Rugby in Japan Vol. 7, No.10

¡       47th National Championship 2009-10

s     Complete Results

¡       Odds & Sods:

s     IRB Ranking: 13 (70.59, 1 March 2010)

s     The Think-tank: Attendances: Is This Enough?

¡       Looking Ahead:

s     Adelaide & Hong Kong 7s; Japan Schoolboys to France; 2010 HSBC A5N; IRB JWT; 2010 PNC

 

The 47th National Championship 2009-2010

 

Sanyo Wild Knights made it three national titles in a row when they beat Toyota Verblitz 22-17 in the 47th National Championship final at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on Sunday, 28 February 2010.

 

 

The National Championship (NC) had an 8-team format for three years prior to 2009, but from 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 46th 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 17th National Club Championship to determine the Top Club participant in the NC.

 

 

Recent National Championship Finals

2010 (47th): Sanyo 22 d Toyota 17.

2009 (46th): Sanyo 24 d Suntory 16.

2008 (45th): Sanyo 40 d Suntory 18.

2007 (44th): Toshiba 19 d Toyota 10.

2006 (43rd): Toshiba 6 drew with NEC 6. (Joint champions)

2005 (42nd): NEC 17 d Toyota 13.

2004 (41st): Toshiba 22 d Kobe 10.

 

 

Final

Sanyo Wild Knights (Top League Runner-up) 22 d Toyota Verblitz (Top League 4) 17

Date: Sunday, 28 February 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 14:00.

Attendance: 11,479.

 

 

Semi-finals

Toyota Verblitz (Top League 4) 23 d Toshiba Brave Lupus (Top League Champion) 10

Date: Saturday, 20 February 2010.

Venue: Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground, Osaka.

Kick-off: 14:00.

Attendance: 4,574.

 

Sanyo Wild Knights (Top League Runner-up) 25 d NEC Green Rockets (Top League Wildcard) 16

Date: Saturday, 20 February 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 14:00.

Attendance: 7,077.

 

 

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.

Attendance: 6,278.

 

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.

Attendance: 7,851.

 

 

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.

Attendance: 8,292.

 

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.

Attendance: 5,010.

 

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.

Attendance: 4,462.

 

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.

Attendance: 7,087.

 

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 – Tsunami warnings were posted across Japan following a major earthquake in Chile in South America leading to minimal damage.

 

IRB ranking on 1 March 2010 - Japan were 13 (70.59).

 

 

The Think-tank: Attendances: Is this Enough?

 

Two weeks on and RiJ again looks at attendances only this time more broadly across various games throughout the season and asks the question, ‘Is This Enough?’

 

Without a doubt, university rugby continues to be the major attraction in Japanese rugby with Waseda at the centre of the attention. The ace card is the Waseda v Meiji clash which regularly draws in excess of 40,000 no matter how either side is faring in the regular season.

 

Senior level domestic rugby does not quite have the same drawing power but the big games like the Top League play-off final manage to pull close to 20,000.

 

The hybrid National Championship coming on the heels of the university and Top League finals seems to suffer from spectator fatigue but the quality and variety across the Championship just is not there to drag in the fickle Japanese sporting public. As discussed as recently as two weeks ago, RiJ consistently asserts that this wayward tournament needs to be replaced by a whole new approach with something like a national regional tournament. Work is being done at the Top League level and the national team level to improve standards but this continually proves to be the single most area of Japanese rugby that is constantly overlooked. The attendance statistics below seem to bear this out as well.

 

Furthermore, the Japan national level seems to be the domain of the rugby diehards and without an old school tie or company flag to fly many fans are ambivalent about the fortunes of Japan on the world stage, especially as the Cherry Blossoms are not exactly world beaters. However, with Japan making strides under head coach John Kirwan and the country confirmed as host of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, there are positives on this front.

 

 

Now, let us look at a few specific attendance details from the 2009-10 season analysing the major competitions, that is, the National Championship, Top League, university rugby and test match rugby.

 

The average attendance for the nine games of the 47th National Championship 2010 was 7,646 with the final attracting 11,479, the largest crowd of the Championship and the only one to make it into five figures.

 

The average for the three games of the Top League Play-offs was 11,288, with the final again attracting the biggest crowd of 18,004.

 

The ninety-one games of the regular Top League season averaged about 4,500 per game. The biggest crowd was the opening game of the season between Toshiba and Sanyo which brought 12,796 fans to the night game at Chichibu in September. The only other occasion the five figure barrier was cracked in the 2009-10 season was the double header NEC-Yamaha and Sanyo-Suntory at Chichibu in round 13 that drew a crowd of 12,587.

 

The average for the fifteen games of the 46th National University Championship 2009-10 was 13,894. If the eight games in the first round are excluded, then the average for the seven games of the final, semi-finals and quarterfinals was 17,079. The largest crowd of the University Championship was the Teikyo-Meiji semi-final with 22,081.

 

In other university games, the two biggest drawcards on the rugby calendar in Japan are the Waseda-Meiji and Waseda-Keio games. The former attracted 30,492 while the latter got 23,430 people through the turnstiles in 2009 but both figures are well down on past average levels.

 

In test match rugby, Japan played four home tests out of ten in calendar 2009 with the average 5,336. The best turnout was at Chichibu in November 2009 when 10,175 spectators showed up for the second test against Canada. This was in contrast to the paltry crowd of 1,575 for the Pacific Five Nations test against Kazakhstan at Hanazono in Osaka in April.

 

However, by far the biggest game of 2009 in Japan did not even involve any Japanese players with 44,449 rugby fans rocking up to the National Stadium in Tokyo for the Tokyo Bledisloe Cup encounter between the All Blacks and the Wallabies in late October.

 

In stark contrast, more fans turned up to watch the Japan U20s as the host side run around in the IRB Junior World Championship in June 2009 than they did for the senior side. In their opening Pool B clash with England, 9,120 fronted up to Chichibu on a Friday night to watch the home side go down 43-0. However, the fans were undaunted as 10,693 attended the next game against Samoa followed by a very healthy 15,242 for the final pool game against Scotland. In total, more than 100,000 people went along to see the world rugby stars of tomorrow at the five venues across Japan.

 

Some of the major rugby crowd pullers in Japan during the 2009-10 season were:

New Zealand v Australia, National Stadium, Tokyo, October 2009, 44,449.

Waseda University v Meiji University, National Stadium, Tokyo, December 2009, 30,492.

Waseda University v Keio University, Chichibu, Tokyo, November 2009, 23,430.

Teikyo University v Meiji University, University Championship semi-final, National Stadium, Tokyo, January 2010, 22,081.

Toshiba v Sanyo, Top League Play-off final, Chichibu, Tokyo, January 2010, 18,004.

Japan U20 v Scotland U20, pool game IRB Junior World Championship, Chichibu, Tokyo, June 2009 15,242.

Japan v Canada, Chichibu, Tokyo, November 2009, 10,175.

 

 

47th National Championship 2010

The average for the nine games of the 47th National Championship 2010 was 7,646.

Final

Sanyo Wild Knights (Top League Runner-up) 22 d Toyota Verblitz (Top League 4) 17

Date: Sunday, 28 February 2010. Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Attendance: 11,479.

 

Semi-finals

The average for the semi-finals was 5,826.

Toyota Verblitz (Top League 4) 23 d Toshiba Brave Lupus (Top League Champion) 10

Date: Saturday, 20 February 2010. Venue: Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground, Osaka. Kick-off: 14:00.

Attendance: 4,574.

 

Sanyo Wild Knights (Top League Runner-up) 25 d NEC Green Rockets (Top League Wildcard) 16

Date: Saturday, 20 February 2010. Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo. Kick-off: 14:00.

Attendance: 7,077.

 

Second Round

The average for the two second round games was 7,065.

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.

Attendance: 6,278.

 

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.

Attendance: 7,851.

 

First Round

The average for the four first round games was 6,213.

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.

Attendance: 4,462.

 

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.

Attendance: 5,010.

 

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.

Attendance: 7,087.

 

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.

Attendance: 8,292.

 

 

Top League Play-offs

The average for the three games of the Top League Play-offs was 11,288.

 

Final

Toshiba (Top League 3) 6 d Sanyo Wild Knights (Top League 1) 0

Date: Sunday, 31 January 2010. Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Attendance: 18,004.

 

Semi-finals

Sanyo Wild Knights (Top League 1) 25 d Toyota Verblitz (Top League 4) 21

Date: Sunday, 24 January 2010. Venue: Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Ground, Osaka.

Attendance: 6,120.

 

Toshiba (Top League 3) 35 d Suntory (Top League 2) 24

Date: Sunday, 24 January 2010. Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Attendance: 9,741.

 

 

Top League

The ninety-one games of the regular Top League season averaged about 4,500. The biggest crowd was the opening game of the season between Toshiba and Sanyo which brought 12,796 fans to the night game at Chichibu in September, while the only other occasion the five figure barrier was cracked in the 2009-10 season was the double header NEC-Yamaha and Sanyo-Suntory at Chichibu in the final round 13 that drew a crowd of 12,587.

 

 

The 46th National University Championship 2009-10

The average for the fifteen games of the 46th National University Championship 2009-10 was 13,894.

The average for the seven games of the final, SFs & 2R was 17,079.

 

Final

Teikyo (4th in Kanto Taiko) 14 d Tokai (1st in Kanto League) 13.

Date: Sunday, 10 January 2010. Venue: The National Stadium, Tokyo.

Attendance: 17,569.

 

Semi-finals

The average for the semi-finals was 21,146.

Tokai (1st in Kanto League) 19 d Keio (2nd in Kanto League) 12

Date: Saturday, 2 January 2010. Venue: National Stadium in Tokyo. Kick-off: 12:15.

Attendance: 20,211.

 

Teikyo (4th in Kanto Taiko) 43 d Meiji (5th in Kanto Taiko) 12

Date: Saturday, 2 January 2010. Venue: National Stadium in Tokyo. Kick-off: 14:00.

Attendance: 22,081.

 

Second Round/Quarterfinals

The average for the four games of the second round was 12,521.

Date: Sunday, 27 December 2009.

Keio (2nd in Kanto League) 33 d Hosei (3rd in Kanto League) 24.

Venue: Chichibu, Kick-off: 12:00.

Attendance: 18,821.

 

Teikyo (4th in Kanto Taiko) 31 d Waseda (1st in Kanto Taiko) 20.

Venue: Chichibu, Kick-off: 14:00.

Attendance: 21,912.

 

Meiji (5th in Kanto Taiko) 62 d Kwansei Gakuin (1st in Kansai) 29.

Venue: Mizuho, Nagoya, Kick-off: 12:00.

Attendance: 5,045.

 

Tokai (1st in Kanto League) 53 d Tenri (2nd in Kansai) 12.

Venue: Mizuho, Nagoya, Kick-off: 14:00.

Attendance: 5,205.

 

First Round

The average for the eight games of the first round was 4,339.

 

 

Other University Games

The two biggest draw cards on the rugby calendar in Japan are the Waseda-Meiji and Waseda-Keio games. The former attracted over 30,000 people in 2009 but is well below former levels.

Waseda v Meiji = 30,492.

Waseda v Keio = 23,430.

 

Test Matches

Japan played four home tests in 2009 with the average 5,336.

Japan 27 d Canada 6, 21 November 2009, Chichibu, 10,175.

Japan 46 d Canada 8, 15 November 2009, Sendai, 6,164.

Japan 80 d Korea 9, 16 May 2009, Hanazono, 3,398.

Japan 87 d Kazakhstan 10, 25 April 2009, Hanazono, 1,575.

 

Looking Ahead

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

 

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IRB Sevens World Series, Australia

The Adelaide Oval, Adelaide.

19-21 March 2010

 

Japan played at the recent USA leg of the 2009-10 IRB Sevens World Series in Las Vegas from 13-14 February 2010. In that event, Japan opened their account with a gutsy 7-0 win over Argentina in their first pool match before going down to England and Wales. In the Bowl quarterfinals, Japan lost to Chile 19-7 in a game they were expected to win. However, in the subsequent Shield semi-finals, Japan beat Canada before eventually going down to Scotland in the Shield final. All-in-all, Japan came away from Las Vegas with two wins and four losses from their six games.

 

The squad will be all the better for the hit out in the USA as they head to the picturesque Adelaide Oval in the capital of the state of South Australia for the next round. Japan are in the very tough Pool B with South Africa, Samoa and France so Japan will have to play to their full potential if they are to earn some wins at the pool stages of the three day tournament. Samoa took out the USA Sevens when they beat New Zealand 33-12 in the Cup Final and they are in the same pool as Japan in Adelaide. Like last year, Japan are again in the same group as reigning Sevens World Champions South Africa who also went on to win the Adelaide tournament in 2009.

 

 

The Japan Squad

 

Name

Club

Age

Hgt.

Wgt.

1

Yusaku KAWAZURU

Coca-Cola

24

188

95

2

Masahiro TSUIKI (c)

Coca-Cola

26

176

88

3

Kensuke IWABUCHI

JRFU

34

179

81

4

Lepuha LATUILA

Daito Bunka Univ.

25

187

103

5

Kaoru MATSUSHITA

Yamaha

26

185

86

6

Hiraku TOMOIGAWA

NTT Communications

25

168

68

7

Tomohiro SHOKAI

Doshisha Uni.

20

186

82

8

Daisuke NATSUI

Kanto Gakuin Uni.

21

188

88

9

Yuki SUEMATSU

Honda

24

183

89

10

Kenji SHOMEN

Kobe

26

175

84

11

Takashi TOYOMAE

Nippon Sports Uni.

22

177

80

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

There were 16 countries in 4 pools of 4 teams.

 

A

B

C

D

NZ

Samoa

Fiji

England

Argentina

S. Africa

Kenya

Australia

Scotland

France

Wales

USA

Tonga

Japan

PNG

Niue

 

 

Schedule

Day 1: Friday, 19 March 2010

Game 2, 18:22: South Africa v Japan.

 

Day 2: Saturday, 20 March 2010

Game 9, 14:15: Samoa v Japan.

Game 17, 17:26: France v Japan.

 

Day 3: Sunday, 21 March 2010

Knock-out stages.

 

 

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IRB Sevens World Series, Hong Kong

The Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens

26-28 March 2010 in Hong Kong.

 

The Hong Kong leg of the IRB Sevens World Series is the premier event of the world circuit with its tradition, excitement and expanded twenty-four team format. Held at the 40,000 seat Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong is the only event of the annual eight leg series that has twenty-four teams, whereas all the other events have sixteen teams.

 

In Hong Kong in 2009, Japan had one of their better IRB Sevens World Series tournaments in a long time when they won two and lost three to make it as far as the Bowl semi-finals in. On the opening Friday of the annual three-day Hong Kong leg of the World Series Japan went close against Wales only going down by the margin of 14-5. However, all the good work and confidence building was undone against England on the Saturday when the Japanese went down 50-0. Not to be denied though, Japan regained their focus against China to win a close fought encounter 21-17. The win over China meant Japan finished third in Pool B and this put them into a Bowl quarterfinal against Sri Lanka on the Sunday. Japan had a reasonably comfortable 26-10 win over their Asian rivals to then put them into one of the semi-finals against Portugal. Although the score ended up being the same as the quarter, this time it was Japan on the losing end of the 26-10 score line.

 

In 2010, Hong Kong is the sixth tournament of the season and Japan are in Pool E this year but they are again grouped with England and Wales, though instead of China they will be joined in the pool by hosts Hong Kong. Wales are the reigning World Sevens champions, while over recent years England won this event in 2006, 2004, 2003 and 2002. Furthermore, Hong Kong will also have the vocal support of the locals to back their campaign making the overall task for Japan that much harder.

 

 

Pools:

There were 24 countries in 6 pools of 4 teams.

 

A

B

C

D

E

F

Samoa

NZ

Fiji

Australia

England

Kenya

Argentina

Scotland

USA

Canada

Wales

S. Africa

Russia

France

Portugal

Tonga

Japan

Zimbabwe

Italy

Chinese Taipei

Thailand

China

Hong Kong

Korea

 

 

Pool E Games for Japan:

Day 1: Friday, 26 March 2010

Game 11: (20:38) - Wales v Japan

 

Day 2: Saturday, 27 March 2010

Game 23: (14:10) - England v Japan

Game 29: (16:22) - Japan v Hong Kong

 

Day 3: Sunday, 28 March 2010

Knock-out stages.

 

 

 

Japan Schoolboys Tour to France 2010

13-29 March 2010.

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

 

Schedule

Game 1: Wednesday, 17 March, Japan Schoolboys v France U17 Selection, Tours.

Game 2: Friday, 19 March, Japan Schoolboys v France U18, Orleans.

Game 3: Wednesday, 24 March, Japan Schoolboys v Paul Espoir U17 Selection, Paris.

Game 4: Saturday, 27 March, Japan Schoolboys v Paris area U18 Selection or Club Team, TBC, Paris.

 

26-man Squad

Position

Name

Pref.

School

Height

Weight

Loose Heads

Hikaru ISHIZAWA

Tokyo

Tokyo

177

105

 

Katsuhiko TAKEI

Nara

Gose Jitsugyo

172

100

Hookers

Masayoshi MARUMI

Osaka

Josho Gakuen

176

96

 

Takumi SUDO

Tokyo

Kugayama

171

91

Tight Heads

Daikichi KASAI

Akita

Akita Kogyo

183

109

 

Shinnosuke KAKINAGA

Fukuoka

Higashi Fukuoka

179

112

Locks

Tosei KUROKI

Fukuoka

Higashi Fukuoka

185

87

 

Yoji AKIYAMA

Tokushima

Sadamitsu Kogyo

188

96

 

Yuho ASHIYA

Kyoto

Fushimi Kogyo

190

90

 

Yuta SHINYA

Yamanashi

Hikawa

184

94

Flankers

Shunsuke KASUYA

Saitama

Urawa

181

84

 

Kazuki TAKAMORI

Chiba

Ryukeidai

178

88

 

Yusuke NIWAI

Hyogo

Hotoku Gakuen

173

93

No8

Sho-Kei KIM

Osaka

Joshokeiko

176

89

Halfbacks

Ryota KAYAMA

Fukuoka

Higashi Fukuoka

166

69

 

Keisuke UCHIDA

Kyoto

Fushimi Kogyo

177

76

Five-eighth

Hirotomo SHIMOJI

Hiroshima

Onomichi

173

80

Centres

Tonisio VAIHU

Ishikawa

JAL Ishikawa

175

98

 

Shunsuke NUNOMAKI

Fukuoka

Higashi Fukuoka

178

84

 

Koki NODA

Nagasaki

Nagasaki Nanzan

175

79

 

Shingo HATANAKA

Osaka

Tokai Gyosei

170

83

Wings

Sho TAKENAKA

Kanagawa

Toin Gakuen

175

83

 

Kentaro KODAMA

Fukuoka

Kokura

182

75

 

Seiyu KOHARA

Osaka

Tokai Gyosei

182

82

Fullbacks

Yoshizumi TAKEDA

Nara

Gose Jitsugyo

180

86

 

Kotaro MATSUSHIMA

Kanagawa

Toin Gakuen

174

77

 

 

 

HSBC アジア五カ国対抗 20102010 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.

 

NB: the Kazakhstan v Japan fixture has been changed to Chichibu in Tokyo due to the lack of a suitable venue in Almaty.

 

 

The 11th 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:

 

 

 

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IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy

18-30 May 2010, Moscow.

Full details of the eight team Under 20 tournament soon.

The winner of the Junior World Rugby Trophy 2010 will be promoted to the Junior World Championship 2011.

 

Japanese referee Akihisa Aso is one of twelve match officials named on the tournament panel.

 

Pools

Pool A: Italy, Uruguay, Romania and PNG.

Pool B: Canada, Japan, Russia and Zimbabwe.

 

Schedule

Day 1: Tuesday, 18 May 2010, Russia v Japan, 18:15, Slava Stadium, Moscow.

Day 2: Saturday, 22 May 2010, Japan v Zimbabwe, 16:00, Fili Stadium, Moscow.

Day 3: Wednesday, 26 May 2010, Japan v Canada, 18:00, Slava Stadium, Moscow.

 

Day 4: Sunday, 30 May 2010, play-offs, Fili Stadium & Slava Stadium, Moscow.

 

 

Japan v South African President’s XV

Possibility of Japan playing a South African XV in between the A5N and the PNC.

 

 

IRBパシフィック・ネーションズカップ

2010 IRB Pacific Nations Cup

June-July 2010.

 

Now in its fifth year, the IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2010 involves the three island nations Fiji, Samoa and Tonga along with Japan. Both New Zealand and Australia will not commit teams for 2010.

 

For 2009, the Junior All Blacks (JAB) replaced the Maori as the New Zealand representative team, while Australia A did not participate in last year’s tournament.

 

In 2006 this tournament kicked off as the IRB Pacific Five Nations and involved the same teams as 2009. Australia A joined the competition in 2007 and the tournament name changed to its present moniker of IRB Pacific Nations Cup. The same format was maintained for 2008 with the exception being the Maori were the New Zealand representative side rather than the Junior All Blacks.

 

In the 2006 IRB Pacific Five Nations there was the need for a bye each round due to the fact that only five teams participated. The inclusion of Australia A for 2007 and 2008 gave a far better balance to the format of the tournament with three full games each round played on a home and away round robin basis. The Australian side also heightened the competitive level of the Cup. Unfortunately, the Australian Rugby Union made the decision not to include a side for 2009.

 

The tournament last year was further abbreviated with the majority of the games played in Fiji rather than the home and away format of the three previous years.

 

Previous Winners

The New Zealand representative sides have won all four titles to date and in fact are still to taste defeat.

2009: The Junior All Blacks. The JAB again took the PNC title undefeated on 19 points. Fiji were runner-up on 14 points followed by Samoa on 12 points, while Japan finished fourth on 6 points with one win and three losses. Tonga took the wooden spoon on one point.

2008: The New Zealand Maori. The Maori took the PNC title undefeated with 21 points when they beat Australia A 21-18 in the final game in Sydney. Australia A finished runner-up on 20 points. Japan finished fifth on 7 points with one win and four losses.

2007: The Junior All Blacks. The JAB took the PNC title undefeated with 25 points garnering maximum points in each game. Australia A finished a distant runner-up on 16 points after they lost to the JAB and drew with Fiji. Japan finished last on 4 points with one win and four losses.

2006: The Junior All Blacks. The JAB took the P5N title undefeated with 20 points with maximum points in each game. Japan finished last on 0 points with four losses.

 

Full details when available.

There will be no representative sides from New Zealand or Australia taking part in the 2010 PNC leaving only Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga.

Saturday, 12 June 2010, Fiji v Japan, in Fiji (venue TBC).

Saturday, 19 June 2010, Tonga v Japan, in Samoa (venue TBC).

Saturday, 26 June 2010, Samoa v Japan, in Samoa (venue TBC).

 

 

November 2010

There is the possibility that the New Zealand Maori and maybe even the Wallabies will play against Japan in the November window month. Another alternative being considered is three matches in November against Rod McQueen’s Melbourne Rebels ahead of their debut in the expanded Super 15 competition in 2011. There is the added possibility that there will be no games for Japan in the autumn to allow the test level players to freshen up ahead of the very heavy schedule in 2011 leading up to the RWC in NZ late in the year.