With the spring international season finished and a summer to go through before the start of the 2010-11 Top League season in September, Rugby in Japan is well and truly in cruise mode. To fill in the time, RiJ has decided to have a look at some of the players who turned out for Japan over the spring with a long term view to the makeup of the Japan squad for the 2011 RWC in New Zealand. There is still a lot of water to flow under the selection bridge yet, but the bulk of the squad that has turned out for Japan over the past twelve months looks set to carry the fortunes of Japan in NZ next year on their collective shoulders.

NAME: Hisateru HIRASHIMA

POSITION: Loosehead prop

TEST PLAYER #: 514

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 180cm/115kg

SENIOR CLUB: Kobe Steelers

UNIVERSITY: Fukuoka University

HIGH SCHOOL: Kumamoto Nishi High School

DATE OF BIRTH: 15 January 1983

AGE: 27-years-old

PREFECTURE OF BIRTH: Kumamoto

CAPS: 17

TEST DEBUT: 16 Nov. 2008, Japan 29 – USA 19, Nagoya, No.1.

LAST TEST: 26 Jun. 2010, Japan 26 – Tonga 23, Apia, PNC, No.1.

TEST POINTS: None

OTHER REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS:

Japan U21: World Championship South Africa 2002; World Cup England 2003.

Japan U19: Asian Championship Fukuoka 2001; Junior World Championship Italy 2002.

PROFILE:

Hisateru Hirashima made his international debut against the touring USA Eagles in November 2008 as national head coach John Kirwan set about a generational change in the front row. JK continued to bring through younger frontrowers throughout the 2009 spring international season but Hirashima held his own playing in two of the four Asian Five Nations (A5N) games and then in all four Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) games in Fiji. In the two autumn tests against Canada, he started from the bench for the first time behind the starting loosehead prop Naoki Kawamata but saw game time in both tests. In 2010, Hirashima played in all the spring tests, adding a further seven test caps to his resume.

LAST UPDATED: 30 June 2010

NAME: Naoki KAWAMATA

POSITION: Loosehead prop

TEST PLAYER #: 520

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 184cm/118kg

SENIOR CLUB: Sanyo Wild Knights

UNIVERSITY: Meiji University

HIGH SCHOOL: Shochi Fukaya High School, Saitama

DATE OF BIRTH: 31 October 1985

AGE: 24-years-old

PREFECTURE OF BIRTH: Tokyo

CAPS: 9

TEST DEBUT: 22 Nov. 2008, Japan 32 – USA 17, Chichibu, No.17

LAST TEST: 26 Jun. 2010, Japan 26 – Tonga 23, Apia, PNC, No.17

TEST POINTS: 5 (1 try)

PROFILE:

Loosehead prop Naoki Kawamata is a big man for this position and with his pedigree from the Meiji University of scrummaging he was always capable of making it to the highest levels of the game. Kawamata made his international debut from the bench against the touring USA Eagles in Tokyo. He then made his run-on debut in the away game against Hong Kong in the early season Asian Five Nations 2009 series, scoring a try to round off his performance. In only his second year in senior rugby, Kawamata was named as loosehead prop in the Top League Best XV for 2009-10 indicating the improvements he had made over a short period of time. He was chosen in the 30-man squad for the three tests of the 2010 Pacific Nations Cup in Samoa where he shared the loosehead duties with Hisateru Hirashima.

LAST UPDATED: 30 June 2010

Picture not available

NAME: Shota HORIE

POSITION: Hooker

TEST PLAYER #: 530

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 180cm/104kg

SENIOR CLUB: Sanyo Wild Knights

UNIVERSITY: Teikyo University

HIGH SCHOOL: Shimamoto High School

DATE OF BIRTH: 21 January 1986

AGE: 24-years-old

PREFECTURE OF BIRTH: Osaka

CAPS: 8

TEST DEBUT: 15 Nov. 2009, Japan 46 – Canada 8, Sendai, No.2, 1 try.

LAST TEST: 26 Jun. 2010, Japan 26 – Tonga 23, Apia, PNC, No.2.

TEST POINTS: 15 (3 tries)

OTHER REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS:

Japan U19: Horie was chosen as a No8 on all three occasions below.

Asian Championship, Malaysia, 2003;

Junior World Championship, Durban, SA, 2004;

Junior World Championship, Durban, SA, 2005, vice-captain.

Canterbury Academy (NZ)

PROFILE:

For a hooker, Shota Horie is particularly mobile with good ball skills, perhaps a reflection on the fact he played his early rugby as a loose forward at high school and university, largely at No8. He represented Japan at U19 level and also captained Teikyo University in his final year as a No8. His conversion to hooker only really came at senior level. He was named as hooker in the Top League Best XV for the 2009-10 season and was plucked from relative obscurity to make his international debut as the starting hooker against the touring Canadians in Sendai in November 2009. Although it was something of a nervous start Horie scored a try on debut and has gone on to establish himself as the main hooker in the national team in 2010.

LAST UPDATED: 30 June 2010

NAME: Hiroki YUHARA

POSITION: Hooker

TEST PLAYER #: TBC.

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 173cm/105kg

SENIOR CLUB: Toshiba Brave Lupus

UNIVERSITY: Ryutsu Keizai University

HIGH SCHOOL: Ryutsu Keizai University High School, Kashiwa

DATE OF BIRTH: 21 January 1984

AGE: 26-years-old

PREFECTURE OF BIRTH: Chiba

CAPS: 4

TEST DEBUT: 1 May 2010, Korea 13 – Japan 71, Daegu, A5N, No.16

LAST TEST: 12 Jun. 2010, Fiji 22 – Japan 8, Lautoka, PNC, No.16

TEST POINTS: 10 (1 tries)

OTHER REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS:

Japan U23: 4-match tour to NZ in April 2006 culminating in final game against NZU; two games against touring NZU in Osaka and Kyoto in April 2007.

Japan U19: Asian Championship, Hong Kong, Jan. 2003; Junior World Championship, France, Apr. 2003.

PROFILE:

Hooker Hiroki Yuhara represented Japan at U19 and U23 levels of the game while he was captain of Ryutsu Keizai University in his final year in the 2005-6 season. He came to the notice of the national selectors on the back of a strong 2009-10 season with his club side Toshiba Brave Lupus when he established himself as the starting hooker in the champion side. He made his test debut from the bench against Korea in the 2010 Asian Five Nations series where he even bagged a try to start his international career. He had his first run-on start against the Arabian Gulf in Tokyo the following week.

LAST UPDATED: 30 June 2010

NAME: Takeshi KIZU

POSITION: Hooker

TEST PLAYER #: 534

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 183cm/110kg

SENIOR CLUB: N/A.

UNIVERSITY: Tokai University

HIGH SCHOOL: Tokai University Gyosei High School

DATE OF BIRTH: 15 July 1988

AGE: 21-years-old

PREFECTURE OF BIRTH: Osaka

CAPS: 2

TEST DEBUT: 21 Nov. 2009, Japan 27 – Canada 6, Chichibu, No.16

LAST TEST: 8 May 2010, Japan 60 – Arabian Gulf 5, Chichibu, A5N, No.16

TEST POINTS: None

PROFILE:

Takeshi Kizu played lock and in the backrow at high school, after going through the junior ranks of the Sumo world in primary school and junior high school. However, at university he found himself playing at hooker. The rise to prominence of Kizu as an international hooker has, in many ways paralleled the rise of Tokai University as a strength in local Japanese university rugby. He made his test debut from the bench in the second test against Canada at Chichibu in Tokyo in November 2009 and got his second cap in the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2010 where he again got time on the field from the bench against the Arabian Gulf.

LAST UPDATED: 30 June 2010

NAME: Kensuke HATAKEYAMA

POSITION: Tighthead prop

TEST PLAYER #: 515

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 178cm/122kg

SENIOR CLUB: Suntory Sungoliath

UNIVERSITY: Waseda University

HIGH SCHOOL: Sendai Ikuei High School

DATE OF BIRTH: 2 August 1985

AGE: 24-years-old

PREFECTURE OF BIRTH: Miyagi

CAPS: 14

TEST DEBUT: 16 Nov. 2008, Japan 29 – USA 19, Nagoya, No.3.

LAST TEST: 26 Jun. 2010, Japan 26 – Tonga 23, Apia, PNC, No.3, 1 try.

TEST POINTS: 25 (5 tries)

OTHER REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS:

Japan Universities: v NZU, Chichibu, May 2005.

Japan U23s: tour to NZ, Apr. 2006; v NZU, Osaka & Kyoto, Apr. 2007.

Japan U19s: Asian Championship, Malaysia, 2003; World Championship, Durban, 2004.

Japan Schools: tour to Australia, Jul-Aug 2003.

PROFILE: Like many rugby players of his generation, Kensuke Hatakeyama first had contact with rugby with his local ‘rugby school’ from about the age of eight. Even from that young age he harboured ambitions to play for Japan. The fact that he played basketball at junior high school could also figure in the quality of his ball handling skills. Hatakeyama was one of five players to debut for Japan in the first test against the touring USA Eagles in Nagoya in November 2008 when he started as tighthead prop at the age of 23. He has since established himself as the premier tighthead in Japan. The 2008-9 season went on to be quite a year for the big man as he won the rookie-of-the-year award in his first season in Top league. The previous five winners of the Top League rookie award had all been backs, so to win the award from the unglamorous position of tighthead prop was a big wrap. Along with that, he was also named as the tighthead prop in the Top League Best XV for the season. He was named in the Top League Best XV for the 2009-10 season for the second year in a row.

LAST UPDATED: 30 June 2010

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 Democratic Party seriously loses ground in the Upper House elections that took place on Sunday, 11 July 2010. The Democrats aimed for 54 but only garnered 44 of the 121 seats up for grabs and as a result lost its clear majority in the House of Councillors. The new balance will make the passage of Democrat bills difficult with increased political instability set to follow. Pressure is now mounting on PM Naoto Kan to fall on his sword after only a few weeks in the job.

IRB ranking on 5 July 2010 - Japan were 13 (74.49).

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

Top League reports coming soon.

November 2010

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.