Rugby union in Japan: Difference between revisions
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The national team (which is named "The Cherry Blossoms") is ranked 20th worldwide by the [[International Rugby Board]] (IRB) as of [[28 August]] [[2006]].<ref>[http://www.irb.com/en/World+Rankings/world+rankings+full.htm Official IRB World Rankings]</ref> |
The national team (which is named "The Cherry Blossoms") is ranked 20th worldwide by the [[International Rugby Board]] (IRB) as of [[28 August]] [[2006]].<ref>[http://www.irb.com/en/World+Rankings/world+rankings+full.htm Official IRB World Rankings]</ref> |
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With Asia's relative weakness at rugby union, Japan strugges to get serious competition. The result is that Japan is caught in the middle: a big fish in the small pond of Asian rugby union, but still at present a relative minnow in the vast ocean of international rugby union. |
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===Super Cup=== |
===Super Cup=== |
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Revision as of 22:58, 9 April 2007
Rugby union in Japan is a growing sport.
Japan has the fourth largest rugby union playing populations in the world and the sport has been played there for over 100 years. There are 125,000 Japanese rugby players. [1]
The Japanese team are known for their speed and resourcefulness but have sometimes been at a disadvantage due to their relatively smaller size compared to Southern hemisphere and European players. This is changing, however, as the Japanese diet increasingly includes more meat at the expense of fish and resembles Western diets more closely. (As Japan is the nation of sumo, there is no obvious reason why they cannot produce large rugby union players.)
Training regimes and coaching are of a generally high standard, though sometimes it seems that politics interferes in the national squad's coaching and selection, with unfortunate results. The national team is also usually reinforced at and before the World Cup by one or two foreigners who qualify under IRB regulations. Of these Andrew Miller and Andrew McCormick, both from New Zealand, and Sinali Latu from Tonga have been the most successful.
Governing body
Rugby union in Japan is governed by the Japan Rugby Football Union.
The Japan Rugby Football Union was officially formed on November 30, 1926 and is a full member of the International Rugby Board with one seat on the Executive Council.
Domestic competitions
Top League
In 2003, the Top League was created to improve the overall standards of Japanese rugby union. It is Japan's first nationwide league and is a first step towards professionalism. So far the league is proving to be successful with many closely fought and exciting games, though attendances at games are generally not high and tend to be limited to diehard fans and company employees.
Microsoft Cup
The Microsoft Cup is a knock-out Japanese rugby tournament sponsored by Microsoft Japan. It is played between the top teams of the Top League.
University championship rugby
The Japanese University rugby championships are held annually.
National High School Rugby Tournament
The National High School Rugby Tournament is held annually at Kintetsu Hanazono rugby stadium in East Osaka, Japan from the end of December to early January. All 47 Prefectures of Japan are represented, with four extra teams (one from Hokkaido, one from Tokyo, and two from Osaka prefecture) to make up the numbers.
National team
The national team (which is named "The Cherry Blossoms") is ranked 20th worldwide by the International Rugby Board (IRB) as of 28 August 2006.[2]
With Asia's relative weakness at rugby union, Japan strugges to get serious competition. The result is that Japan is caught in the middle: a big fish in the small pond of Asian rugby union, but still at present a relative minnow in the vast ocean of international rugby union.
Super Cup
The Super Cup is an annual international rugby union competition contested by national teams from Canada, Japan, Romania and United States. It was previously known as the Super Powers Cup.
IRB Pacific 5 Nations
The IRB Pacific 5 Nations is an international rugby union competition held between five Pacific rim sides; Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and the Junior All Blacks (New Zealand's second XV).
Popularity
As a team sport rugby union is a distant third in the popularity ratings behind baseball and soccer, and this reality is unlikely to change until Japan's national rugby union team becomes consistently successful on the world stage, especially at the Rugby World Cup.
At present rugby union is rarely seen on the terrestrial TV channels, and is mainly restricted to CS and cable subscription channels, which hinders its growth. (Sometimes the bigger games are shown on NHK TV - e.g. the University championship rugby final and the Microsoft Cup.)
See also
References
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