Thursday, May 30, 2013

RUGBY IN JAPAN NEWSLETTER: Vol.10, No.19

Congratulations RIJ Newsletter 10th Anniversary 2003-2013

Ian McDonnell lives and works in Japan. He can be contacted at ianmcdo@apost.plala.or.jp

RiJ covers Week Three of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 this issue with Japan enjoying a 64-5 win over South Korea to take the A5N title for the sixth year in a row. In the other match this week, Hong Kong had a 59-20 win over the Philippines in Manila.

Enjoy the read.

CONTENTS

  • HSBC Asia 5 Nations 2013 Week 3 Japan v South Korea
  • HSBC Asia 5 Nations 2013 Week 3 Hong Kong v Philippines

HSBC A5N Logo Stacked

Japan 64 d South Korea 5

 Japan 64 – Tries: Kenki Fukuoka 2, Takashi Kikutani 2, Kosei Ono, Yoshikazu Fujita, Hendrik Tui, Ayumu Goromaru, Male Sau and penalty try; Conversions: Ayumu Goromaru 7 d.

South Korea 5 – Try: Oh Youn Hyung.

Competition: HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013.
Date: Saturday 04 May 2013.
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.
Japan Test Number: 285.
Japan Game Number: TBC.
Kick-off: 14:00 local Japan time (05:00 GMT/UTC).

Referee: Tobi Lothian (Hong Kong); Assistant Referees: Warren Needham (Hong Kong) and Aaron Littlewood (Singapore).

Conditions: Fine, warm, dry, little breeze. Surface well grassed and firm.
Attendance: 7,408.
Halftime: Japan 40 – South Korea 0.
Yellow Card: Oh Youn Hyung (South Korea No.10, 9 min 2H, repeated team infringements).

Match Points: Japan 6, South Korea 0.

Head-to-head Encounters:

Japan and South Korea have played 29 official tests since 1976. Japan have won 22, Korea 6 and there has been one draw.

This year, 2013 marks eleven years since South Korea last beat Japan. That 45-34 win for Korea was recorded at the fourteenth Asian Games played in Ulsan in October 2002. Since that test in 2002, Japan and Korea have met eleven times with Japan winning ten with one draw played out in Tokyo in May 2004 in what was the first test under new coach Mitsutake Hagimoto.

Given the fact that Japan and Korea have often met in the Asian Games or the ARFU Asian Championship, especially in the early tests, eleven games have been played on neutral territory, while ten games have been played in Japan and seven games played in Korea.

The biggest win for Japan was 90-24 in June 2002 in the home leg at the National Stadium in Tokyo of the home and away rounds of Asian Qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup that also involved Chinese Taipei, while the biggest winning margin was 83 points in the 86-3 win in Osaka in June 2003. Japan have kept Korea scoreless on two occasions, firstly, 54-0 in Hong Kong in November 2006 in the final round of Asian Qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup that also involved Hong Kong and the following game in Tokyo in April 2007 when Japan won 82-0. The longest winning sequence for Japan is eight wins in a row between 2005 and 2012, while the longest sequence without a loss is ten tests between 2003 and 2012 that includes the draw in 2004.

All six wins for Korea have occurred in either the Asian Games or the ARFU Asian Championship. The first four wins for Korea were in the Asian Championship in 1982, 1986, 1988 and 1990, while Korea won the two times the sides have met at the Asian Games in 1998 in Bangkok and 2002 in Ulsan. The biggest win for Korea was 45-34 in 2002, while the biggest winning margin was eleven points in the same game. The longest winning sequence for Korea is two wins in 1986 and 1988.

This test against Korea in 2013 is the twenty-ninth meeting between the two countries and it betters the record for the number of tests played against one country of 28 tests with New Zealand representative sides (including the All Blacks, New Zealand XV,  the New Zealand Maori, the Junior All Blacks, New Zealand Universities and New Zealand Colts), while Japan have played 27 tests against Canadian representative sides (including British Columbia). 

No.

Date

Result

(Home – Away)

Venue

Tournament

Japan

Test No.

W/D/L

(For Japan)

29

04 May 2013

Japan 64 – Korea 5

Chichibu, Tokyo

6th A5N

285

Won

28

12 May 2012

Korea 8 – Japan 52

Seongnam Stadium, Seoul

5th A5N

276

Won

27

01 May 2010

Korea 13 – Japan 71

Gyeongsang Stadium, Daegu

3rd A5N

252

Won

26

16 May 2009

Japan 80 – Korea 9

Hanazono, Osaka

2nd A5N

244

Won

25

26 Apr 2008

Korea 17 – Japan 39

Munhak Stadium Incheon

1st A5N

231

Won

24

22 Apr 2007

Japan 82 – Korea 0

Chichibu, Tokyo

 

219

Won

23

25 Nov 2006

Japan 54 – Korea 0

HKFC, Hong Kong

2007 RWC AQ

218

Won

22

23 Apr 2006

Japan 50 – Korea 14

Chichibu, Tokyo

2007 RWC AQ

210

Won

21

15 May 2005

Korea 31 – Japan 50

Kangwon

2007 RWC AQ

203

Won

20

16 May 2004

Japan 19 – Korea 19

Chichibu, Tokyo

2007 RWC AQ

193

Drew

19

15 Jun 2003

Japan 86 – Korea 3

Hanazono, Osaka

 

186

Won

18

13 Oct 2002

Korea 45 – Japan 34

Public Stadium, Ulsan

14th AG

181

Lost

17

14 Jul 2002

Korea 17 – Japan 55

Dongdeamun Stadium, Seoul

2003 RWC AQ

179

Won

16

16 Jun 2002

Japan 90 – Korea 24

National Stadium, Tokyo

2003 RWC AQ

177

Won

15

13 May 2001

Japan 27 – Korea 19

Chichibu, Tokyo

 

169

Won

14

02 Jul 2000

Japan 34 – Korea 29

Aomori

17th AC

166

Won

13

18 Dec 1998

Korea 21 – Japan 17

Bangkok

13th AG

152

Lost

12

24 Oct 1998

Japan 40 – Korea 12

Singapore

1999 RWC AQ

149

Won

11

09 Nov 1996

Japan 41 – Korea 25

Taipei

15th AC

135

Won

10

29 Oct 1994

Japan 26 – Korea 11

Kuala Lumpur

14th AC

122

Won

9

27 Oct 1990

Korea 13 – Japan 9

Colombo

12th AC

107

Lost

8

11 Apr 1990

Japan 26 – Korea 10

Chichibu, Tokyo

1991 RWC AQ

104

Won

7

19 Nov 1988

Korea 17 – Japan 13

Hong Kong

11th AC

100

Lost

6

29 Nov 1986

Korea 24 – Japan 22

Bangkok

10th AC

92

Lost

5

27 Oct 1984

Japan 20 – Korea 13

Fukuoka

9th AC

82

Won

4

27 Nov 1982

Korea 12 – Japan 9

Singapore

8th AC

77

Lost

3

16 Nov 1980

Japan 21 – Korea 12

Taipei

7th AC

68

Won

2

25 Nov 1978

Japan 16 – Korea 4

Kuala Lumpur

6th AC

61

Won

1

20 Nov 1976

Korea 3 – Japan 11

Seoul

5th AC

56

Won

A5N = Asian Five Nations.
2007 RWC AQ = 2007 Rugby World Cup Asian Qualifier
AG = Asian Games
AC = Asian Championship

Japan (IRB rank 15 (70.09), at 29 April 2013)

Pos.

Name (Test Player Number)

Club

DOB

Age

Hgt/Wgt

Caps

1

Takuma ASAHARA (TBC)

Toshiba Brave Lupus

1

Takuma

179/114

3

2

Hiroki YUHARA (537)

Toshiba Brave Lupus

21/01/1984

29

173/105

11

3

Kensuke HATAKEYAMA (515)

Suntory Sungoliath

02/08/1985

27

178/116

39

4

Hitoshi ONO (445)

Toshiba Brave Lupus

06/05/1978

34

192/102

66

5

Justin IVES (544)

Canon Eagles

24/05/1984

28

196/100

11

6

Takeshi KIKUTANI (c) (474)

Toyota Verblitz

24/02/1980

33

187/100

56

7

Michael BROADHURST (566)

Ricoh Black Rams

30/10/1986

26

196/110

5

8

Ryu Koliniasi HOLANI (512)

Panasonic Wild Knights

25/10/1981

31

188/111

25

9

Atsushi HIWASA (545)

Suntory Sungoliath

22/05/1987

25

166/71

20

10

Kosei ONO (492)

Suntory Sungoliath

17/04/1987

26

171/82

17

11

Kenki FUKUOKA (TBC)

Tsukuba University

07/09/1992

20

175/83

2

12

Harumichi TATEKAWA (557)

Kubota Spears

02/12/1989

23

181/93

12

13

Male SAU (TBC)

Yamaha Jubilo

13/10/1987

25

183/98

3

14

Yoshikazu FUJITA (562)

Waseda University

08/09/1993

19

184/86

3

15

Ayumu GOROMARU (467)

Yamaha Jubilo

01/03/1986

27

185/96

23

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16

Yusuke AOKI (490)

Suntory Sungoliath

19/06/1983

29

176/95

25

17

Masataka MIKAMI (TBC)

Toshiba Brave Lupus

04/06/1988

24

178/113

(2)

18

Hiroshi YAMASHITA (523)

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers

01/01/1986

27

183/120

18

19

Shoji ITO (553)

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers

02/12/1980

32

191/100

10

20

Shinya MAKABE (533)

Suntory Sungoliath

26/03/1987

26

192/110

12

21

Hendrik TUI (565)

Panasonic Wild Knights

13/12/1987

25

189/100

7

22

Yu TAMURA (555)

NEC Green Rockets

09/01/1989

24

181/88

6

23

Yuta IMAMURA (480)

Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers

31/10/1984

28

178/93

35

Head Coach: Eddie Jones (AUS). (12th test as head coach, for 9 wins and 3 losses)

Subs
16 subbed 2, 10 min 2H.
17 not used.
18 subbed 3, 12 min 2H.
19 subbed 4, 12 min 2H.
20 subbed 5, 12 min 2H.
21 subbed 8, 2 min 2H.
22 subbed 10, 6 min 2H.
23 subbed 11, 23 min 2H.

NB: The IRB announced a number of global law amendment trials to start on 1 September 2012 in the northern hemisphere and 1 January in the southern hemisphere. One of these amendments is to permit international teams to nominate up to eight replacements.

South Korea (IRB rank 26 (56.72), at 29 April 2013)

Pos.

Name

Club

DOB

Age

Hgt/Wgt

1

KIM Kwang Sik

NEC Green Rockets (JPN)

08/11/1985

27

182/127

2

PARK Sung Ku

Kubota Spears (JPN)

22/07/1983

29

180/108

3

HEO Woong

NTT Docomo (JPN)

13/01/1985

28

185/115

4

LEE Kwang Moon

Toshiba Brave Lupus (JPN)

04/08/1983

29

188/105

5

YOUN Kwon Woo

Yokogawa Musashino (JPN)

23/01/1985

28

185/118

6

YOU Young Nam

Panasonic Wild Knights (JPN)

13/10/1983

29

192/100

7

PARK Soon Chai (c)

Suntory Sungoliath (JPN)

20/08/1985

27

190/105

8

HAN Kun Kyu

Korea Electric Power Co.

22/01/1987

26

186/105

9

PARK Wan Yong

Korea Electric Power Co.

02/06/1984

27

170/78

10

OH Youn Hyung

Korea Electric Power Co.

29/10/1984

27

178/82

11

KIM Gwong Min

Korea Electric Power Co.

02/04/1988

25

177/81

12

KIM Nam Uk

Sammu

05/02/1990

23

179/94

13

YOO Chul Kyu

Korea Electric Power Co.

13/04/1982

30

178/85

14

JEGAL Bin

Sammu

24/02/1990

23

182/92

15

KIM Keun Hyun

Korea Electric Power Co.

05/09/1981

31

182/92

 

 

 

 

 

 

16

KIM Min Kyu

Dankook University

19/03/1991

22

180/100

17

JUNG Sung Un

Honda Heat (JPN)

22/10/1981

31

180/113

18

CHO Jin Hyen

Akita Northern Bullets (JPN)

24/11/1988

24

182/120

19

KIM Jeong Min

Korea Electric Power Co.

15/03/1983

30

181/92

20

YANG Young Hun

Honda Heat (JPN)

03/12/1980

29

176/82

21

JANG Seong Min

Korea University

22/08/1992

20

187/95

22

KWON Jung Hyek

Fukuoka Sanix Blues (JPN)

05/02/1989

24

179/93

23

OH Seng Joung

Samsung

21/02/1986

27

184/100

Head Coach: PARK Ki Haeng.
Assistant Coach: SUNG Hae Kyung.
Assistant Coach: KIM Kwang Mo.

Subs
16 subbed 2, 33 min 2H.
17 subbed 3, 0 min 2H.
18 subbed 1, 33 min 2H.
19 subbed 4, 24 min 1H.
20 subbed 9, 6 min 1H.
21 subbed 15, 0 min 2H.
22 subbed 13, 0 min 2H.
23 subbed 8, 33 min 2H.

Sources:
Statistics for Japan and Hong Kong from RiJ database and JRFU website.

In perfect conditions for rugby in the Japan capital, Japan kicked off week three of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 taking on the challenge of South Korea. Japan were coming off the back of a 121-0 win over the Philippines in Fukuoka in the opening round followed by a gritty 38-0 win over Hong Kong in Hong Kong last weekend. On the other hand, Korea had the bye in the first week then came out with guns blazing to claim a 75-10 win over the United Arab Emirates in Al Ain in week two.

In the twenty-ninth test between these two north-east Asian rivals the hosts extended their winning streak to nine wins in a row and eleven tests without defeat if the draw in 2004 is included with a commanding ten tries to one, 64-5 win to exemplify the widening gap between the two sides. The Koreans have enjoyed six wins over Japan down through the years but on this performance it will be a long time before they celebrate win number seven as they were totally out-classed right across the board. As runners-up in the A5N 2012 Korea have long held claim as the next best rugby nation in Asia behind Japan but there is now a lot of work to do to take their standard of rugby to the next level of world competitiveness.

Japan kicked-off the test and then immediately went on the offensive with five-eighth Kosei Ono sneaking over for the opening try in the first minute of play. The ever consistent boot of fullback Ayumu Goromaru made it 7-0 before he had even worked up a sweat sending a clear message to the Koreans that any lapses in defence throughout the afternoon would be severely punished by the skilful Japanese.

Rookie 20-year-old wing Kenki Fukuoka then got into the action in his first run-on start after making his debut against the Philippines in week one with back-to-back tries in the sixth and ninth minutes to help Japan blow out the score to 21-0 after only ten minutes of play. Then, at the other end of the experience spectrum, stand-in captain and blindside flanker Takeshi Kikutani also crossed for a double in the twenty-third and thirty-fourth minutes in what was his fifty-sixth appearance for his country to see the hosts out to 33-0 late in the half. Kikutani, who captained Japan at the Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand was back as leader after regular captain in right wing Toshiaki Hirose was forced out of the line-up after suffering a hamstring strain in training during the week.

Japan had the last say in what was a scrappy first half with right wing Yoshikazu Fujita crossing the whitewash for his eight try in only three tests with Goromaru booting the extras to take the sides to the break with Japan leading 40-0. Fujita is still only a teenager in his second year at Waseda University but at 184cm and 86kg he has the size and build to fulfil the potential that many pundits believe he has at the international level of rugby.

Korea started the second half and although there was a renewed resolve in their defence as they tried their best to spoil Japanese ball and upset their rhythm with niggling tactics but that only seemed to delay the inevitable with replacement No8 Hendrik Tui bringing up the first score of the latter half with a try in the eleventh minute. Tui was on the field for starting No8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani who was forced off the field early in the half with what looked like a recurring knee injury. The tactics did not only work against Korea on the scoreboard but five-eighth Oh Youn Hyung was shown yellow early in proceedings for repeated team infringements.

Tui should have been over again in the twenty-ninth minute but Hong Kong based referee Tobi Lothian saw enough to award a penalty try to bring up the half century of points for Japan. Goromaru then showed his strength with ball in hand to touch down for the ninth Japanese try in the thirty-second minute and although he could not convert his own try Japan were on track to keep the opposition scoreless for the third week in a row on the back of a scoreline that read 59-0 with less than ten minutes to play.

However, that was not to be with Oh Youn Hyung redeeming himself for his sinbinning with a consolation try for Korea in the thirty-seventh minute and although he failed with the conversion the Koreans had managed to cross the Japanese try line where the Philippines and Hong Kong could not over the first two weeks of this tournament.

With the clock winding down, Japan still had time for one more try with outside centre Male Sau closing out the scoring with a five-pointer in the thirty-ninth minute. Goromaru missed his third conversion of the afternoon but that was of little concern as the Yamaha fullback picked up nineteen points from seven conversions and a try. Goromaru now has 245 points from his twenty-three tests and as he has finally established himself as the first choice fullback and goal kicker under Eddie Jones the Japan point scoring record of 413 points set by Toyota five-eighth Keiji Hirose is not that far away.

The third win in a row for Japan also meant the Japanese took out the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013 title with an unassailable eighteen competition points already in the bank. Japan still has one game in hand against the UAE and with two weeks of the tournament still remaining the Asian powerhouse has taken the A5N title for the sixth straight year.

After the match, Japan head coach Eddie Jones made the following comments, “We put in a good performance in the first half but we went a bit flat in the second half but then finished off the game with a great try. We still have one game to play put we have now achieved our aim of taking the A5N title and I am really pleased about that.”

Stand-in Japan captain Takashi Kikutani said, “Korea put more pressure on us than over the previous two weeks of this tournament and I believe we handled this quite well. We went a bit slow at times today and it is important we pick up the tempo at times like that as the season progresses.”

Korea head coach Park Ki Haeng said, “We wanted to play good rugby today but unfortunately we could not. We were also missing some of our regular players for this test, especially in the centres and this hurt us today in defence.”

Korea captain Park Soon Chai also said, “Back in Korea we scrutinised the Japan game and we thought we had prepared well, but in reality the game was far faster than we expected and so we really were under prepared in the end.”

2013-image002
Two-try hero Kenki Fukuoka.

Hong Kong 59 d Philippines 20

Date: Saturday 04 May 2013
Venue: Rizal Stadium, Manila
Kick-off: 19:00

The Philippines are playing in the top division of the HSBC Asian Five Nations for the very first time in 2013 and had a tough initiation in the opening week going down 121-0 to Japan. The Volcanoes had the bye in week two and that has given them plenty of time to prepare for this home fixture in Manila against Hong Kong. Along with Japan, Hong Kong are the only other side to have competed in all six editions of the A5N and that experience will count for a lot in Manila. On the other hand, every game is a World Cup final for the Philippines who will surely come out firing in front of their home fans.

Hong Kong had too much for hosts the Philippines in Manila winning 59-20 in week three of the HSBC Asian Five Nations 2013. The Volcanoes were still in the game at 14-10 down at the break, but Hong Kong upped the ante with seven second half tries to blow out the final scoreline. After the match, Hong Kong head coach Leigh Jones said, “The scoreline flattered us in the end. I don’t think they deserved to shift 50 points, but I’m proud of my guys.” Wing Patrice Olivier and fullback Michael Letts were the try scorers for the Philippines.

Bye: United Arab Emirates.

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