM.
Round
2:
Thursday,
18 June 2009: JAB v Fiji, National Stadium, 3:10 PM.
Thursday,
18 June 2009: Japan v Samoa, Lawaqa Park, 3:10 PM.
Round
3:
Tuesday,
23 June 2009: Samoa v Tonga, Churchill Park, 12:10 PM.
Tuesday,
23 June 2009: Japan v JAB, Churchill Park, 3:10 PM.
Round
4:
Saturday,
27 June 2009: Tonga v Japan, Churchill Park, 12:10 PM.
Saturday,
27 June 2009: Samoa v
Round
5:
Thursday,
2 July 2009:
Friday,
3 July 2009:
IRB RWCs 2015 and 2019:
Host
nations to make presentations on 13 May 2009 in
At
this stage, the rumour is coming out of the JRFU that the Japan Union is more
interested in hosting 2019 rather than 2015.
Eight
Unions are bidding for 2015 (
Japan A Tour:
There
is a proposed tour for
Bledisloe Cup:
Rumour
has it a fourth Bledisloe Cup game for 2009 will be played in
Super Powers Cup:
At
this stage there is the proposal to revive the concept of the Super Powers Cup
involving