RUGBY IN JAPAN (RiJ)

Vol.7, No.27

By Ian MacDonnell contact ianmcdo@apost.plala.or.jp

 

Contents:

‘       ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010 – Wrap-up

‘       Odds & Sods:

s     IRB Ranking: 13 (12) (72.49, 28 June 2010).

s     Adam Wallace-Harrison to Reds

s     The Think-tank:

‘       Looking Ahead:

s     All has been revealed for November

ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010

June 2010

 

Now in its fifth year, the International Rugby Board (IRB) funded ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010 involved the three island nations Fiji, Samoa and Tonga along with Japan. New Zealand and Australia did not commit 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. 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 took 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 hosted the 2010 competition with the remaining five games taking place at Apia Park in the capital city of Apia. With the tournament again largely being hosted in one country, refereeing and coaching workshops along with junior rugby clinics were planned for the two week duration of the event. This was also the first time for Samoa to host a major international 15-a-side rugby tournament. The occasion was 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.

 

 

Winners

2010: Samoa. After the New Zealand representative sides had won all four previous titles, Samoa etched their name on the trophy for the first time. Samoa left it till the last game against Fiji to win the crown when they won 31-9 with a bonus point while denying Fiji any form of bonus point in the process. Both sides finished on nine points but Samoa took the title on a better points differential. Japan finished third on 8 points after picking up two wins for the first time while Tonga finished last on four points with three losses.

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 Results (Final)

Round

Date

Teams

Venue

Kick-off

Round 1

Saturday, 12 June 2010

Samoa 24 (3Ts) d Tonga 23 (2Ts)

Apia Park, Apia

15:10

 

 

Fiji 22 (3Ts) d Japan 8 (1T)

Churchill Park, Lautoka

15:10

 

 

 

 

 

Round 2

Saturday, 19 June 2010

Fiji 41 (5Ts) d Tonga 38 (5Ts)

Apia Park, Apia

13:10

 

 

Japan 31 (3Ts) d Samoa 23 (3Ts)

Apia Park, Apia

15:40

 

 

 

 

 

Round 3

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Japan 26 (2Ts) d Tonga 23 (2Ts)

Apia Park, Apia

13:10

 

 

Samoa 31 (5Ts) d Fiji 9

Apia Park, Apia

16:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiji 22 d Japan 8

Fiji 22 – Tries: Nikola Matawalu, Timoci Nagusa and Iliesa Keresoni; Conversions: Jaoji Dakuvula 2; Penalty: Jaoji Dukuvula d.

Japan 8 – Try: Takeshi Kikutani; Penalty: Ryan Nicholas.

Date: Saturday, 12 June 2010.

Venue: Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji.

 

Japan 31 d Samoa 23

Japan 31 – Tries: Ryan Nicholas 2 and Hirotoki Onozawa; Conversions: James Arlidge 2; Penalties: Arlidge 3; Drop Goal: Arlidge d.

Samoa 23 – Tries: George Stowers, Mikaele Pesamino and Joe Tekori; Conversion: Lolo Lui; Penalties: Lolo Lui 2.

Date: Saturday, 19 June 2010.

Venue: Apia Park, Apia, Samoa.

 

Japan 26 d Tonga 23

Japan 26 – Tries: Kensuke Hatakeyama, penalty try; Conversions: James Arlidge 2; Penalties: James Arlidge 4 d.

Tonga 23 – Tries: William Helu, Alipate Fatafehi; Conversions: Kurt Morath 2; Penalties: Kurt Morath 3.

Date: Saturday, 26 June 2010.

Venue: Apia Park, Apia, Samoa.

 

 

ANZ Pacific Nations Cup 2010 Table (Final)

Team

P

W

L

F

A

+/-

BP1

BP2

Pts

Samoa

3

2

1

78

63

15

1

-

9

Fiji

3

2

1

72

77

-5

1

-

9

Japan

3

2

1

65

68

-3

-

-

8

Tonga

3

0

3

84

91

-7

1

3

4

 

 

Japan Point Scorers in the ANZ PNC 2010

Below is a list of the point scorers for Japan in the three tests played during the ANZ PNC 2010. Five-eighth James Arlidge was the leading point scorer on 32 points from 4 conversions, 7 penalties and a drop goal. Centre Ryan Nicholas was the leading try scorer with two 5-pointers to his name.

 

Name

T

C

P

DG

Total

James ARLIDGE

-

4

7

1

32

Ryan NICHOLAS

2

-

1

-

13

Takashi KIKUTANI

1

-

-

-

5

Kensuke HATAKEYAMA

1

-

-

-

5

Hirotoki ONOZAWA

1

-

-

-

5

Penalty try

1

-

-

-

5

TOTALS

6

4

8

1

65

 

 

Cards

In the three tests of the ANZ PNC 2010, Japan received one yellow card.

 

Samoa v Japan

Yellow Card: Naoki Kawamata (Japan No.1, 14 min 2H, repeated team infringements).

 

 

Milestones

During the three tests of the ANZ PNC 2010, wing Hirotoki Onozawa scored his fortieth test try, bringing up 200 international points in the process. Onozawa is the second highest try scorer for Japan behind world record holder wing Daisuke Ohata. With 57 caps he is also the fourth most capped player for Japan behind Ohata (58), backrower Takeomi Ito (62) and centre Yukio Motoki (79).

 

Also during the tournament, five-eighth James Arlidge broke through the 200 point barrier after he picked up 32 points to finish the spring season on 217 test points (5 tries, 37 conversions, 24 penalties, 2 drop goals). Arlidge is now fourth leading points scorer for Japan behind Ohata (345), fullback Toru Kurihara (347) and five-eighth Keiji Hirose (413).

 

At the completion of the ANZ PNC 2010, lock Hitoshi Ono has earned 43 caps for Japan pushing him into the top ten most capped players for Japan. Ono is equal tenth with Toshiba team mate fullback Tsutomu Matsuda and former Nippon Steel lock Yoshihiko Sakuraniwa. He is also one cap behind his former Toshiba coach Masahiro Kunda who earned 44 caps for Japan as a hooker. Others on the list include Terunori Masuho (47), Takuro Miuchi (48), Hirotoki Onozawa (57), Daisuke Ohata (58), Takeomi Ito (62) and Yukio Motoki (79).

 

 

Japan Players Used in the ANZ PNC 2010

Below is a list of the players used in the three ANZ PNC 2010 test matches.

 

The table lists the three tests in chronological order, that is, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. This is followed by a total cap count for each player. Column numbers for the tests indicate jersey numbers worn by players. A number in brackets indicates unused reserve player and thus no cap awarded. A dash indicates the player did not play in that game. The captain for each match is indicated by (c).

 

Hooker Shota Horie, lock Hitoshi Ono, openside flanker Toetu’u Taufa, halfback Fumiaki Tanaka, centre Ryan Nicholas and fullback Kaoru Matsushita started all three games in the same jersey number. However, backrower and captain Takashi Kikutani, wing Kosuke Endo and utility back Alisi Tupuailei also started in all three games, though in different positions.

 

A total of 26 players from the 30-man squad were used across the three tests with no player making an international debut after seven players debuted during the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 earlier in the season.

 

Wing Hirotoki Onozawa is the most capped player in the current squad with 57 caps followed by lock Hitoshi Ono with 43 caps. Meanwhile, No8 and captain Takashi Kikutani is on 33 caps while wing Kosuke Endo has 32 caps and lock Toshizumi Kitagawa has 31 caps.

 

At the completion of the ANZ PNC 2010, head coach John Kirwan has been in charge of Japan for 40 tests (23 wins, a draw and 16 losses) since officially taking on the role on 1 January 2007.

 

Position

Name

Club

Age

Hgt/Wgt

Fiji

Sam

Ton

Caps

Loose head props

Hisateru HIRASHIMA

Kobe Steelers

27

180/115

1

17

1

17

 

Naoki KAWAMATA

Sanyo Wild Knights

24

184/118

17

1

17

9

Hookers

Shota HORIE

Sanyo Wild Knights

24

180/104

2

2

2

8

 

Hiroki YUHARA

Toshiba Brave Lupus

26

173/105

16

(16)

(16)

4

 

Takeshi KIZU

Tokai Univ.

21

183/110

-

-

-

2

Tight head props

Kensuke HATAKEYAMA

Suntory Sungoliath

24

178/122

-

3

3

14

 

Shinsuke NAKAMURA

Suntory Sungoliath

22

190/115

3

-

-

6

Locks

Hitoshi ONO

Toshiba Brave Lupus

32

192/105

4

4

4

43

 

Toshizumi KITAGAWA

Toyota Verblitz

29

195/110

18

5

5

31

 

Luke THOMPSON

Kintetsu Liners

29

195/108

5

18

18

25

 

Shinya MAKABE

Suntory Sungoliath

22

192/110

-

-

-

2

Flankers

Takashi KIKUTANI (c)

Toyota Verblitz

30

187/100

8 (c)

6 (c)

6 (c)

33

 

Toetu’u TAUFA

Kintetsu Liners

29

183/108

7

7

7

16

 

Michael LEITCH

Tokai Univ.

21

189/99

6

-

19

12

 

Sione VATUVEI

Sanyo Wild Knights

27

189/100

-

19

-

4

No8s

Ryu Koliniasi HOLANI

Sanyo Wild Knights

28

188/111

19

8

8

12

 

Masakazu TOYOTA

Coca-Cola Red Sparks

23

189/108

-

-

-

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halfbacks

Tomoki YOSHIDA

Toshiba Brave Lupus

28

172/78

-

20

-

23

 

Fumiaki TANAKA

Sanyo Wild Knights

25

166/75

9

9

9

20

 

Koji WADA

Toyota Verblitz

24

173/78

20

-

20

4

Five-eighths

James ARLIDGE

Newport Dragons (Wales)

30

187/93

21

10

10

23

 

Shaun WEBB

Coca-Cola Red Sparks

28

180/90

10

21

21

22

Wings

Hirotoki ONOZAWA

Suntory Sungoliath

32

180/87

22

13

11

57

 

Kosuke ENDO

Toyota Verblitz

29

186/90

11

14

14

32

 

Yasunori NAGATOMO

Suntory Sungoliath

24

176/85

-

-

-

3

Centres

Koji TAIRA

Suntory Sungoliath

27

185/95

13

-

-

22

 

Ryan NICHOLAS

Suntory Sungoliath

31

192/100

12

12

12

23

 

Alisi TUPUAILEI

Canon Eagles

29

187/116

14

11

13

9

 

Ryo KANAZAWA

Ricoh Black Rams

28

174/86

-

22

22

3

Fullback

Kaoru MATSUSHITA

Yamaha Jubilo

26

185/86

15

15

15

7

Head Coach: John Kirwan (NZ). (40 tests as coach, for 23 wins, a draw and 16 losses.)

 

 

 

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 Upper House elections have been called for 11 July and the white gloves and loud speakers are unavoidable.

 

Former Brumbies lock Adam Wallace-Harrison (30) has joined the Queensland Reds for the 2011 Super 15 season on a two-year deal. Wallace-Harrison was born in Perth and started with the Reds in 2003 before moving to the Brumbies in 2005 where he played 37 Super games. He was also a Wallabies tourist in 2005. He played with the Kobe Steelers in Top League for two seasons 2008-9 and 2009-10 and at this point in time appears to be registered with newly promoted NTT Communications as a new signing.

 

 

IRB ranking on 28 June 2010 - Japan were 13 (74.49). Japan hit a record high of 12 last week, but despite beating Tonga last Saturday, Samoa rise from 12 to 13 after beating Fiji and therefore winning the ANZ PNC 2010.

 

The Think-tank:

 

 

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 Rugby Top League 2010-11

 

November 2010

After all of the endless rumour-mongering over what would happen in November, all has been revealed.

 

Japan will play Samoa and then Russia with both games at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo.

 

Japan v Samoa

Date: Saturday 30 October 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 2:00 PM.

 

Japan v Russia

Date: Saturday 6 November 2010.

Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.

Kick-off: 2:00 PM.

 

 

Into the Future

With the IRB working towards re-introducing traditional long tours there will be spin-offs for Japan in the lead-up to this country hosting the 2019 RWC. Although it is not set in concrete, a bevy of tier one countries are pencilled in to tour Japan with Wales touring in 2013, Scotland in 2016, Ireland in 2017 and Italy in 2018.