Rugby In Japan Newsletter

Vol.7, No.21

Contents:

¡ HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 – Week 5 Japan 94 d Hong Kong 5

¡ IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, Moscow 2010 – Days 1 & 2

¡ Japan A

¡ Odds & Sods:

s IRB Ranking: 13 (70.59, 17 May 2010)

s The Think-tank:

¡ Looking Ahead:

s ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010.

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HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 – Week 5 (Final)

The HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 also doubles as the final Asian qualification round for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The top placed finisher will qualify directly for New Zealand as Asian 1 and will join hosts New Zealand, France, Tonga and Canada in Pool A.

The runner-up still has a chance of qualifying through the final place play-off for a spot in Pool B alongside Argentina, England, Scotland and Georgia. The Asian Five Nations runner-up will face a cross-continental play-off against Uruguay in July. The winner of that match will progress to the play-off final against the winner of Romania and Ukraine v Tunisia.

Japan 94 d Hong Kong 5

Japan 94 – Tries: Alisi Tupuailei 3, Kosuke Endo 2, Fumiaki Tanaka 2, Koji Taira, Koliniasi Ryu Holani, Shaun Webb, Kaoru Matsushita, Hiroki Yuhara, Tomoki Yoshida and James Arlidge; Conversions: Ryan Nicholas 4, Shaun Webb 3, James Arlidge 5 d.

Hong Kong 5 – Try: Mark Wright.

Date: Saturday, 22 May 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Japan Test Number: 255.

Kick-off: 2:00 PM (local Japan time).

Referee: Harry Mason (Singapore).

Conditions: Hazy, no wind, 26°C. Ground firm and fast.

Attendance: 9,406.

Halftime: Japan 45 – Hong Kong 0.

Yellow Cards: Rory Hussey (Hong Kong No.19, 22 min 2H, foul play); Toetu’u Taufa (Japan No.7, 42 min 2H, repeated team infringements).

Red Card: Goshi Tachikawa (Japan No.15, 43 min 2H, punching).

Previous Encounters

Prior to this test, Japan and Hong Kong have met in 18 official tests since their first meeting in 1969. Japan have won 14 times and Hong Kong 4 times.

Official test results for Japan against Hong Kong

Date	Result	Location	Tournament	Test No.	W/L
2 May 2009	Hong Kong 6 - Japan 59	HKFC, Hong Kong	A5N	243	Win
18 May 2008	Japan 75 – Hong Kong 29	Niigata	A5N	234	Win
29 Apr. 2007	Japan 73 – Hong Kong 3	Chichibu, Tokyo	ANS	220	Win
18 Nov. 2006	Hong Kong 3 – Japan 52	HKFC, Hong Kong	2007 RWC qualifying	217	Win
8 May 2005	Japan 91 – Hong Kong 3	Chichibu, Tokyo	2007 RWC qualifying	202	Win
31 Oct. 1998	Japan 47 – Hong Kong 7	Singapore	1999 RWC qualifying	151	Win
7 June 1998	Japan 16 – Hong Kong 17	Chichibu, Tokyo	3^rd PRC	145	Loss
23 May 1998	Hong Kong 31 – Japan 38	Aberdeen, Hong Kong	3^rd PRC	144	Win
29 June 1997	Japan 23 – Hong Kong 41	Chichibu, Tokyo	2^nd PRC	141	Loss
3 May 1997	Hong Kong 42 – Japan 20	Aberdeen, Hong Kong	2^nd PRC	136	Loss
18 May 1996	Hong Kong 33 – Japan 9	Aberdeen, Hong Kong	1^st PRC	130	Loss
11 May 1996	Japan 34 – Hong Kong 27	Chichibu, Tokyo	1^st PRC	129	Win
18 June 1994	Japan 22 – Hong Kong 10	Sapporo		121	Win
26 Sep. 1992	Japan 37 – Hong Kong 9	Seoul	13^th AC	115	Win
7 Sep. 1991	Japan 42 – Hong Kong 3	Edogawa, Tokyo		111	Win
30 Jan. 1982	Japan 18 – Hong Kong 12	Chichibu, Tokyo		70	Win
11 Nov. 1972	Hong Kong 0 – Japan 16	Hong Kong	3^rd AC	37	Win
9 Mar. 1969	Japan 24 – Hong Kong 22	Chichibu, Tokyo	1^st AC	27	Win

A5N = Asian Five Nations.

ANS = Asian Nations Series (2007 only).

PRC = Pacific Rim Championship.

AC = Asian Championship.

Japan (IRB rank 13 (70.59), at 17 May 2010)

Pos.	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt	Caps
1	Hisateru HIRASHIMA	Kobe Steelers	27	180/115	14
2	Shota HORIE	Sanyo Wild Knights	24	180/104	5
3	Shinsuke NAKAMURA	Suntory Sungoliath	22	190/115	5
4	Hitoshi ONO (c)	Toshiba Brave Lupus	32	192/105	40
5	Luke THOMPSON	Kintetsu Liners	29	195/108	22
6	Masakazu Toyota	Coca-Cola Red Sparks	24	189/108	9
7	Toetu’u TAUFA	Kintetsu Liners	29	183/108	13
8	Koliniasi Ryu HOLANI	Sanyo Wild Knights	28	188/111	9
9	Fumiaki TANAKA	Sanyo Wild Knights	25	166/75	17
10	Shaun WEBB	Coca-Cola Red Sparks	28	180/90	19
11	Kosuke ENDO	Toyota Verblitz	29	186/90	29
12	Ryan NICHOLAS	Suntory Sungoliath	30	192/100	20
13	Koji TAIRA	Suntory Sungoliath	27	185/95	21
14	Alisi TUPUAILEI	Canon Eagles	29	187/116	6
15	Goshi TACHIKAWA	Toshiba Brave Lupus	33	182/94	17
16	Hiroki YUHARA	Toshiba Brave Lupus	26	173/105	3
17	Naoki KAWAMATA	Sanyo Wild Knights	24	184/118	6
18	Toshizumi KITAGAWA	Toyota Verblitz	29	195/110	28
19	Michael LEITCH	Tokai Univ.	21	190/103	10
20	Tomoki YOSHIDA	Toshiba Brave Lupus	28	172/78	22
21	James ARLIDGE	Newport Dragons (Wales)	30	187/93	20
22	Kaoru MATSUSHITA	Toyota Verblitz	26	185/86	4

Head Coach - John Kirwan. (37^th test as coach, for 21 wins, a draw and 15 losses.)

Subs

16 subbed 2, 14 min 2H.

17 subbed 1, 10 min 2H.

18 subbed 5, 29 min 2H.

19 subbed 8, 10 min 2H.

20 subbed 9, 25 min 2H.

21 subbed 10, 11 min 2H.

22 subbed 12, 11 min 2H.

Hong Kong (IRB rank 34 (52.49), at 17 May 2010)

	Name	Club	Age	Hgt/Wgt	Caps
1	Peter SPIZZIRRI	HKFC	34	183/100	37
2	Jon ABEL	DeA Tigers	31	176/98	32
3	Alex NG Wai Shing	Valley	21	182/112	18
4	James STOKES	Valley	30	195/112	2
5	Charles FRENCH	HKFC	26	197/150	6
6	KWOK Ka Chun	Kowloon	24	192/105	16
7	Mark WRIGHT	HKFC	25	184/88	14
8	Simon LEUNG (c)	HKCC	29	188/102	22
9	Kenneth HSIEH Chun Hang	Kowloon	20	163/67	1
10	Keith ROBERTSON	DeA Tigers	23	173/72	8
11	Alex MCQUEEN	HKCC	21	182/85	5
12	Simon HEMPEL	HKCC	30	183/100	13
13	Rowan VARTY	DeA Tigers/Toyota Jido Shokki (Jap)	24	173/84	20
14	YIU Kam Shing	Valley	22	184/82	6
15	Colin BISLEY	HKCC	31	184/88	10
16	Alex BADDELEY	Valley	29	186/110	6
17	Jack BENNETT	Valley	28	180/112	6
18	Renaud CHAVANIS	Valley	29	194/100	8
19	Rory HUSSEY	HKFC	32	191/90	2
20	Tim ALEXANDER	Valley	29	174/82	9
21	Tsang Hing Hung	DeA	24	179/86	4
22	Adam RABY	HKFC	24	182/80	8

Head Coach: Dai Rees. Formerly coached Wales U20 and U21. Started in October 2008.

Manager: Sean Murphy.

Subs

16 subbed 2, 0 min 2H.

17 subbed 3, 0 min 2H.

18 subbed 4, 0 min 2H.

19 subbed 8, 15 min 2H.

20 subbed 9, 0 min 2H.

21 subbed 10, 30 min 1H.

22 subbed 15, 12 min 2H.

Preview

Going into the final round of matches, there is a mathematical possibility that Hong Kong can still win the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010, though the likelihood of that actually happening is next to none. Japan sit on top of the table with a full complement of 18 points from their three games while Hong Kong are on 12 points gained from two wins and the away loss to the Arabian Gulf in Week 2. However, Hong Kong would have to win in Tokyo, deny Japan any bonus points and overcome a points differential that is close to 200 points.

Recent history too does not point to a Hong Kong victory. Japan and Hong Kong have played annually over the past five years but on each of those five occasions Hong Kong have struggled to stay within 50 points of the Cherry Blossoms, the undisputed leaders of Asian rugby. Of the total of eighteen tests played between these two sides since the initial meeting in 1969, Japan have won 14 and Hong Kong just four. Those four wins came during the early days of the Pacific Rim Championship with the last win coming way back in June 1998 when Hong Kong snuck home 17-16 at the Prince Chichibu Ground in Tokyo, the same venue for this test. Without a doubt, the A5N has boosted the motivation of Hong Kong rugby and the standard is definitely on the rise, but to beat Japan in Tokyo with a ticket to the 2011 Rugby World Cup resting on the result is just too much to ask.

Head coach John Kirwan has made a number of changes for this clash with Hong Kong. Although Hisateru Hirashima retains his place at loosehead prop, as does hooker Shota Horie, tighthead prop Shinsuke Nakamura gets a run-on start after being on the bench for the game against Kazakhstan last week. Hitoshi Ono and Luke Thompson are the locks with the former again the captain with regular captain Takashi Kikutani sidelined after coping a two-week ban following the test against the Arabian Gulf. Sione Vatuvei drops out of the XXII to make way for Koliniasi Ryu Holani who moves into No8 with Masakazu Toyota the blindside flanker and Toetu’u Taufa  No.7.

In the backs, Fumiaki Tanaka and Shaun Webb are the starting halves for the second week in a row, while in the centres the Suntory pairing of Ryan Nicholas and Koji Taira are once again in place. Yasunori Nagatomo drops out of the squad with Kosuke Endo moving from the right wing to the left wing with Alisi Tupuailei taking up the right wing position while veteran fullback Goshi Tachikawa will play his seventeenth test in an international career that started back in 1999.

JK has added experience to his bench with Toshiba’s Hiroki Yuhara the reserve hooker while prop Naoki Kawamata will be looking for his first cap of the season. Meanwhile, Toshizumi Kitagawa is the back-up lock and flanker Michael Leitch is set for a return to international duty from a broken toe. Tomoki Yoshida is the back-up halfback while James Arlidge and Kaoru Matsushita will cover the rest of the backline positions.

Wrap-up

In perfect spring conditions on a fast surface at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground in central Tokyo, Japan ran in fourteen tries to one in a decidedly one-sided afternoon in which the visitors were soon found to be far out of their league. The Cherry Blossoms not only won the HSBC Asian Five Nations series for the third year in a row but importantly secured their ticket to New Zealand next year for the World Cup as Asia’s representative when they beat Hong Kong 94-5 racking up the highest score between these two sides in nineteen outings.

Shaun Webb kicked off the first half for Japan with the hosts defending the northern scoreboard end of the ground and with both sides trying to play fast open rugby it did not take long for the first score of the game to be posted. Right wing Alisi Tupuailei scored the first of his three tries for the afternoon in only the second minute of play from a cross field kick from five-eighth Webb to start the ball rolling. Although Japan initially had trouble securing clean ball from restarts they clearly dominated at the set pieces and breakdown giving them an endless stream of quality possession to use at will. Along with Alisi’s three tries for the half, other five-pointers went to outside centre Koji Taira, left wing Kosuke Endo backing up a long cross field run from inside centre Ryan Nicholas, No8 Koliniasi Ryu Holani breaking from the scrum base close to the Hong Kong line and finally Webb himself. When Endo scored the fourth Japanese try in the eighteenth minute it not only secured Japan a bonus point but more importantly it meant Hong Kong were unable to overtake the home side to take the title and along with that it guaranteed Cherry Blossoms qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

After the break, things were never going to get any better for the tiring away side as Japan piled on a further 49 points through another seven converted tries. Halfback Fumiaki Tanaka got the scoreboard ticking over in the fifth minute of the second half when he darted across the Hong Kong try line from a five metre scrum. Endo then picked up a double followed by another to Tanaka before the replacements also got in on the act. First, Kaoru Matsushita scored on the hour mark, then back-up hooker Hiroki Yuhara dived over from close out for his second try in three tests, then replacement halfback Tomoki Yoshida mimicked Tanaka in scooting over the Hong Kong try line from the scrum base, before James Arlidge scored near the end of play. All-in-all three kickers were used on the day in Nicholas, Webb and Arlidge, and between them they converted twelve of the fourteen team tries for Japan. Hong Kong did not leave empty handed, however, as flanker Mark Wright got the visitors on the board mid way through the second half with an opportunist try from a charge down.

In a spiteful end to the game, Japan fullback Goshi Tachikawa had a try reversed in what was injury time at the end of the second half after a punch up with Hong Kong replacement back Adam Raby. At the time, referee Harry Mason denied Tachikawa the try and for his troubles showed him a red card. With the incident going before the judiciary, Tachikawa was handed a three match ban and although the referee took no action in regards Raby at the time he was ultimately handed a one match suspension for his part in the fracas. In other news from the judiciary, Hong Kong replacement forward Rory Hussey was found guilty of a punching charge on Japan halfback Fumiaki Tanaka and suspended for two weeks. Hussey was yellow-carded at the time for the incident.

At the end of day, Japan head coach John Kirwan noted that this was the best performance of his side in the Asian Five Nations and that the team played out the full eighty minutes. He felt it was important the side kept growing with an eye now on the up-coming Pacific Nations Cup. “We are going to the PNC to have a real go and play our style of rugby. We are stronger and fitter now and we want to show the world what we can do. Our goal in to win the PNC but to do that we have to close out tight games, something we failed to do against Fiji last year.” When asked about how to narrow the gap between Japan and the rest of Asia, JK commented that it would be a good idea to have franchises from China, Korea or Hong Kong playing in Top League so that they had quality games week in and week out.

HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 Top Five Results (Final)

Week	Date	Teams	Venue	Kick-off
Week 1	Saturday, 24 April 2010	Hong Kong 32 – Korea 8	HKFC, Hong Kong	16:00
		Kazakhstan 43 – Arabian Gulf 28	National University Stadium, Almaty	16:00
		Japan bye
Week 2	Friday, 30 April 2010	Arabian Gulf 16 – Hong Kong 9	Bahrain Sports Club, Bahrain	19:00
	Saturday, 1 May 2010	Korea 13 – Japan 71	Gyeongsang Stadium, Daegu,	14:00
		Kazakhstan bye
Week 3	Saturday, 8 May 2010	Hong Kong 19 – Kazakhstan 15	HKFC, Hong Kong	16:00
		Japan 60 – Arabian Gulf 5	Prince Chichibu, Tokyo	14:00
		Korea bye
Week 4	Friday, 14 May 2010	Arabian Gulf 21 – Korea 19	The Sevens, Dubai	19:00
	Saturday, 15 May 2010	Japan 101 – Kazakhstan 7	Prince Chichibu, Tokyo	14:00
		Hong Kong bye
Week 5	Saturday, 22 May 2010	Japan 94 –Hong Kong 5	Prince Chichibu, Tokyo	14:00
		Korea 25 – Kazakhstan 32	Munhak Stadium, Incheon	14:00
		Arabian Gulf bye

HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 Top Five Table (Final)

	Team	P	W	L	F	A	+/-	BP	Pts
1	Japan	4	4	0	326	30	296	4	24
2	Kazakhstan	4	1	2	97	173	-76	3	13
3	Hong Kong	4	2	2	65	133	-68	2	12
4	Arabian Gulf	4	2	2	70	131	-61	0	10
5	Korea	4	0	4	65	156	-91	2	2

Five points for win, three points for draw, one bonus point for scoring four tries or more and one for losing by seven points or less.

Week 5 Preview (Final)

In the fifth and final week of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010, there is a lot at stake at both ends of the points table. Japan host Hong Kong in Tokyo with the A5N title and automatic qualification to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand up for grabs. Meanwhile, Korea are at home in Incheon to take on Kazakhstan in a must win game for the hosts as another loss will doom the Koreans to relegation. The Arabian Gulf have the bye after playing all their four games.

Japan are again at home for their final game against Hong Kong after an emphatic 71-13 win over Korea in Week 2, a solid 60-5 win over the Arabian Gulf in Week 3 and a comfortable 101-7 win over Kazakhstan last Saturday. Japan had the bye in the opening weekend and with Korea the only away game in 2010 the defending champions have all but qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Hong Kong are left with the improbable task of beating Japan in Tokyo as well as overcoming what amounts to an insurmountable points difference. Nevertheless, Hong Kong will still be trying to secure bonus points to finish runner-up in the A5N tournament and thereby have a second shot at World Cup qualification through the repechages.

In an intriguing match-up in Incheon, Korea are at home to face Kazakhstan. Korea sit on the bottom of the table with a solitary bonus point from their previous three games and a loss will see them relegated to Division 1 for 20111. All is not doom and gloom, however, as six points separate them from Kazakhstan who have seven points with the points difference between them all but negligible. If Korea can win with a four try bonus point and deny Kazakhstan any bonus points then it will be the visitors that will be relegated. On the other hand, Kazakhstan will be well aware that a win or even a bonus point will be enough to keep them in the Top Five division for next year.

The Arabian Gulf have the bye in the final week in what has been a highly successful tournament for them. The Gulf took part in the inaugural A5N in 2008 but were relegated when they finished winless on the bottom of the table. They won Division 1 in 2009 to gain promoted back to Top Five for 2010 where they finished with a very creditable ten points from two wins and two losses. Come what may in the final week of the tournament, although they have no chance of taking the title, there is no possibility they can be relegated. In a footnote, the International Rugby Board have plans to restructure rugby in the Middle East and so the Arabian Gulf look set to be playing under a different guise come 2011.

Week 5 Wrap-up (Final)

In the fifth and final week of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010, Japan wrapped up the title and also a place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup when they beat Hong Kong 94-5 in Tokyo. Meanwhile, in dramatic circumstances in Incheon, Korea went down at home to Kazakhstan to the tune of 32-25. The four try bonus point win for Kazakhstan meant they finished one point better than Hong Kong on the final table and so collected the runner-up prize and along with that a further shot at World Cup qualification through the repechages. On the other hand, the loss for Korea means they will be relegated to Division One for next season with Sri Lanka taking their place. The Arabian Gulf had the bye in the final round.

Japan 94 d Hong Kong 5

Date: Saturday, 22 May 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground Tokyo.

Japan took the HSBC Asian Five Nations title and also qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand after they made a clean sweep of the series for the third year in a row. In this match they beat Hong Kong 94-5 after they beat Kazakhstan 101-7 in Tokyo last week, the Arabian Gulf 60-5 the previous week and Korea 71-3 in Daegu in Week Two. Japan scored fourteen tries to one with wings Alisi Tupuailei and Kosuke Endo along with halfback Fumiaki Tanaka among the scorers.

Kazakhstan 32 d Korea 25

Date: Saturday, 22 May 2010.

Venue: Munhak Stadium, Incheon.

It was a contrasting case of heaven and hell for these two sides when Kazakhstan pulled out all stops to beat Korea away in Incheon 32-25 and pick up a crucial four try bonus point. The six points gained from the result meant Kazakhstan finished on thirteen points, one point better than Hong Kong who finished on twelve points, to take the runner-up flag in the series. The runner-up still has a chance of qualifying for the 2011 RWC through the final place play-off for a spot in Pool B alongside Argentina, England, Scotland and Georgia. Kazakhstan, as the Asian Five Nations runner-up will now face a cross-continental play-off against Uruguay in July. The winner of that match will progress to the play-off final against the winner of Romania and Ukraine v Tunisia. Korea have traditionally been considered the second best team in Asia behind Japan, but that assumption has now been blown out of the water after they finished a distant last this year in the A5N with four straight losses. Korea finished second with three wins and one loss behind Japan in the inaugural A5N in 2008 then dropped to third behind Japan and Kazakhstan in 2009 but 2010 has been a disaster for the Koreans who now must seriously scrutinise how the game is run in their country in order to halt the decline.

The Arabian Gulf had the bye in Week Five.

Japan Camp News for Hong Kong Test

After the win against Kazakhstan in Tokyo in Saturday 15 May 2010, the Japan squad transferred from Tokyo to Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu the following day to return to camp in the build up for the clash with Hong Kong in Tokyo on Saturday 22 May 2010.

After arriving at the camp facilities in Miyazaki the squad took lunch and then had an ice bath to overcome the fatigue of the test played the previous day. The rest of the afternoon consisted of light training followed by a meeting to set out the schedule for the camp.

On Monday 17 May 2010, with only one more test to go to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the squad started this final camp in the morning with a review of the game against Kazakhstan. Game captain Hitoshi Ono, along with senior players such as Ryan Nicholas and Shaun Webb shared their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the performance against Kazakhstan. At the completion of the session centre Koji Taira was named the players’ man-of-the-match from the Kazakhstan test. In the afternoon, training was conducted on the ground with prop Naoki Kawamata joining the squad for the first time this season.

On Tuesday 18 May 2010, field training was scheduled for the morning with a weights session in the afternoon. After warming up in light rain, the squad was divided into three groups with head coach John Kirwan, assistant coach Grant Doorey and strength and conditioning consultant Martin Hulme each leading a group through various drills. After that defence drills were carried out. Flanker Michael Leitch and No8 Koliniasi Ryu Holani joined the squad in contact training today for the first time after coming back from their respective injuries.

The Webb Ellis Cup comes to Tokyo

The greatest trophy in world rugby, the Webb Ellis Cup will be on public display in Japan for the first time at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo prior to the kick-off of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 test match between Japan and Hong Kong on Saturday 22 May 2010.

The HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 also doubles as the final Asian qualification round for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The top placed finisher will qualify directly for New Zealand as Asia 1 and will join hosts New Zealand, France, Tonga and Canada in Pool A. The runner-up still has a chance of qualifying through the Final Place Play-off for a spot in Pool B.

The main prize of the Rugby World Cup will be displayed at the World Cup Booth on the concourse of the western stand at the ground for one hour from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM in the lead up to the scheduled 2:00 PM kick-off for the test.

In the event that Japan defeats Hong Kong, Japan will secure automatic qualification for the Rugby World Cup as Asia 1.

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Japan A Tour to Scotland and Spain

On 29 April 2010 the Japan Rugby Football Union announced details of the Japan A tour to Scotland and Spain over May and June 2010.

Under head coach Masahiro Kunda, Japan A will tour Scotland and Spain on a three match tour from 19 May to 7 June 2010.

Match Schedule

Tuesday, 26 May 2010: Japan A v Scottish club side Currie at the Currie RFC, kick-off at 19:30.

Tuesday, 1 June 2010: Japan A v a Scotland XV side at Murrayfield, kick-off at 19:00.

Saturday, 5 June 2010: Japan A v a Spain President’s XV in Spain. Details TBC.

On 2 May 2010, flanker Yoshitaka Nakayama (Toyota) had to withdraw from the squad and his place was taken by Young-Dae Kim from Ricoh.

On 9 May 2010, prop Hiroshi Yamashita (Kobe) and halfback Chul-Won Kim (Kintetsu) had to withdraw from the squad due to injuries.

On 12 May 2010, wing Kenichiro Iwamoto (Toyota) withdrew with injury while prop Yusuke Nagae (Ricoh), centre Tomohiro Semba (Toshiba) and wing Tomoki Kitagawa (Sanyo) were added to the squad.

On Wednesday 19 May 2010 the squad flew out of Narita for Edinburgh via Amsterdam and before departure manager Yuichi Ueno commented, “Although we have had very limited time to prepare the squad we expect them to give 100% on tour. The squad is mostly a mixture of university students, younger Top League players along with a number of more experienced players as we look to groom players for the next World Cup and beyond.” Head coach Masahiro Kunda also commented on the fact that there was only a short time to get the squad ready but added that the future of Japanese rugby rests on their young shoulders, as well as the likes of the current Japan U20 squad now competing in the IRB Junior World Trophy Tournament in Moscow. Finally, captain Masakazu Irie added, “Despite the lack of preparation time, this tour is not just for the experience but the team will be expected to be highly competitive against Scotland XV.”

Japan A Squad

Position	Name	Club/University	Age	Hgt/Wgt
LH Props	Hiroshige TEZUKA	Kubota	27	177/106
	Tateo KANAI	Suntory	25	176/110
Hookers	Hirotaka HIRAHARA	Coca-Cola	23	176/115
	Ryuhei ARITA	Waseda Univ.	21	176/103
TH Props	Hiroshi YAMASHITA	Kobe	24	183/120
	Takahiro Doi	NEC	23	182/120
	Yusuke NAGAE	Ricoh	24	171/105
Locks	Tomoaki TANIGUCHI	Toyota	27	190/124
	Hidetoshi MINE	Coca-Cola	26	187/100
	Eiri NAKADA	Waseda Univ.	21	193/110
Flankers	Yoshitaka NAKAYAMA	Toyota	27	184/106
	Koji SHINOZUKA	Suntory	26	196/109
	Yoichi IIJIMA	Sanyo	26	188/103
	Young-Dae KIM	Ricoh	26	179/94
No8s	Sioeli IONGI	NTT Docomo	24	187/117
	Timothy BOND	Teikyo Univ.	20	194/105
Halfbacks	Chul-Won KIM	Kintetsu	26	171/78
	Shuhei OSHIMA	Kanto Gakuin Univ.	21	179/77
Five-eighths	Masakazu IRIE (c)	Sanyo	28	173/80
	Nathan ANDERSON	Kobe	25	170/75
Centres	Yuta IMAMURA	Kobe	25	178/95
	Takayuki YAMAUCHI	Toyota	23	180/85
	Aisea HAVEA	Tenri Univ.	21	176/100
Wings	Masahiro TSUIKI	Coca-Cola	26	176/88
	Kenichiro IWAMOTO	Toyota	26	185/85
	Mefi PAEA	Saitama IOT	22	176/108
	Tomohiro SEMBA	Toshiba	27	183/97
	Tomoki KITAGAWA	Sanyo	26	174/80
Fullbacks	Kenji SHOMEN	Kobe	26	175/84
	Ayumu GOROMARU	Yamaha	24	185/98

Head coach: Masahiro Kunda, Toshiba.

Manager: Yuichi Ueno, Ryutsu Keizai University.

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IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, Moscow 2010

18-30 May 2010, Moscow.

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

Moscow News

On Thursday 13 May 2010, the squad left Ryutsu Keizai University early in the morning  to make their way to Narita Airport. Before boarding the plane, captain Kota Yamashita promised the side would come home with the winner’s trophy while head coach Yukio Motoki thanked everyone for their support while firmly believing this group of players had the full potential to win the JWRT.

On Friday 14 May 2010, in their first morning in Moscow the squad was still coming to terms with the after affects of jet lag and the time difference but training went ahead as scheduled. There was a 90 minute indoor training session in the morning consisting of stretching exercises and attack and defence drills. In the afternoon, a one hour conditioning session was held in an open space at the team hotel. Throughout the day, the various teams participating in the JWRT started arriving at the hotel.

Schedule and Results for Japan

Pool B Games

Day 1: Tuesday, 18 May 2010, Russia 17-31 Japan, 18:15, Slava Stadium, Moscow.

Day 2: Saturday, 22 May 2010, Japan 20-20 Zimbabwe, 16:00, Fili Stadium, Moscow.

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

Play-off Games

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

Day One Wrap-up

On Tuesday 18 May 2010, the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, Russia 2010 got under way with four games across two venues in Moscow. The eight team tournament is divided into two pools of four teams with Italy, Papua New Guinea, Romania, and Uruguay in Pool A and Canada, Japan, Russia and Zimbabwe in Pool B.

In Pool A, Italy proved far too strong for Papua New Guinea in the early game at the Fili Stadium running out comfortable 74-0 winners. Italy scored a total of twelve tries and with PNG suffering two sinbins it proved to be a long afternoon chasing leather. The result was good for the Italian cause as the junior Azzurri were the only team on day one to pick up a four try bonus point. PNG face Uruguay at the same venue in their next game while Italy play Romania at the Slava Stadium.

In the other Pool A game, Romania edged out Uruguay 15-12 at the Slava Stadium. In a tight tryless affair Romania kicked four penalties and a drop goal to three penalties and a drop goal to Uruguay. Gabriel Conache kicked a first half penalty and drop goal for Romania which was equalled by two penalties to Jose Asuaga for Romania to lock things up at 6-all at the break. The trend continued in the second half with both defences holding solid as kicking ultimately decided the contest.

In Pool B, Canada defeated Zimbabwe 22-6 at the Fili Stadium. For Canada five-eighth Connor Braid kicked three first half penalties while for Zimbabwe fullback Danny Robertson could only manage one penalty from five attempts throughout the half. The Canadians widened the gap in the second half with halfback Pat Fraser scoring the only try of the match in the twenty-fifth minute while Braid kept the scoreboard ticking over with an additional two penalties and a conversion for a perfect day with the boot.

In the other Pool B match, Although Russia as the host of the JWRT 2010 got off to the perfect start against Japan with a try in the opening minutes to halfback Alexey Shcherban, Japan settled and went on to score first half tries through wing Takaaki Nakazuru and captain Kota Yamashita with the latter coming on the back of Russia having two players sinbinned. Fullback Hirotomo Ono kicked a conversion and a penalty to help Japan to a 15-12 lead at the break. Ono kicked three further penalties throughout the second half to keep Japan in front with replacement forward Tonishio Vaihu sealing the result with a late try. Russia did reduce the margin to 18-17 at one point in the second stanza but in the end, although both sides scored three tries apiece it was the boot of Ono that proved the difference with Japan going on to record a 31-17 victory over Russia in their opening match of the tournament, albeit without a bonus point.

Japan 31 – Tries: Takaaki Nakazuru, Kota Yamashita and Tonishio Vaihu; Conversions: Hirotomo Ono 2; Penalties: Ono 4 d.

Russia 17 – Tries: Alexey Shcherban, Denis Simplikevich and Nikolay Pochechuev; Conversion: Ramil Gaisin.

Referee: Mauro Rivera (Argentina).

Attendance: N/A

Halftime: Japan 15 – Russia 12.

Yellow Cards: Evgeny Kolomiytsev (Russia No.13, 15 min 1H); Alexander Galitskiy (Russia No.4, 17 min 1H).

Japan: 1- Shintaro Ishihara, 2- Heiichiro Ito, 3- Mao Enoki, 4- Takumi Mikami, 5- Masataka Tsuruya, 6- Naoyuki Tsuji, 7- Kota Yamashita (c), 8- Kyosuke Horie, 9- Takehito Namekawa, 10- Keisuke Sakamoto, 11- Takaaki Nakazuru, 12- Yuta Haruyama, 13- Tonishio Vaihu, 14- Masakatsu Hikosaka, 15- Hirotomo Ono.

Reserves: 16- Yoshikatsu Hikosaka (subbed 2, 25 min 2H), 17- Ryotaro Ueda (subbed 3, 14 min 2H), 18- Genki Kudo, 19- Leonhard Ake (subbed 6, 31 min 2H), 20- Keisuke Uchida, 21- Naoki Sarugaku and 22- Kazuma Miyata.

Russia: 1- Alexey Skobiola, 2- Stanislav Sel’skiy (c), 3- Sergey Krakov, 4- Alexander Galitskiy, 5- Ruslan Shirinov, 6- Nikolay Pochechuev, 7- Veniamin Vengerov, 8- Yuri Vengerov, 9- Alexey Shcherban, 10- Ramil Gaisin, 11- Maksim Tolmachev, 12- Alexander Razumov, 13- Evgeny Kolomiytsev, 14- Alexander Tolmachev, 15- Denis Simplikevich. Reserves: 16- Pavel Popov, 17- Stanislav Rubtsov, 18- Victor Tolstov, 19- Pavel Kvernadze, 20- Maksim Martysh, 21- Alexander Berzin and 22- Vasily Dorofeev.

Although Russia as the host of the JWRT 2010 got off to the perfect start against Japan with a try in the opening minutes to halfback Alexey Shcherban, Japan settled and went on to score first half tries through wing Takaaki Nakazuru and captain Kota Yamashita with the latter coming on the back of Russia having two players sinbinned. Fullback Hirotomo Ono kicked a conversion and a penalty to help Japan to a 15-12 lead at the break. Ono kicked three further penalties throughout the second half to keep Japan in front with replacement forward Tonishio Vaihu sealing the result with a late try. Russia did reduce the margin to 18-17 at one point in the second stanza but in the end, although both sides scored three tries apiece it was the boot of Ono that proved the difference with Japan going on to record a 31-17 victory over Russia in their opening match of the tournament, albeit without a bonus point.

Day Two Wrap-up

On Saturday 22 May 2010, the second day of the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, Russia 2010 was played with four games across two venues in Moscow. The eight team tournament is divided into two pools of four teams with Italy, Papua New Guinea, Romania, and Uruguay in Pool A and Canada, Japan, Russia and Zimbabwe in Pool B.

In Pool A, Uruguay had their first win of the tournament when they beat Papua New Guinea 42-14 in the early game at the Fili Stadium. Uruguay scored five tries to two with captain and No8 Sebastian Sagario among the try scorers.

In the other Pool A game, Italy proved far too strong for Romania winning 30-7 at the Slava Stadium. Italy have collected maximum points from their two games to establish themselves as the leading team in not only Pool A but across the whole tournament. Italy scored four tries to secure their bonus point with hooker Andrea Manici picking up a double.

In Pool B, Japan salvaged a 20-all draw with Zimbabwe at the Fili Stadium. Trailing 20-13 late in the game Japan scored a crucial try through replacement fullback Hirotomo Ono and when he converted his own five-pointer it locked the scores up at 20 apiece. Ono had a late chance to steal a win but his penalty attempt failed to find its mark. Japan now play Canada in their final pool game with the winner taking top spot in Pool B.

In the other Pool B match, tournament hosts Russia got home 17-15 over Canada to post their first win of the JWRT after losing their opening game to Japan. In a tight first half neither side could trouble the score keeper with all the scoring then happening in the second half. Russia posted three tries to two but when replacement back Tye Hamblin touched down for Canada late in the game it gave kicker Connor Braid the opportunity to snatch a draw. Unfortunately for the young Canadians the kick was unsuccessful with Russia going on to record the victory.

Japan 20 – Tries: Masakatsu Hikosaka and Hirotomo Ono; Conversions: Kohei Yoshii and Hirotomo Ono; Penalties: Kazuma Miyata and Hirotomo Ono drew with

Zimbabwe 20 – Tries: Matthew Swales and Graeme Lawler; Conversions: Farai Mupasiri 2; Penalties: Farai Mupasiri 2.

Referee: Napolioni Locoloco (Fiji).

Attendance: N/A

Halftime: Japan 13 – Zimbabwe 10.

Japan: 1- Shintaro Ishihara, 2- Yoshikatsu Hikosaka, 3- Ryotaro Ueda, 4- Takumi Mikami, 5- Masataka Tsuruya, 6- Daisuke Musha, 7- Kota Yamashita (c), 8- Leonhard Ake, 9- Takehito Namekawa, 10- Kohei Yoshii, 11- Takaaki Nakazuru, 12- Yuta Kim, 13- Tonishio Vaihu, 14- Masakatsu Hikosaka, 15- Kazuma Miyata.

Reserves: 16- Heiichiro Ito (subbed 2, 28 min 1H), 17- Mao Enoki, 18- Genki Kudo, 19- Kyosuke Horie (subbed 8, 29 min 2H), 20- Keisuke Uchida, 21- Naoki Sarugaku and 22- Hirotomo Ono (subbed 15, 8 min 2H).

Zimbabwe: 1- Simbarashe Musarurwa, 2- Tatenda Karuru, 3- Brian Makamure, 4- Biselele Tshamala, 5- Schalk Ferreira, 6- Brendon Chapman (c), 7- Marco Mama, 8- Graeme Lawler, 9- Charles Jiji, 10- Farai Mupasiri, 11- Matthew Swales, 12- Jonathon McWade, 13- Dante Mama, 14- Tafadzwa Chitokwindo, 15- Danny Robertson. Reserves: 16- Takudzwa Mandiwanza, 17- Lucas Wollmann, 18- Dimitrios Zaverdinos, 19- Takudzwa Jaravaza, 20- Graham Kaulback, 21- David Fussell and 22- Kyle Mullen.

Japan led Zimbabwe 13-10 at the end of the first in their second game of the Junior World Rugby Trophy 2010 at the Fili Stadium in Moscow after an early penalty to fullback Kazuma Miyata followed by a try to wing Masakatsu Hikosaka converted by five-eighth Kohei Yoshii and a late penalty to Yoshii. Zimbabwe dominated the first twenty minutes of the second half to jump out to a 20-13 lead before replacement fullback Hirotomo Ono levelled the scores with a late try and conversion to salvage a draw. Ono missed two second half penalties and so both sides had to settle for the draw. Wing Matthew Swales and lock Graeme Lawler were the try scorers for Zimbabwe with five-eighth Farai Mupasiri kicking two conversions and two penalties.

Pool Results

Pool A: Italy, Papua New Guinea, Romania, and Uruguay.

Day 1: Tuesday, 18 May 2010

Italy 74-0 PNG, 16:00, Fili Stadium.

Uruguay 12-15 Romania, 16:00, Slava Stadium.

Day 2: Saturday, 22 May 2010

Uruguay 42-14 PNG, 14:00, Fili Stadium.

Italy 30-7 Romania, 14:00, Slava Stadium.

Team	P	W	L	F	A	+/-	BP	Pts
Italy	2	2	0	104	7	97	2	10
Uruguay	2	1	1	54	29	25	2	6
Romania	2	1	1	22	42	-20	0	4
PNG	2	0	2	14	116	-112	0	0

Pool B: Canada, Japan, Russia and Zimbabwe.

Day 1: Tuesday, 18 May 2010

Russia 17-31 Japan, 18:15, Fili Stadium.

Canada 22-6 Zimbabwe, 18:30, Slava Stadium.

Day 2: Saturday, 22 May 2010

Japan 20-20 Zimbabwe, 16:00, Fili Stadium.

Russia 17-15 Canada, 16:00, Slava Stadium.

Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	BP	Pts
Japan	2	1	1	0	51	37	14	0	6
Canada	2	1	0	1	37	23	14	1	5
Russia	2	1	0	1	34	46	-12	0	4
Zimbabwe	2	0	0	2	26	42	-16	0	2

Japan U20 Squad

Position	Name	University/School	Hgt/Wgt
Props	Ryutaro UEDA	Waseda Univ.	182/108
	Mao ENOKI	Meiji Univ.	180/110
	Shintaro ISHIHARA	Meiji Univ.	181/106
Hookers	Heiichiro ITO	Waseda Univ.	174/102
	Yoshikatsu HIKOSAKA	Tsukuba Univ.	177/96
Locks	Takumi MIKAMI (vc)	Tokai Univ.	192/94
	Genki KUDO	Tsukuba Univ.	188/107
	Kohei YAMAGUCHI	Waseda Univ.	186/97
	Tosei KUROKI	Waseda Univ.	185/87
Flankers	Kota YAMASHITA (c)	Waseda Univ.	180/95
	Daisuke MUSHA	Hosei Univ	177/82
	Naoyuki TSUJI	Ryutsu Keizai Univ.	179/81
	Kazuki TAKAMORI	Ryutsu Keizai Univ.	178/88
Flanker/ No8	Kyosuke HORIE	Meiji Univ.	182/95
No8	Leonard AKE	Rissho Univ.	186/112
Halfbacks	Kazutaka ASHIDA	Kwansei Gakuin Univ.	172/78
	Takeru FUKUI	Nihon Sports Univ.	177/73
	Keisuke UCHIDA	Tsukuba Univ.	177/76
	Takehito NAMEKAWA	Teikyo Univ.	170/70
Five-eighths	Keisuke SAKAMOTO	Tokai Univ.	177/85
	Hirotomo ONO	Teikyo Univ.	175/75
	Kohei YOSHII	Waseda Univ.	164/62
Centres	Naoki SARUGAKU	Meiji Univ.	178/81
	Yuta HARUYAMA (vc)	Kwansei Gakuin Univ.	178/85
Centres/Wings	Tonishio VAIHU	Tenri Univ	178/90
	Masakatsu HIKOSAKA	Tsukuba Univ.	175/90
Wings	Yoshiaki TSURUGASAKI	Tokai Univ.	185/98
	Takumi ITO	Teikyo Univ.	180/82
	Takaaki NAKAZURU	Waseda Univ.	177/74
Fullback/Five-eighth	Kazuma MIYATA	Tokai Univ.	177/77

Staff

Ryuji Nakatake, coaching director, JRFU.

Yukio Motoki, head coach, Kobe Steelers.

Goshi Arimizu, forwards coach, Coach Twenty-one.

Masahiro Nakase, backs coach, Tokyo Gas.

Takashi Inoue, doctor, Takagi Hospital.

Takashi Arakawa, trainer, Tsukuba Univ.

Yuki Unno, trainer.

Yasuhiro Iijima, support staff, JRFU.

Yoshinari Inoue, support staff, Waseda Univ.

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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 – although Mongolian born Yokozuna Grand Champion Hakuho took out his second tournament in a row in Tokyo on Sunday with another flawless 15-0 display, it was big meat of a different kind that was grabbing the news. In Miyazaki prefecture on the island of Kyushu foot and mouth disease is threatening the very existence of the premium Miyazaki beef brand with wide scale culling of cows and pigs underway. Japan actually had their training camp in the prefecture in the lead up to the Hong Kong test.

IRB ranking on 17 May 2010 - Japan were 13 (70.59).

The Think-tank:

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Looking Ahead

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

ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010

June 2010

Now in its fifth year, the International Rugby Board (IRB) funded ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010 involves the three island nations Fiji, Samoa and Tonga along with Japan. New Zealand and Australia have not committed teams for 2010.

In 2006 this tournament kicked off as the Pacific Five Nations and involved Fiji, Japan, the Junior All Blacks (JAB), Samoa and Tonga. Australia A joined the competition in 2007 and the tournament name changed to its present moniker of 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 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. The 2009 tournament was condensed with the majority of the games played in Fiji rather than the home and away format of the three previous years. Also in 2009, ANZ (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group) came on board as the presenting sponsor for the tournament.

This year, Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga will take part in the ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010. Except for the opening game between Fiji and Japan at Churchill Park in Lautoka, Fiji, Samoa and the Samoan Rugby Union will host the 2010 competition with the remaining five games slated for Apia Park in the capital city of Apia. With the tournament again largely being hosted in one country, refereeing and coaching workshops along junior rugby clinics are planned for the two week duration of the event. This is also the first time for Samoa to host a major international 15-a-side rugby tournament. The occasion is also a fillip for Samoa after the 2009 Samoa Earthquake, an 8.1M submarine earthquake and resulting tsunami struck the area on 29 September causing significant damage and loss of life across the region.

Previous Winners

The New Zealand representative sides have won all four previous titles.

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.

ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010 Schedule

Round	Date	Teams	Venue	Kick-off
Round 1	Saturday, 12 June 2010	Samoa v Tonga	Apia Park, Apia	15:10
		Fiji v Japan	Churchill Park, Lautoka	15:10
Round 2	Saturday, 19 June 2010	Samoa v Japan	Apia Park, Apia	13:10
		Fiji v Tonga	Apia Park, Apia	16:10
Round 3	Saturday, 26 June 2010	Fiji v Samoa	Apia Park, Apia	13:10
		Japan v Tonga	Apia Park, Apia	16:10

Japan will fly out of Narita Airport on Saturday 29 May 2010 for New Zealand where they will play a warm-up game against North Harbour at the North Harbour Stadium in New Zealand on the evening of Friday 4 June 2010. From Auckland, the squad will transfer to Fiji on Saturday 5 June to prepare for their opening game against Fiji in Lautoka the following Saturday.

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.

Furthermore, there is also the rumour that Japan will play Italy home and away in November.

Plan E has Russia and also Samoa playing in Japan in November.