日本語 Español
[JRFU]
RWC 2019 Game Schedule Released
* May 10: The JRFU conducted a drawing for the RWC 2019 pool placements in Kyoto.
* April 2: The JRFU held a ceremony to award the game caps for the Japan national team players. Of 45 players who received the caps in 2016 for their first time, 31 players participated in this ceremony.
* The Japan women's national rugby team entered into a one-year official sponsorship with NTT FACILITIES, INC.
* The Japan national rugby teams (the national team in each category) entered into an official supporter contract with JTB Corporation for four years until 30 June 2021.
* November 2: The JRFU released the RWC 2019 game schedule.
* The Japan national rugby teams (both men's and women's rugby fifteens and sevens) entered into an official supporter contract with Canon Inc. until March 2020.
* The Japan men's and women's national rugby teams entered into an official supporter contract with Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. until the fiscal year 2019.
* The JRFU Members Club totaled more than 30,000 members.
[Japan]
Test Match with France in a Draw, 23-23
* April 22-May 6: ARFU Rugby Championship 2017: Japan swept all the games and claimed the championship title.
Results: 1st match: Japan 47-29 South Korea; 2nd match: Japan 80-10 South Korea; 3rd match: Japan 29-17 Hong Kong; 4th match: Japan 16-0 Hong Kong.
* June 10 - Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2017: Japan 33-21 Romania
* June 17 - Same as above: Ireland 50-22 Japan
* June 24 - Same as above: Ireland 35-13 Japan
* October 28 - Japan Rugby Challenge Match 2017: World XV 47-27 Japan
* November 4 - Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2017: Australia 63-30 Japan
* November 19 - Lipovitan D Tour in France, 1st match: Japan 39-6 Tonga
* November 25 - Lipovitan D Tour in France, 2nd match: Japan 23-23 France
Japan gained a sweeping victory over Tonga and came to a draw with France, demonstrating their progress for the second year under the coaching of Jamie Joseph HC.
[Sunwolves]
2nd Year with 2 wins and 13 losses: The Sunwolves' challenge started with the match against the Hurricanes which claimed the title last year. With steady growth, the Sunwolves gained their first-ever victory over the Bulls but struggled with tough battles afterwards. They completely defeated the Blues in the final match 48-21, while finishing their second-year challenge with 2 wins and 13 losses.
[Rules]
The date of implementing the World Rugby experimental rules was determined to be 1 August 2017 for the northern hemisphere and 1 January 2018 for the southern hemisphere.
[Japan Rugby Championship]
Suntory Sungoliath's 2nd Consecutive Title: Suntory Sungliath won the 55th Japan Rugby Championship, claiming their second consecutive title by defeating the Panasonic Wild Knights 12-8.
[Top League]
Suntory Sungoliath's 2nd Consecutive Title: Suntory claimed their fifth league title. Kotaro Matsushima (Suntory) was selected as the MVP, while Kazuki Himeno (TOYOTA) was named the Rookie of the Year.
[University]
Teikyo's Invincible 9th Consecutive Title: In the 54th All-Japan University Rugby Championship, Teikyo defeated Meiji by one point 21-20, claiming their ninth consecutive championship title. Teikyo won the Kanto Inter-University Rugby Tournament, and Daito Bunka University won the Kanto University Rugby League. Tenri became the Kansai champion, while Fukuoka Institute of Technology became the Kyushu champion. In the 68th Regional Inter-University Rugby Tournament, Nagoya Gakuin University claimed their first-ever tournament title by defeating Sapporo University.
[Rugby Sevens]
* April 7 to 9 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 7th round in Hong Kong:
13th place with 2 wins and 4 losses
* April 15 and 16 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 8th round in Singapore: 15th place with 5 losses
* May 13 and 14 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 9th round in France: 13th place with 2 wins and 4 losses
* May 20 and 21 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 10th round in England: 15th place after losing all 5 matches, resulting in removal from the core teams for the next season
* April 6 and 7 - The 2017-2018 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, the core team qualifying tournament in Hong Kong: Japan defeated South Africa in the final, 22-10, became the champion after winning all 6 matches, and was successfully promoted as a core team for the next season
* April 22 and 23 - The HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 5th round in Kitakyushu: 12th place losing all 5 matches
* June 24 and 25 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 7th round in France: 10th place with 1 win and 4 losses
* September 1 and 2 - The Asia Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 1st round in Hong Kong: Became the champion by winning all 5 matches
* September 23 and 24 - The Asia Rugby Men’s and Women’s Sevens Series, 2nd round in South Korea: 2nd place after going down to South Korea in the final (men); Champion by winning all 6 matches (women)
* October 14 and 15 - The Asia Rugby Men’s and Women’s Sevens Series, 3rd round (2nd round for women) in Sri Lanka: 2nd place after going down to Hong Kong in the final (men); Champion by winning all 6 matches (women), earned a ticket to the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens
* November 30 and December 1 - The 2017-2018 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 1st round in Dubai: Japan finished in 12th place after losing all 5 matches, a significant gap between Japan and those teams at the top on the world level was recognized.
* January 26 to 28, 2018 - The 2017-2018 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 2nd round in Australia: 11th place with 2 wins and 3 losses
* The Asia Rugby U20 Men’s Sevens Series: Japan won 4 matches in the qualification round but lost to South Korea in the cup tournament, 24-19. But after defeating Malaysia in the third-place match, 41-0, they ended up in 3rd place.
* April 7 and 8 - The 2016 Hong Kong Women’s Sevens: The Japan women’s selection team advanced to the cup tournament with 3 wins and 1 loss in the qualification round, but went down to South Africa, 19-10. But they came in 3rd after a win over Hong Kong in the third-place match, 10-5.
* April 16 and 17 - The 2015-2016 HSBC Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 3rd round in the U.S.: Japan finished the qualification round with 1 win and 2 losses, while defeating Columbia, 19-7, in the bowl tournament semifinals. In the final, they regrettably allowed Ireland to come from behind and lost 26-15.
* The 2015-2016 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 3rd round in the U.S.: 1 win and 2 losses in the qualification round
* The Asia Rugby Sevens Series: Japan men’s and women’s selection teams
1st round (Hong Kong): 5th place (men); Champion by defeating China (women)
2nd round in South Korea: 7th place (men); 2nd place after going down to China (women)
3rd round in Sri Lanka: 6th place (men); Champion by defeating China (women)
* January 28 and 29, 2017 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 3rd round in New Zealand: Lost all 5 matches
* February 4 and 5, 2017 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 4th round in Australia: 1 win and 4 losses
* March 3 and 4, 2017 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 5th round in the U.S.: 14th place with 1 win and 5 losses
* March 11 and 12, 2017 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 6th round in Canada: 14th place with 1 win and 5 losses
[Women's Rugby]
* June 3 - A tour to strengthen women's rugby (fifteens) candidate players: Ireland selection 24-22 Japan selection
* June 7 - Same as above: Ireland selection 24-15 Japan selection
* June 11: Wales selection 52-10 Japan selection
* ARFU Women's Rugby (Fifteens) Championship 2017
July 8: Japan 58-0 Hong Kong; July 15: Japan 60-19 Hong Kong
* Women's RWC 2017 in Ireland
August 9-26: Japan lost all the games in the qualifying round and advanced to the consolation finals for the 9th through the 12th. There Japan was defeated by Italy 22-0, but defeated Hong Kong 44-5, finishing in 11th.
[International]
* April 7-15 - European U18 Rugby Championship in France: The Japan U18 national team participated in this championship for the first time and finished in third. France claimed the championship title.
* August 29-September 10 - World Rugby U20 Trophy in Uruguay: The Japan U20 national team participated in this championship and claimed the championship title by sweeping all the games. Japan was promoted to the superior championship.
* March 17-30: The Japan U18 national team toured Ireland, winning the Ireland U19 national team, and returned home with one win and two loss.
[Other]
Tokai University Gyosei High School claimed their fifth tournament title in the 97th National High School Rugby Tournament for the first time in two tournaments, by defeating Osaka Toin High School. In the 72nd National Athletic Festival in Ehime, Tokyo won the adult class, Osaka Prefecture won the juvenile class, and Fukuoke Prefecture won the women's class. Kobe City College of Technology won the 48th All-Japan College Rugby Tournament, claiming their 10th tournament title for the first time in five years. The Hokkaido Barbarians won the 25th All-Japan Club Rugby Football Championship. In the 19th National High School Rugby Invitational Tournament held in March 2018, Toin High School defeated Osaka Toin High School and claimed their second consecutive title.
[JRFU]
RWC 2019 Game Schedule Released
* May 10: The JRFU conducted a drawing for the RWC 2019 pool placements in Kyoto.
* April 2: The JRFU held a ceremony to award the game caps for the Japan national team players. Of 45 players who received the caps in 2016 for their first time, 31 players participated in this ceremony.
* The Japan women's national rugby team entered into a one-year official sponsorship with NTT FACILITIES, INC.
* The Japan national rugby teams (the national team in each category) entered into an official supporter contract with JTB Corporation for four years until 30 June 2021.
* November 2: The JRFU released the RWC 2019 game schedule.
* The Japan national rugby teams (both men's and women's rugby fifteens and sevens) entered into an official supporter contract with Canon Inc. until March 2020.
* The Japan men's and women's national rugby teams entered into an official supporter contract with Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. until the fiscal year 2019.
* The JRFU Members Club totaled more than 30,000 members.
[Japan]
Test Match with France in a Draw, 23-23
* April 22-May 6: ARFU Rugby Championship 2017: Japan swept all the games and claimed the championship title.
Results: 1st match: Japan 47-29 South Korea; 2nd match: Japan 80-10 South Korea; 3rd match: Japan 29-17 Hong Kong; 4th match: Japan 16-0 Hong Kong.
* June 10 - Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2017: Japan 33-21 Romania
* June 17 - Same as above: Ireland 50-22 Japan
* June 24 - Same as above: Ireland 35-13 Japan
* October 28 - Japan Rugby Challenge Match 2017: World XV 47-27 Japan
* November 4 - Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2017: Australia 63-30 Japan
* November 19 - Lipovitan D Tour in France, 1st match: Japan 39-6 Tonga
* November 25 - Lipovitan D Tour in France, 2nd match: Japan 23-23 France
Japan gained a sweeping victory over Tonga and came to a draw with France, demonstrating their progress for the second year under the coaching of Jamie Joseph HC.
[Sunwolves]
2nd Year with 2 wins and 13 losses: The Sunwolves' challenge started with the match against the Hurricanes which claimed the title last year. With steady growth, the Sunwolves gained their first-ever victory over the Bulls but struggled with tough battles afterwards. They completely defeated the Blues in the final match 48-21, while finishing their second-year challenge with 2 wins and 13 losses.
[Rules]
The date of implementing the World Rugby experimental rules was determined to be 1 August 2017 for the northern hemisphere and 1 January 2018 for the southern hemisphere.
[Japan Rugby Championship]
Suntory Sungoliath's 2nd Consecutive Title: Suntory Sungliath won the 55th Japan Rugby Championship, claiming their second consecutive title by defeating the Panasonic Wild Knights 12-8.
[Top League]
Suntory Sungoliath's 2nd Consecutive Title: Suntory claimed their fifth league title. Kotaro Matsushima (Suntory) was selected as the MVP, while Kazuki Himeno (TOYOTA) was named the Rookie of the Year.
[University]
Teikyo's Invincible 9th Consecutive Title: In the 54th All-Japan University Rugby Championship, Teikyo defeated Meiji by one point 21-20, claiming their ninth consecutive championship title. Teikyo won the Kanto Inter-University Rugby Tournament, and Daito Bunka University won the Kanto University Rugby League. Tenri became the Kansai champion, while Fukuoka Institute of Technology became the Kyushu champion. In the 68th Regional Inter-University Rugby Tournament, Nagoya Gakuin University claimed their first-ever tournament title by defeating Sapporo University.
[Rugby Sevens]
* April 7 to 9 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 7th round in Hong Kong:
13th place with 2 wins and 4 losses
* April 15 and 16 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 8th round in Singapore: 15th place with 5 losses
* May 13 and 14 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 9th round in France: 13th place with 2 wins and 4 losses
* May 20 and 21 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 10th round in England: 15th place after losing all 5 matches, resulting in removal from the core teams for the next season
* April 6 and 7 - The 2017-2018 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, the core team qualifying tournament in Hong Kong: Japan defeated South Africa in the final, 22-10, became the champion after winning all 6 matches, and was successfully promoted as a core team for the next season
* April 22 and 23 - The HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 5th round in Kitakyushu: 12th place losing all 5 matches
* June 24 and 25 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 7th round in France: 10th place with 1 win and 4 losses
* September 1 and 2 - The Asia Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 1st round in Hong Kong: Became the champion by winning all 5 matches
* September 23 and 24 - The Asia Rugby Men’s and Women’s Sevens Series, 2nd round in South Korea: 2nd place after going down to South Korea in the final (men); Champion by winning all 6 matches (women)
* October 14 and 15 - The Asia Rugby Men’s and Women’s Sevens Series, 3rd round (2nd round for women) in Sri Lanka: 2nd place after going down to Hong Kong in the final (men); Champion by winning all 6 matches (women), earned a ticket to the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens
* November 30 and December 1 - The 2017-2018 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 1st round in Dubai: Japan finished in 12th place after losing all 5 matches, a significant gap between Japan and those teams at the top on the world level was recognized.
* January 26 to 28, 2018 - The 2017-2018 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 2nd round in Australia: 11th place with 2 wins and 3 losses
* The Asia Rugby U20 Men’s Sevens Series: Japan won 4 matches in the qualification round but lost to South Korea in the cup tournament, 24-19. But after defeating Malaysia in the third-place match, 41-0, they ended up in 3rd place.
* April 7 and 8 - The 2016 Hong Kong Women’s Sevens: The Japan women’s selection team advanced to the cup tournament with 3 wins and 1 loss in the qualification round, but went down to South Africa, 19-10. But they came in 3rd after a win over Hong Kong in the third-place match, 10-5.
* April 16 and 17 - The 2015-2016 HSBC Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 3rd round in the U.S.: Japan finished the qualification round with 1 win and 2 losses, while defeating Columbia, 19-7, in the bowl tournament semifinals. In the final, they regrettably allowed Ireland to come from behind and lost 26-15.
* The 2015-2016 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, 3rd round in the U.S.: 1 win and 2 losses in the qualification round
* The Asia Rugby Sevens Series: Japan men’s and women’s selection teams
1st round (Hong Kong): 5th place (men); Champion by defeating China (women)
2nd round in South Korea: 7th place (men); 2nd place after going down to China (women)
3rd round in Sri Lanka: 6th place (men); Champion by defeating China (women)
* January 28 and 29, 2017 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 3rd round in New Zealand: Lost all 5 matches
* February 4 and 5, 2017 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 4th round in Australia: 1 win and 4 losses
* March 3 and 4, 2017 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 5th round in the U.S.: 14th place with 1 win and 5 losses
* March 11 and 12, 2017 - The 2016-2017 HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, 6th round in Canada: 14th place with 1 win and 5 losses
[Women's Rugby]
* June 3 - A tour to strengthen women's rugby (fifteens) candidate players: Ireland selection 24-22 Japan selection
* June 7 - Same as above: Ireland selection 24-15 Japan selection
* June 11: Wales selection 52-10 Japan selection
* ARFU Women's Rugby (Fifteens) Championship 2017
July 8: Japan 58-0 Hong Kong; July 15: Japan 60-19 Hong Kong
* Women's RWC 2017 in Ireland
August 9-26: Japan lost all the games in the qualifying round and advanced to the consolation finals for the 9th through the 12th. There Japan was defeated by Italy 22-0, but defeated Hong Kong 44-5, finishing in 11th.
[International]
* April 7-15 - European U18 Rugby Championship in France: The Japan U18 national team participated in this championship for the first time and finished in third. France claimed the championship title.
* August 29-September 10 - World Rugby U20 Trophy in Uruguay: The Japan U20 national team participated in this championship and claimed the championship title by sweeping all the games. Japan was promoted to the superior championship.
* March 17-30: The Japan U18 national team toured Ireland, winning the Ireland U19 national team, and returned home with one win and two loss.
[Other]
Tokai University Gyosei High School claimed their fifth tournament title in the 97th National High School Rugby Tournament for the first time in two tournaments, by defeating Osaka Toin High School. In the 72nd National Athletic Festival in Ehime, Tokyo won the adult class, Osaka Prefecture won the juvenile class, and Fukuoke Prefecture won the women's class. Kobe City College of Technology won the 48th All-Japan College Rugby Tournament, claiming their 10th tournament title for the first time in five years. The Hokkaido Barbarians won the 25th All-Japan Club Rugby Football Championship. In the 19th National High School Rugby Invitational Tournament held in March 2018, Toin High School defeated Osaka Toin High School and claimed their second consecutive title.