The National Championship (NC) had an 8-team format for three years prior to 2009, but for 2009 the number of teams was increased to ten with the inclusion of two extra Top League sides. For 2010, the NC involves six Top League sides, the two top university teams, the winner of the Top Challenge Series and the Top Club team. The first round of the NC kicked off on Sunday, 7 February 2010.

The top four Top League finishers gained automatic qualification to the NC, that is, Sanyo (first on 59 points), Suntory (second on 58 points), Toshiba (third on 52 points and Toyota (fourth on 48 points).

For 2010 the Wildcard Tournament was introduced for the Top League sides that finished fifth to tenth on the final table. These six sides were: Kobe (fifth on 38 points), Kubota (sixth on 31 points), Sanix (seventh on 31 points), Coca-Cola (eighth on 31 points), Yamaha (ninth on 30 points) and NEC (tenth on 25 points). The teams played off over two weekends with Kobe and NEC winning the right to participate in the NC as the final two Top League participants.

The two universities that participated in the 46^th National University Championship final gained admission to the NC. Teikyo University defeated Tokai University 14-13 in the final and consequently Teikyo was University 1 while Tokai was University 2.

NTT Communications Shining Arcs (Top East), won the Top Challenge One series and gained automatic entry to the NC as the Top Challenger.

Rokko Fighting Bull won the 17^th National Club Championship to determine the Top Club participant in the NC.

Second Round

Toyota Verblitz (Top League 4) 50 d NTT Communications Shining Arcs (Top Challenger) 17

Date: Sunday, 14 February 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 12:00.

Preview

NTT Communications Shining Arcs have their first real taste of things to come in Top League next season when they confront Toyota Verblitz in the second round of the National Championship.

NTT went through the rounds of Top East undefeated this season and then won both their games in the Top Challenge series to win promotion to Top League for the 2010-11 season as well as qualify for the National Championship as the Top Challenger. In the first round of the Championship last Sunday, NTT snuck past Tokai University 11-7 to keep their undefeated record for the season intact. However, this unbeaten run will be seriously under threat this weekend against the fourth placed finisher in Top League in the form of Toyota.

Toyota clearly dominated Kobe Steelers in the first round of the Championship with a solid 36-19 win and if they can carry that form over into the second round NTT will be in for a long afternoon. Toyota finished the regular season of Top League in fourth place with ten wins, a draw and just the two losses and thus automatically qualified for the Top League Play-offs and the National Championship. In the Play-offs, they were edged out 25-21 by Sanyo in the semi-finals, but they are still in the hunt for a fourth national title.

Toyota won the National Championship back in 1987, 1978 and 1969 but the closest they have got to the title after that was when they lost 19-10 to Toshiba in the 2007 final.

The winner of this match then goes on to play Toshiba Brave Lupus in the semi-finals.

Wrap-up

NTT Communications Shining Arcs had a prelude of what to expect in Top League next season when they went down to Toyota Verblitz 50-17 in the second round of the National Championship in Tokyo on Sunday. Toyota were out to a 31-0 lead by the half hour mark before they meandered somewhat and allowed NTT to play their way back into the game. Toyota regrouped late in the second half and they eventually outscored their opponents eight tries to two with forward Hayden Hopgood running in three of the five-pointers. Playing from fullback, Orene Ai’i also scored a try while wing Tatsuya Kusumi was also among the scorers. Former Wallabies and Brumbies wing or fullback Mark Gerrard tried to revive the fortunes of NTT in the second forty, but Toyota were too good on the day.

NEC Green Rockets (Wildcard) 38 d Teikyo University (University 1) 5

Date: Sunday, 14 February 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 14:00.

Preview

NEC had an horrendous start to their season losing nine of their first ten games but finished with three wins in their last three games to claim the final place in the Wildcard Tournament. NEC then went from strength to strength beating Sanix and then Kubota in that tournament to take one of the two Top League Wildcard entry spots in the National Championship.

All the recent hard work paid off handsomely for NEC in the first round of the National Championship last weekend when they held the highly fancied Suntory Sungoliath to at 10-all draw. The luck of the gods was then with game captain Nili Latu as he pulled out the winning ballot to continue the remarkable turnaround for the Rockets over the latter stages of the season.

The Green Rockets have now won their last six games and they will be aiming to make it seven in a row with a good win over Teikyo to progress to a semi-final showdown with Sanyo Wild Knights.

On the other hand, Teikyo qualified for the National Championship as the top university after they beat Tokai 14-13 in the university final at the National Stadium in Tokyo on 10 January. As the university champions, Teikyo put down the challenge of Top Club side Rokko Fighting Bull in the first round of the Championship with a 12 tries to one, 76-7 victory. The students had too much power and speed for the leading club side with stamina running out for the Fighting Bull as the game progressed. However, it will be a different story on Sunday as Teikyo attempt to become the first university to beat a Top League side in the national tournament since Waseda beat Toyota 28-24 in the corresponding second round of the 2006 National Championship.

Wrap-up

NEC Green Rockets continued on their winning way when they overcame a spirited Teikyo University 38-5 in the second round of the 2010 National Championship. NEC were too experienced across the board and held the physical advantage, especially at the breakdown as they out-scored the students six tries to one. Leading the way was flanker and game captain Nili Latu who muscled his way across for three tries. NEC are a side known for their tough defence and this was in evidence in this game as the Teikyo forwards could find no way through the middle of the field. NEC now move on to the semi-finals next weekend where they will face Sanyo Wild Knights.

First Round

NEC Green Rockets (Top League Wildcard) 10 drew with Suntory Sungoliath (Top League 2) 10

Date: Sunday, 7 February 2010.

Venue: Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground, Osaka.

Kick-off: 14:00.

Teikyo University (University 1) 76 d Rokko Fighting Bull (Top Club) 7

Date: Sunday, 7 February 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 14:00.

NTT Communications Shining Arcs (Top Challenger) 11 d Tokai University (University 2) 7

Date: Sunday, 7 February 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 12:00.

Toyota Verblitz (Top League 4) 36 d Kobe Steelers (Top League Wildcard) 19

Date: Sunday, 7 February 2010.

Venue: Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground, Osaka.

Kick-off: 12:00.

Semi-finals

Saturday, 20 February 2010.

Sanyo Wild Knights (Top League Play-off finalist) v NEC (Wildcard).

Toshiba Brave Lupus (Top League Play-off finalist) v Toyota (Top League 4).

Final

Sunday, 28 February 2010.

Chichibu.

Final Top League Promotion & Relegation Matches

Ricoh & Kintetsu Retain their Places in TL for 2010-11

Ricoh Black Rams (Top League 12) 59 d Mazda Zoomers (third in Top Challenge 1) 12.

Date: Saturday, 13 February 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 14:00.

The three sides that finished first in their respective regional leagues, that is Top East, Top West and Top Kyushu, took part in the 2009-10 Top Challenge One series playing each other once. NTT Communications Shining Arcs and Toyota Jido Shokki finished first and second respectively and gained automatic promotion to Top League for the 2010-11 season. The Mazda Zoomers finished third in Top Challenge One and they have one last chance in the final Promotion and Relegation play-off with the team that finished twelfth in Top League in 2009-10, that is, Ricoh Black Rams.

Wrap-up

Ricoh Black Rams confirmed their place in Top League for the 2010-11 season with an emphatic 59-12 win over Mazda Zoomers in Tokyo on Saturday. Ricoh scored nine tries to two after holding a 19-7 lead at the halftime break. Three yellow cards throughout the game hurt Mazda, especially in the second half as Ricoh built on their extra man advantage. Rocky Havili brought up a hat-trick of tries for the Rams, while Roy Kinikinilau also crossed the whitewash twice.

Kintetsu Liners (Top League 11) 28 d Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars (winner of Top Challenge 2) 8.

Date: Saturday, 13 February 2010.

Venue: Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground, Osaka.

Kick-off: 13:00.

The three sides that finished in second position in their respective regional leagues took part in Top Challenge Two. These three sides played each other once with the top side in Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars (Top East), winning the right to take on Kintetsu Liners, the team that finished eleventh in Top League in 2009-10, for a place in Top League for next season.

Wrap-up

Five-eighth Yasumasa Shigemitsu led the Kintetsu Liners to victory over Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars with two tries and four conversions to come away with eighteen points to his name from the 28-8 win. Playing on their home ground was a bonus for the Liners as they opened up a 21-3 lead by the end of the first half. Halfback Chul-Won Kim and wing Yohei Shinomiya were the other try scorers for Kintetsu while wing Makoto Kasahara was the lone try scorer for Yokogawa.

Japan Rugby Top League Teams for Season 20010-11

(Confirmed 14 February 2010)

This will be the eighth season of Top League. The numbers in brackets indicate seasons in Top League.

1	Toshiba Brave Lupus (8)
2	Sanyo Wild Knights (8)
3	Suntory Sungoliath (8)
4	Toyota Verblitz (7)
5	Kobe Steelers (8)
6	Kubota Spears (8)
7	Fukuoka Sanix Blues (7)
8	Coca-Cola Red Sparks (5)
9	Yamaha Jubilo (8)
10	NEC Green Rockets (8)
11	Kintetsu Liners (5)
12	Ricoh Black Rams (7)
13	NTT Communications (1)
14	Toyota Jido Shokki (1)

Kyuden Voltex and Honda Heat were automatically relegated at the completion of the 2009-10 season for finishing 13^th and 14^th.

NTT Communications Shining Arcs and Toyota Jido Shokki won promotion through the Top Challenge series.

Kintetsu Liners and Ricoh Black Rams retained their places in Top League when they won their respective promotion and relegation play-offs.

What a Complete and Utter Waste of Time!

The last word on promotion and relegation play-offs for another season is: Why?

In the seven year history of Top League, the bottom two teams have been automatically relegated and the two best regional teams playing through the Top Challenge Series promoted to take their places. That much makes some sense. However, what does not make any sense at all is the fact that the two sides that finish above the bottom two place getters then have to go through a one-off play-off against the also rans of the Top Challenge Series to retain their places in Top League for the following season.

There is a lot working against this concept and as far as RiJ is concerned absolutely nothing working for it. Over the seven years of Top League not one of the challengers have ever won their way into Top League via this method. This year, Ricoh and Kintetsu played their last game on 9 January and then had to hang around for FIVE weeks to play a game that they were always going to win anyway. Thank you for coming, but Mazda had the same chance of beating Ricoh as a snowflake has of surviving in hell and even though Yokogawa on paper at least should have fronted up against Kintetsu it never happened. The games are not shown on J Sports as understandably they could not be bothered and it seems the fans feel the same way with attendances barely breaking into four figures. There is as much interest in these games as there is in going to the dentist for root canal treatment. Doesn’t this suggest something? Hello?

What do we want?

Dump the Top League promotion and relegation play-offs!

When do we want it?

Seven years ago!

IRBセブンズワールドシリーズ2008/09

IRB Sevens World Series, USA

Las Vegas

13-14 February 2010

The Japan Squad

	Name	Club	Age	Hgt.	Wgt.
1	Kenji SHOMEN	Kobe	26	175	84
2	Masahiro TSUIKI	Coca-Cola	26	176	88
3	Kaoru MATSUSHITA	Yamaha	26	185	86
4	~~Hidefumi~~ ~~YAMAMOTO~~	~~NEC~~	25	~~185~~	92
5	Hiraku TOMOIGAWA	NTT Communications	25	168	68
6	Yusaku KAWAZURU	Coca-Cola	24	188	95
7	Yuki SUEMATSU	Honda	24	183	89
8	Lepuha LATUILA	Daito Bunka Univ.	25	187	103
9	Takashi TOYOMAE	Nippon Sports Uni.	22	177	80
10	Daisuke NATSUI	Kanto Gakuin Uni.	21	188	88
11	Tomohiro SHOKAI	Doshisha Uni.	20	186	82
12	Yoshiaki TSURUGASAKI	Tokai Uni.	20	185	97

Japan Sevens Staff

Wataru Murata (head coach, Yamaha),

Kensuke Iwabuchi (coach, JRFU),

Masahiro Furudate (trainer, Reniart).

Pools

Pool A: New Zealand, Australia, France and Guyana.

Pool B: Fiji, South Africa, Canada and USA.

Pool C: Samoa, Kenya, Scotland and Chile.

Pool D: England, Argentina, Wales and Japan

Odds & Sods

Odds & Sods brings the reader weekly news shorts, gossip and general happenings from the world of Rugby in Japan.

News in Japan: Catching the headlines in Japan this week are – The opening of the Vancouver Winters Olympics last Friday is pushing politics and everything else into the background. After collecting a total of one (gold) medal in Turin, Nippon is hopeful in moguls, jump, speed skating and figure skating.

IRB ranking on 8 February 2010 - Japan were 13 (70.59).

Suntory coach Katsuyuki Kiyomiya has resigned as head coach after four years in the job after the less than adequate 10-all draw with NEC in the second round of the National Championship last weekend. Suntory lost when the captains had to draw straws to determine the winner. It seems a bit odd that Kiyomiya would use this as a reason to jump but waiting in the wings is none other than present general manager Eddie Jones. With Jones fulltime this season at Suntory after being an adviser while being involved with Saracens, the Reds and South Africa in the recent past, RiJ felt the coaches’ box must have been bulging at the seams with these two egos. After a highly successful career as a player and coach at both Waseda University and Suntory, Kiyomiya is going out on a low, something he is very unaccustomed to. Expect Jones to run the Suntory ship as head coach next season, but likewise, expect Kiyomiya to pop up somewhere else in the coaching ranks. Kiyomiya and Masahiro Kunda, the former Japan hooker and captain and successful coach of Toshiba are the two highest profile local coaches in Japan and one or the other would be most likely to take over from JK should he call it a day after the 2011 RWC. Thinking positively, this could be a blessing in disguise for Kiyomiya as he is now uncommitted. More than anything, RiJ would love to see this very talented coach head overseas to hone his skills and get out of the Waseda/Suntory bubble he has lived in for the past twenty years. In this regard, Jones would be the best person to help Kiyomiya with his wide base of contacts throughout the world. He would be better for it as a person and he would be better equipped to put his hand up for the national coaching position when it next becomes available. Otherwise, who knows, he could even be competing against Jones for the national coaching position in a bit over a year. If Jones is successful with Suntory next season, it would put him close to the top of the list of candidates for national coach should he harbour such ambitions.

Rugby scribe Rich Freeman has the bite on a rumour that Andre Pretorius in Japan bound. RiJ is sure the Western Force will be really pleased to hear this news about their would-be star recruit and wish him all the best with his hamstring rehab. Meanwhile, the Force have a gaping hole at No.10 after the departure of Matt Giteau and with Pretorius unavailable they are behind the eight-ball from the very start. Sam Harris was given the nod in the opener against the Brumbies, but he is not a five-eighth.

Rich also states that lock Albert van den Berg is to join lower division side Canon. It seems the number of South Africans venturing to Japan is increasing year by year.

The Think-tank:

The Origin Series

There is a pot of gold sitting under the noses of the JRFU, but unfortunately it is totally overlooked. The annual Tri-Regions tournament comes and goes and if only it was treated with a bit more respect the series could be a real cracker, along the lines of the ‘State of Origin’ in Australian rugby league. As it stands, the series hardly even raises a blimp on the Japanese rugby radar, but as RiJ has been saying over the years, all of the structure is already there in place; all it needs is conviction and commitment to make it happen. The jump from a piddling nothing tournament that everyone has forgotten about to a fully blown provincial tournament used for national selection is not that big.

The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) is the overall administrator of rugby in Japan. At the next level down there are the three major regional unions of Kanto, Kansai and Kyushu. These three regional unions are very established entities that administer to rugby on the regional basis. Below that, there are prefectural unions, but they are far less organised.

This is just one of many options that RiJ has suggested over the years, but it makes such commonsense to expand on what is already there to give provincial representative rugby some real teeth. Let’s make an “Origin Series” to create a much needed tier of rugby between the university and company leagues and the national team!

Below is a very simple and incomplete list of some of the more prominent players running around in Japanese rugby broken up into place of origin falling into Kanto, Kansai or Kyushu. The ‘place of origin’ is based on where that player went to high school which more or less equates to the prefecture or region that player calls home. There is a general parity between Kanto and Kansai, although Kyushu has a much smaller population base to draw from. Most of the players are drawn from Top League with a few from the universities but there is a wealth of talent out there in other company leagues, the universities not to mention the club system just waiting to be discovered and given a chance to shine. A draft could also be introduced for some players, including foreign players to balance the talent across the teams.

The Origin Series should be used as a selection process for the national team as well as fostering a sense of tribalism in regional pride. In this respect, all players should be eligible for national selection. RiJ has plonked eligible overseas players into regions their teams are located, or in the odd case, like Michael Leitch, where that player went to high school in Japan. However, a more flexible approach could be taken in this regard with overseas players not eligible for Japan selection also included.

An Origin Series featuring the best players in Japan representing their home areas surely has strong grounds for success. Many of the existing companies behind teams could help sponsor their regions, while also leaving the door open for non-affiliated sponsorship. Such neutral sponsors could buy the naming rights to the series, or even to the grounds for the duration of the series.

There are also a lot of variations that could be considered. Perhaps each region could run two sides, one being the stronger A side and the other the B side for developing players. Further, an U20 side or similar age grade team could be added to create a highly competitive tournament for younger university students that do not see much game time in the regular season as well as high school students with the potential to mix it at a higher level. Universities, high schools and also U18s already play their respective East v West series without much fanfare so it is not all that difficult to expand that to include Kyushu and increase the intensity. Thereby, each region could possibly field three sides and so fans could go along to the ground and see three quality games of provincial representative rugby.

With only three regions, the Origin Series would ideally have to be played home and away to give each side at least four games. A third round too is not out of the question with the opposition alternating each year. Given a four game home and away scenario, this would create a perfect selection process for the national side with the Asian Five Nations and the Pacific Nations Cup now played annually over the late April to early July window. The regular season could be easily compressed and the National Championship done away with leaving five or six weeks over March and April for the Origin Series.

This simple Tri-Regions Origin Series would be the easiest to implement as the basic series already takes place and it would also be the most cost effective. Such a series with all the stars of Japanese rugby spread over three regional sides would also be a far more attractive product to sell to the media. The series would be more of a true highlight of the domestic season as the National Championship just does not grab the public and the media in the way such a tournament should. The NC is too predictable and lop-sided with the universities, club sides and lower division sides way out of their depth against the best Top League teams leaving the semi-finals and final to be more or less a repeat of the Top League Play-offs.

Taking a long-tem view, there is the scope to further expand the Origin Series to better reflect the full extent of Japan as a truly National Origin Series. The groundwork has already been laid for this national structure with junior representative rugby setting the precedent. Over the past four years, a nine block representative tournament has been running for both U18 and U17 levels. The nine regions include: Hokkaido, Tohoku (the north-east), Kanto, Tokai, Hoku/Kita Shinetsu, Shikoku, Kansai, Kinki and Kyushu. It is not rocket science to do the same at senior level thereby creating a nine team National Origin Series providing each side with eight games.

This longer tournament would allow for combinations and patterns to better develop within the teams with each side now getting four home and four away games, an added bonus for fans and the media. The window is already there over February, March and April so there would not need to be any significant adjustments to the university and Top League seasons.

Another option RiJ has proposed recently is to introduce a second round of Top League to expand the season, however, the introduction of a National Origin Series may require Top League to stay at one round. On the other hand though, a second round of Top League could still be implemented creating a separate tournament for Top League sides minus their star players. This additional round of Top League would allow fringe players the chance for more game time as many often go through the season with next to no time on the field. A Satellite League already exists in Top League, but not all the teams are fully committed to it, so this could be a way of formalising a second level of Top League. This less formal and more flexible structure could also allow teams to develop home grounds as grounds like Chichibu, Hanazono, Level 5, the Homes Stadium in Kobe and the Yurtec Stadium in Sendai would be required for the National Origin Series.

It’s just a thought.

Kanto

1. Naoki Kawamata, loosehead prop, Sanyo, Seichi Fukaya, Tokyo.

2. Jungo Kikawa, loosehead prop, Sanyo, Fukaya HS, Saitama.

3. Tomohiro Kubo, loosehead prop, Toshiba, Nakashibetsu HS, Hokkaido.

4. Yusuke Aoki, hooker, Suntory, Kugayama, Tokyo.

5. Yoshimitsu Yasue, hooker, Kobe, Teikyo HS, Chiba.

6. Tateo Kanai, hooker, Suntory, Ota HS, Gunma.

7. Yuta Inose, hooker, NEC, Joso Gakuin HS, Ibaraki.

8. Taku Inokuchi, hooker, Toshiba, Keio Gijuku HS, Tokyo.

9. Kensuke Hatakeyama, tighthead prop, Suntory, Sendai Ikuei HS, Miyagi.

10. Tomokazu Soma, tighthead prop, Sanyo, Tokyo HS, Kanagawa.

11. Hitoshi Ono, lock, Toshiba, xxxx HS, Fukushima.

12. Koji Shinozuka, lock, Suntory, Saitama Fukaya, Saitama.

13. Shinya Makabe, lock, Suntory, Sendai Technical HS, Miyagi.

14. Taira Sato, lock, NEC, Akita Chuo HS, Akita.

15. Eiri Nakada, lock, Waseda, Seikei HS, Tokyo.

16. Ryota Asano, flanker, NEC, Honjo HS, Chiba.

17. Itaru Taniguchi, flanker/No.8, Kobe, Meikei Gakuen, Ibaraki.

18. Phil O’Reilly, flanker, Yokogawa.

19. Michael Leitch, flanker, Tokai University, Sapporo Yamanote HS.

20. Sione Vatuvei, flanker, Sanyo.

21. Koliniasi Ryu Holani, No.8, Sanyo, Saitama Fukaya.

22. Shuetsu Narita, halfback, Suntory, Akita Technical HS, Akita.

23. Shota Goto, halfback, Kobe, Toin Gakuen, Kanagawa.

24. Naoya Nomura, five-eighth, Suntory, Saitama Fukaya, Saitama.

25. Eiji Ando, five-eighth, NEC, Kumagaya Technical, Saitama.

26. Seiichi Shimomura, centre, Sanyo, Tokyo Nodaini HS, Gunma.

27. Bryce Robins, centre, NEC.

28. Ryan Nicholas, centre, Suntory.

29. Katoni Otukolo, centre, Kubota, Saitama Fukaya.

30. Kosuke Endo, wing, Toyota, Naka Shibetsu HS, Hokkaido.

31. Kenichi Yokoyama, wing, Ricoh, Yamagata Chuo HS, Yamagata.

32. Shinichi Yokoyama, wing, Ricoh, Yamagata Chuo HS, Yamagata.

33. Hiroki Yoshida, fullback, Toshiba, Tokyo Nodaini HS, Ibaraki.

34. Tadanobu Ko, fullback, Kintetsu, Toin Gakuen, xxxx.

Kansai

1. Takahiro Sugiura, loosehead prop, Sanix, xxxx HS, Aichi.

2. Yuji Matsubara, hooker, Kobe, Osaka Kodai HS, Osaka.

3. Mitsugu Yamamoto, hooker, Sanyo, Nitta HS, Okayama.

4. Shota Horie, hooker, Sanyo, Shimamoto? HS, Osaka.

5. Takeshi Kizu, hooker, Tokai University, Tokai Gyosei HS, Osaka.

6. Hiroshi Yamashita, tighthead prop, Kobe, Toshima? Technical HS, Osaka.

7. Shinsuke Nakamura, tighthead prop, Nihon Univ, Hotoku Gakuen, Hyogo.

8. Yosuke Ikegaya, tighthead prop, Suntory, Sotoku HS, Hiroshima.

9. Toshizumi Kitagawa, lock, Toyota, Fushimi Technical HS, Kyoto.

10. Yuji Kitagawa, lock, Sanyo, Osaka Toin HS, Osaka.

11. Tomoaki Taniguchi, lock, Toyota, xxxx HS, Hyogo.

12. Luke Thompson, lock, Kintetsu.

13. Daniel Quate, lock, Toyota.

14. Takashi Kikutani, flanker, Toyota, Gose Technical HS, Nara.

15. Takamichi Sasaki, flanker/No.8, Suntory, Keiko Gakuen HS, Osaka.

16. Masato Toyoda, No.8, Toshiba, Tokai Gyosei HS, Kyoto.

17. Hajime Kiso, No.8, Yamaha, Osaka Mishima HS, Osaka.

18. Toetu’u Taufa, No.8, Kintetsu.

19. Tomoki Yoshida, halfback, Toshiba, Tokai Gyosei HS, Kyoto.

20. Yuki Yatomi, halfback, Yamaha, Kyoto Seisho HS, Kyoto.

21. Fumiaki Tanaka, halfback, Sanyo, Fushimi Technical HS, Kyoto.

22. Chul-Won Kim, halfback, Kintetsu, Chomei, Osaka.

23. Kenji Shomen, five-eighth, Kobe, Tokai Gyosei HS, Osaka.

24. Kyohei Morita, five-eighth, Kobe, Osaka Kodai, Osaka.

25. Shotaro Onishi, five-eighth, Kintetsu, Keiko Gakuen, Osaka.

26. Kosei Ono, five-eighth, Sanix, Canterbury Boys’, Aichi.

27. Yasumasa Shigemitsu, five-eighth, Kintetsu, Fushimi Technical HS, Kyoto.

28. Yoshimitsu Kawano, five-eighth, Ricoh, Hikawa HS, Yamanashi.

29. Ryohei Yamanaka, five-eighth, Waseda, Tokai Gyosei HS, Osaka.

30. Hirotoki Onozawa, wing, Suntory, Shizuoka Seiko Gakuen HS, Shizuoka.

31. Yuta Imamura, centre, Kobe, Yokka Ichi HS, Mie.

32. Atsushi Moriya, centre, Honda, Kyoto Hanazono HS, Osaka.

33. Alisi Tupuailei, centre, Honda.

34. Tomoki Kitagawa, wing, Sanyo, Higashi Yama HS, Kyoto.

35. Daisuke Ohata, wing, Kobe, Tokai Gyosei HS, Osaka.

36. Toshiaki Hirose, wing, Toshiba, Kitano HS, Osaka.

37. Takeshi Miyake, wing, Sanyo, Fushimi Technical, Kyoto.

38. Ryo Kanazawa, wing, Ricoh, Osaka Kodai HS, Osaka.

39. Kaoru Matsushita, fullback, Yamaha, Hotoku Gakuen HS, Hyogo.

40. Go Aruga, fullback, Suntory, Hikawa HS, Yamanashi.

41. Tatsuya Kusumi, fullback, Toyota, xxxx HS, Osaka.

Kyushu

1. Hisateru Hirashima, loosehead prop, Kobe, Higashi Fukuoka, Kumamoto.

2. Akira Ozaki, loosehead prop, Suntory, Nagasaki Nanzan HS, Nagasaki.

3. Ryuhei Arita, hooker, Waseda, Higashi Fukuoka, Fukuoka.

4. Tatsukichi Nishiura, tighthead prop, Coca-Cola, xxxx HS, Miyazaki.

5. Ryo Yamamura, tighthead prop, Yamaha, Saga Technical HS, xxxx.

6. Takanori Kumagae, lock, NEC, Higashi Fukuoka, Fukuoka.

7. Yoshitaka Nakayama, flanker, Toyota, Oita Maizuru HS, Fukuoka.

8. Tomoaki Nakai, flanker, Toshiba, Kumamoto Technical HS, Kumamoto.

9. Hare Makiri, flanker, Sanix.

10. Taro Kenjo, flanker, NEC, Tsukushi HS, Fukuoka.

11. Juntaro Takemoto, flanker/No.8, Suntory, Nagasaki Kita HS, Nagasaki.

12. Masakazu Toyota, No.8, Coca-Cola, Higashi Fukuoka, Fukuoka.

13. Takuro Miuchi, No.8, NEC, Yawata HS, Fukuoka.

14. Tatsuhiko Otao, five-eighth, Yamaha, Saga Technical HS, Saga.

15. Masakazu Irie, five-eighth, Sanyo, Yawata Chuo, Fukuoka.

16. Shaun Webb, five-eighth, Coca-Cola.

17. Koji Taira, Suntory, centre, Suntory, Nagasaki Nanzan HS, Saga.

18. Tomohiro Semba, centre, Toshiba, Yawata Technical HS, Fukuoka.

19. Brendan Neilson, centre, Coca-Cola.

20. Shinji Nakazono, wing, Yamaha, Saga Technical, Saga.

21. Akihito Yamada, wing, Honda, Kokura HS, Fukuoka.

22. Ayumu Goromaru, fullback, Yamaha, Saga Technical HS, Fukuoka.

23. Daisuke Haradome, fullback, Coca-Cola, Kagoshima Technical HS, Kagoshima.

24. Goshi Tachikawa, fullback, Toshiba, Saga Technical HS, Saga.

25. Yasunori Nagatomo, wing, Suntory, Takanabe HS, Miyazaki.

Looking Ahead

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

Japan Schoolboys Tour to France 2010

13-28 March 2010.

Details of the four match tour soon.

France toured Japan in the summer of 2008 with two games at Sugadaira.

HSBC アジア五カ国対抗 2010 2010 IRB HSBC Asian Five Nations

The 2010 A5N also doubles as the final Asian qualification round for the 2011 RWC in New Zealand.

Saturday, 1 May 2010, kick-off 14:00, Korea v Japan, Gyeongsang Stadium, Daegu.

Saturday, 8 May 2010, kick-off 14:00, Japan v Arabia Gulf, Chichibu, Tokyo.

Saturday, 15 May 2010, kick-off 16:00, Kazakhstan v Japan, Central Stadium, Almaty.

Saturday, 22 May 2010, kick-off 14:00, Japan v Hong Kong, Chichibu, Tokyo.

The 11^th Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament 2010:

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:

Japanese Schools:

IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy

18-30 May 2010, Moscow.

Details soon. In the eight team Under 20 tournament, Japan are in Pool B along with Canada, hosts Russia and Zimbabwe.

2010 IRB Pacific Nations Cup

June-July 2010.

Details soon.