Test Match No. 6: New Zealand Universities' first visit to Japan, game 5

日本語 Photo
9 February 1936 at Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium
●Japan 8-16 New Zealand Universities (NZU)○
Japan lost by a narrow margin in the 1st test match
 
Data:
09/02/36, 1st Test (40min. Half)
All Japan Universities 8 New Zealand Universities 16
Meiji Shrine Stadium, Tokyo
Half-time: 0-11
Referee: Yonejiro Nakamura (Japan)
Touch Judges: E.R. Chesterman (New Zealand), Tsutomu Tsujita (Japan)
Crowd: Unknown
 
ALL JAPAN UNIVERSITIES (=JAPAN): 15 Isao Suzuki, 14 Shoji Sakaguchi, 13 Toichiro Kawagoe, 12 Tsunehiko Kasahara, 11 Takeo Kitano, 10 Ichiro Nogami (capt), 9 Ryohei Kinoshita, 8 Haruki Yamamoto, 7 Hiroyuki Nabeka, 6 Shinshiro Komehana, 5 Kazuo Yamaguchi, 4 Hideo Ito, 3 Saburo Nishigaki, 2 Michihiro Sakai, 1 Kazutsugu Nishiumi.
Tries: Sakaguchi, scrum try; Conversion: Kasahara.
 
NEW ZEALAND UNIVERSITIES: 15 Ronald George Bush, 14 E. Grant, 13 J.D. Lewis, 12 James Michael Watt, 11(FE) Colin Cuthbert Gillies, 10(FE) G.A. Parsons (capt), 9 J.J. McAuliffe, 8 S.W. Simmers, 7 F.J. Wilson, 6 L.S. Drake, 5 O.W. Chapman, 4 D.A. Hudson, 3 W.R. Laney 2 R.J. Thomas, 1 R.B. Burke.
Tries: Watt (2), Wilson; Conversions: Bush (2); Penalty Goal: Bush.
 
Scoring sequence (Japan's score shown first): 15min-try NZU, Wilson; conv. Bush (missed)-0-3, --min-pen. NZU, Bush-0-6, 34min-try NZU, Watt; conv. Bush-0-11, Half-time, 41min-try Japan Univ., Sakaguchi; conv. Kasahara (missed)-3-11, 50min-try Japan Univ., scrum try; conv. Kasahara-8-11, 78min-drop goal Japan Univ., Nogami (missed), 79min-try NZU, Watt; conv. Bush-8-16.
 


The match between NZU and the all-Japan student team started at 2:35 p.m. on 9 February at Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium. The referee was Nakamura, with Chesterman and Tsujita as the touch judges. Japan was challenging NZU for the honours of the nation's rugby community. The conditions were good: both teams had their best members, and the weather was calm and cloudy. The game started with a kick by Bush of NZU. Japan tried to catch up in the second half, but NZU won the game by 16 to 8.
In the 15th minute, NZU crushed Kinoshita when he caught a high punt, and Wilson scored a try. Bush followed him by scoring a penalty. In the 34th minute, a three-quarter player passed the ball from the line-out. Watt managed a try, and a goal was scored (0-11). In the opening of the second half, Japan took advantage of the opponent's mistake: Nabeka and Komehana picked up the dribble, which led to a try to the right corner by Sakaguchi. In the 10th minute, Japan pushed the scrum from near the goal-line, and scored a try and a goal, narrowing the margin to three (8-11). In the 39th minute, Watt of NZU darted and scored a try in the left centre of the line. A conversion was added, and Japan lost 8-16.