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[JRFU]
“RUGBY: FOR ALL - For Japan”
On 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake hit Japan. On April 17, the JRFU held an event entitled “RUGBY: FOR ALL - For Japan” at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Stadium in order to promote the restoration of the afflicted areas. The JRFU also decided to exempt three Tohoku prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima) from paying the registration fees for rugby teams and individual players, while giving them 1,000,000 yen as a relief donation.
* The JRFU announced the new system for the Japan national team. Eddie Jones was appointed as the head coach, and Masahiro Kunda was appointed as the new assistant coach of the Japan national team. They kicked the team into gear toward the RWC 2015 in England.
* The RWC 2019 Organising Committee started to prepare for the RWC 2019, by touring the RWC 2011 held in New Zealand.
* In November 2011, the executive director, Tatsuzo Yabe, and an executive board member, Koji Tokumasu, became members of the International Rugby Board (IRB).
[Japan]
Japan Finishes the RWC 2011 New Zealand with 1 Draw and 3 Losses
* April 30-May 13 - HSBC Asian Five Nations: Japan 45-22 Hong Kong, Japan 61-0 Kazakhstan, Japan 111-0 UAE, and Japan 90-13 Sri Lanka.
* June 26 - Great East Japan Earthquake Charity Match: Japan 49-7 Top League XV
* July - IRB Pacific Nation 2011: The Japan national team claimed their first-ever championship having the following results: Samoa 34-15 Japan, Japan 28-27 Tonga, and Japan 24-23 Fiji. These results raised expectations for the RWC.
* August 13: Italy 31-24 Japan
* August 21 - A Send-Off Match for the RWC 2011 NZ: With the result of Japan 20-14 USA, the Japan national team left for the RWC 2011 having the goal of achieving two or more wins.
* In September, at the RWC 2011 held in New Zealand, the Japan national team finished all their games having the same result they achieved four years earlier with one draw and three losses: France 47-21 Japan, NZ 83-7 Japan, Tonga 31-18 Japan, and Japan 23-23 Canada. John Kirwan HC said: “I have regretted nothing for the past four years. Our team succumbed to pressure to win, resulted in making mistakes. The Japan national team has to accumulate more experience.”
[Rules]
A new revision added “Up to eight players can be specified as subscription/replacement” to section 3.4, “Players specified for subscription/replacement”, in article 3 in the rugby rules.
[Japan Rugby Championship]
Suntory Sungoliath Wins the 49th Japan Rugby Championship: Suntory Sungoliath defeated the Panasonic Wild Knights 21-9, achieving the championship title as well as the Top League title. As for university teams, Teikyo University and Tenri University appeared in this championship. Teikyo was almost equal in competitiveness to Toshiba. Tenri also fought quite well against Canon using their deployment skills. However, both of them lost by a huge margin, highlighting their issues to work on.
[Top League]
Suntory Sungliath Becomes the Champion: The Panasonic Wild Knights won second place. George Smith (Suntory) was selected as the MVP, and Michael Leitch (Toshiba) was named the Rookie of the Year.
[University]
Teikyo University Achieves Three Consecutive Titles: Teikyo claimed their third consecutive title at the 48th All-Japan University Rugby Championship. Tiekyo claimed three consecutive titles for the first time since Doshisha accomplished that between 1982 and 1984. After the game, Teikyo's head coach Iwaide said: “We fully demonstrated our own strengths, while preventing Tenri's strong BK players from playing freely with their strengths. It was a much closer game than expected.” Teikyo claimed the tournament title for the Kanto Inter-University Rugby Tournament, while Ryutsu Keizai University won the Kanto University Rugby League. In Kansai, Tenri became the champion beating Kwansei Gakuin. In Kyushu, Fukuoka became the Kyushu champion, while Fukuoka Institute of Technology won second place. Aichi Gakuin University won the 62nd Regional Inter-University Rugby Tournament by defeating Tokyo City University, claiming their third tournament title for the first time in two years.
[Rugby Sevens]
* At the HSBC Asia Rugby Sevens Series held in Shanghai in August, the Japan men’s selection team finished in 3rd place, and claimed the tile in the same championship held in Borneo in September.
* The World Rugby Sevens Series was held on 31 March and 1 April 2012, for the first time in 11 years. This event attracted about 20,000 spectators for two days. Japan fought quite well against England but finished by losing all their matches. Australia defeated Samoa, 28-26, in the cup tournament and became the champion.
* At the 2011-2012 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Australia held on 25 and 26 November 2011, HC Wataru Murata and the Japan men’s national rugby sevens team with younger members having an average age of 24 years took on the challenge but lost all qualification round matches. In the bowl tournament, they lost to Argentina by the score of 38-12. In the shield tournament, they won against Kenya but lost to Argentina and New Guinea. They also participated in the Shanghai Sevens (3rd) and the Borneo Sevens (Champion).
* At the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Championship in India held on 1 and 2 October, Japan finished in 3rd place after beating Thailand in the final tournament./ The U18 Hanazono Rugby Women’s Sevens (high performance section and dissemination section) was held on December 27./ Japan appeared in the USA Rugby Women’s International Invitational Sevens Tournament in Las Vegas held on 10 and 11 February 2012./ Japan participated in the IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup in Hong Kong held on 23 March 2012. The result was an 11th-place finish with 1 win and 3 losses.
* The Japan women’s national rugby sevens participated in the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Championship in India on 1 and 2 October. They finished in 3rd place.
* February 3 and 4, 2012 - The 2011-2012 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series New Zealand: Lost all 5 matches
* February 10 to 12, 2012: The U.S. round: 1 win and 4 losses
* February 11 and 12, 2012: At the HSBC Asia Rugby Sevens Series held in Thailand, Japan finished in 2nd place after going down to Hong Kong in the cup tournament.
* The World Rugby Sevens Series was held on 31 March and 1 April 2012, for the first time in 11 years. This event attracted about 18,000 spectators for two days. Japan fought quite well against England but lost all their matches. Australia defeated Samoa, 28-26, in the cup tournament and became the champion.
* March 23 to 25, 2012: At the HSBC Rugby Asia Sevens Series held in Hong Kong, Japan finished in 4th place in the shield tournament with 2 wins and 4 losses, thus missing a chance to be a core team.
[Women's Rugby]
* April 30 - HSBC Asian Five Nations: Japan 15-0 Hong Kong
[International]
The Japan A team toured New Zealand (from June 12 to July 4), returning home with three wins. In the IRB Junior World Trophy 2011 in Georgia (May 24 - June 5), the Japan A team won second place by defeating Zimbabwe, Canada, and Georgia while suffering a loss to Samoa. Tha Japan U18 national team toured Italy and France from March 12 to 19, returning home with three losses.
[Other]
Kobe City College of Technology won the All-Japan College Rugby Tournament for the first time in three years. Rokko Fighting Bull won the All-Japan Club Rugby Football Championship by defeating Kanagawa Tamariva Club 34-12, claiming their fifth championship title and for the first time in two years. Higashi Fukuoka High School claimed their third consecutive title at the 13th All-Japan High School Invitational Rugby Tournament. (The 12th tournament was canceled because of the Great East Japan Earthquake.) In the 91st National High School Rugby Tournament, Higashi Fukuoka High School defeated Tokai University Gyosei High School in the final, claiming their third consecutive tournament title. Their record of 80 consecutive wins of official games is also spectacular. The 66th National Athletic Festival was held in Yamaguchi. In the adult class, Aichi Prefecture claimed the title by defeating Tokyo 31-14, and Fukuoka Prefecture won the juvenile class by defeating Saga Prefecture 33-15.
[JRFU]
“RUGBY: FOR ALL - For Japan”
On 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake hit Japan. On April 17, the JRFU held an event entitled “RUGBY: FOR ALL - For Japan” at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Stadium in order to promote the restoration of the afflicted areas. The JRFU also decided to exempt three Tohoku prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima) from paying the registration fees for rugby teams and individual players, while giving them 1,000,000 yen as a relief donation.
* The JRFU announced the new system for the Japan national team. Eddie Jones was appointed as the head coach, and Masahiro Kunda was appointed as the new assistant coach of the Japan national team. They kicked the team into gear toward the RWC 2015 in England.
* The RWC 2019 Organising Committee started to prepare for the RWC 2019, by touring the RWC 2011 held in New Zealand.
* In November 2011, the executive director, Tatsuzo Yabe, and an executive board member, Koji Tokumasu, became members of the International Rugby Board (IRB).
[Japan]
Japan Finishes the RWC 2011 New Zealand with 1 Draw and 3 Losses
* April 30-May 13 - HSBC Asian Five Nations: Japan 45-22 Hong Kong, Japan 61-0 Kazakhstan, Japan 111-0 UAE, and Japan 90-13 Sri Lanka.
* June 26 - Great East Japan Earthquake Charity Match: Japan 49-7 Top League XV
* July - IRB Pacific Nation 2011: The Japan national team claimed their first-ever championship having the following results: Samoa 34-15 Japan, Japan 28-27 Tonga, and Japan 24-23 Fiji. These results raised expectations for the RWC.
* August 13: Italy 31-24 Japan
* August 21 - A Send-Off Match for the RWC 2011 NZ: With the result of Japan 20-14 USA, the Japan national team left for the RWC 2011 having the goal of achieving two or more wins.
* In September, at the RWC 2011 held in New Zealand, the Japan national team finished all their games having the same result they achieved four years earlier with one draw and three losses: France 47-21 Japan, NZ 83-7 Japan, Tonga 31-18 Japan, and Japan 23-23 Canada. John Kirwan HC said: “I have regretted nothing for the past four years. Our team succumbed to pressure to win, resulted in making mistakes. The Japan national team has to accumulate more experience.”
[Rules]
A new revision added “Up to eight players can be specified as subscription/replacement” to section 3.4, “Players specified for subscription/replacement”, in article 3 in the rugby rules.
[Japan Rugby Championship]
Suntory Sungoliath Wins the 49th Japan Rugby Championship: Suntory Sungoliath defeated the Panasonic Wild Knights 21-9, achieving the championship title as well as the Top League title. As for university teams, Teikyo University and Tenri University appeared in this championship. Teikyo was almost equal in competitiveness to Toshiba. Tenri also fought quite well against Canon using their deployment skills. However, both of them lost by a huge margin, highlighting their issues to work on.
[Top League]
Suntory Sungliath Becomes the Champion: The Panasonic Wild Knights won second place. George Smith (Suntory) was selected as the MVP, and Michael Leitch (Toshiba) was named the Rookie of the Year.
[University]
Teikyo University Achieves Three Consecutive Titles: Teikyo claimed their third consecutive title at the 48th All-Japan University Rugby Championship. Tiekyo claimed three consecutive titles for the first time since Doshisha accomplished that between 1982 and 1984. After the game, Teikyo's head coach Iwaide said: “We fully demonstrated our own strengths, while preventing Tenri's strong BK players from playing freely with their strengths. It was a much closer game than expected.” Teikyo claimed the tournament title for the Kanto Inter-University Rugby Tournament, while Ryutsu Keizai University won the Kanto University Rugby League. In Kansai, Tenri became the champion beating Kwansei Gakuin. In Kyushu, Fukuoka became the Kyushu champion, while Fukuoka Institute of Technology won second place. Aichi Gakuin University won the 62nd Regional Inter-University Rugby Tournament by defeating Tokyo City University, claiming their third tournament title for the first time in two years.
[Rugby Sevens]
* At the HSBC Asia Rugby Sevens Series held in Shanghai in August, the Japan men’s selection team finished in 3rd place, and claimed the tile in the same championship held in Borneo in September.
* The World Rugby Sevens Series was held on 31 March and 1 April 2012, for the first time in 11 years. This event attracted about 20,000 spectators for two days. Japan fought quite well against England but finished by losing all their matches. Australia defeated Samoa, 28-26, in the cup tournament and became the champion.
* At the 2011-2012 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Australia held on 25 and 26 November 2011, HC Wataru Murata and the Japan men’s national rugby sevens team with younger members having an average age of 24 years took on the challenge but lost all qualification round matches. In the bowl tournament, they lost to Argentina by the score of 38-12. In the shield tournament, they won against Kenya but lost to Argentina and New Guinea. They also participated in the Shanghai Sevens (3rd) and the Borneo Sevens (Champion).
* At the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Championship in India held on 1 and 2 October, Japan finished in 3rd place after beating Thailand in the final tournament./ The U18 Hanazono Rugby Women’s Sevens (high performance section and dissemination section) was held on December 27./ Japan appeared in the USA Rugby Women’s International Invitational Sevens Tournament in Las Vegas held on 10 and 11 February 2012./ Japan participated in the IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup in Hong Kong held on 23 March 2012. The result was an 11th-place finish with 1 win and 3 losses.
* The Japan women’s national rugby sevens participated in the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Championship in India on 1 and 2 October. They finished in 3rd place.
* February 3 and 4, 2012 - The 2011-2012 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series New Zealand: Lost all 5 matches
* February 10 to 12, 2012: The U.S. round: 1 win and 4 losses
* February 11 and 12, 2012: At the HSBC Asia Rugby Sevens Series held in Thailand, Japan finished in 2nd place after going down to Hong Kong in the cup tournament.
* The World Rugby Sevens Series was held on 31 March and 1 April 2012, for the first time in 11 years. This event attracted about 18,000 spectators for two days. Japan fought quite well against England but lost all their matches. Australia defeated Samoa, 28-26, in the cup tournament and became the champion.
* March 23 to 25, 2012: At the HSBC Rugby Asia Sevens Series held in Hong Kong, Japan finished in 4th place in the shield tournament with 2 wins and 4 losses, thus missing a chance to be a core team.
[Women's Rugby]
* April 30 - HSBC Asian Five Nations: Japan 15-0 Hong Kong
[International]
The Japan A team toured New Zealand (from June 12 to July 4), returning home with three wins. In the IRB Junior World Trophy 2011 in Georgia (May 24 - June 5), the Japan A team won second place by defeating Zimbabwe, Canada, and Georgia while suffering a loss to Samoa. Tha Japan U18 national team toured Italy and France from March 12 to 19, returning home with three losses.
[Other]
Kobe City College of Technology won the All-Japan College Rugby Tournament for the first time in three years. Rokko Fighting Bull won the All-Japan Club Rugby Football Championship by defeating Kanagawa Tamariva Club 34-12, claiming their fifth championship title and for the first time in two years. Higashi Fukuoka High School claimed their third consecutive title at the 13th All-Japan High School Invitational Rugby Tournament. (The 12th tournament was canceled because of the Great East Japan Earthquake.) In the 91st National High School Rugby Tournament, Higashi Fukuoka High School defeated Tokai University Gyosei High School in the final, claiming their third consecutive tournament title. Their record of 80 consecutive wins of official games is also spectacular. The 66th National Athletic Festival was held in Yamaguchi. In the adult class, Aichi Prefecture claimed the title by defeating Tokyo 31-14, and Fukuoka Prefecture won the juvenile class by defeating Saga Prefecture 33-15.