(Author: Azul,, November 30, 2022)
The various university rugby league matches have reached their climax, and each university is now competing hard to qualify for the University Championships. This time, I went to watch the de facto final match between Teikyo University and Meiji University in Kanto University Rugby Rivalry Group A. The venue was Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground in Minato-ku, Tokyo.
The first match was between Hitachi Sun Nexus and Clean Fighters Yamanashi in the Top East League, the fourth division of adult rugby, and the second match was between Teikyo University and Meiji University in Kanto University Rugby Rivalry Group A. The attendance was 6,737, which was not bad. However, judging from the turnout, most spectators wanted to see the second match between Teikyo and Meiji University.
In the case of a Top East League match, there is no TV broadcast, and there is almost no magazine coverage. It was probably planned by the Kanto Association and combined with a university match.
The photo above shows the Clean Fighters Yamanashi players. However, I think it is a good promotional plan for rugby. I think that combining two matches with different fan bases has the merit of attracting more spectators as a result. I look forward to seeing more combinations in the future.
Now, before the main event of the day, Teikyo University vs. Meiji University, let’s check the ranking list of Kanto University Rugby Rivalry Group A
Kanto University Rugby Rivalry Group Order 2022/11/19 | ||||
order | team | Win | Lose | Winning Point |
1 | Teikyo | 5 | 0 | 25 |
2 | Meiji | 5 | 0 | 24 |
3 | Waseda | 4 | 1 | 19 |
4 | Keio | 4 | 1 | 19 |
5 | Tsukuba | 1 | 4 | 7 |
6 | Rikkyo | 1 | 4 | 5 |
7 | Aoyama Gakuin | 0 | 5 | 0 |
8 | Nippon Sport Science | 0 | 5 | 0 |
As of November 19, only two schools, Teikyo University and Meiji University, had won all their games. This match will decide who is the stronger of the two.
Here is the latest information on the two schools that will play on this day.
First, let’s take a look at the visiting team, Meiji University.
The match on this day will be the same as the final match of last season’s University Championship. Teikyo University won the championship last season, and today’s game will be their first match before advancing to the University Championship. After this match, the two schools may play each other again if they both win the University Championship.
Here is today’s starting lineup for Meiji University.
Meiji University | |||||
No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
1 | Kosei NAKAMURA | 183cm | 112kg | 21 | |
2 | Junichiro MATSUSHITA | 173cm | 87kg | 21 | |
3 | Keijiro TAMEFUSA | 180cm | 115kg | 21 | |
4 | Reijiro YAMAMOTO | 190cm | 107kg | 20 | |
5 | Shin Takeuchi | 191cm | 110kg | 22 | |
6 | Yuta MORIYAMA | 185cm | 96kg | 21 | |
7 | Taisei FUKUDA | 173cm | 95kg | 20 | |
8 | Taishiro KIDO | 185m | 96kg | 20 | |
9 | Shu HAGIWARA | 173m | 78kg | 21 | |
10 | Kotaro ITO | 175cm | 84kg | 21 | |
11 | Kippei ISHIDA | 167cm | 73kg | 22 | |
12 | Yuya HIROSE | 179cm | 93kg | 21 | |
13 | Takaya SAITO | 181cm | 93kg | 21 | |
14 | Yuta AKIHAMA | 174cm | 82kg | 20 | |
15 | Kohei YASUDA | 181cm | 86kg | 20 |
** Player to watch **
Kippei ISHIDA. 167cm, 73kg, 22 years old. He is the captain of Meiji University. He is a graduate of Jyoshogakuen High School in Osaka, Japan’s 2018 high school national team. 2021 Tokyo Olympics 7-man rugby Japan national team. He is the only university student to represent Japan Rugby in the Olympics. His style of play is that of a libero in soccer. He is a “god-like” player, appearing in various phases of the attack. This season, with Ishida as captain, Meiji University has established a style in which not only the strong FW but also the BK run all over the ground. Can they regain supremacy from Teikyo University?
Next, an update information on the home team, Teikyo University.
The Teikyo University rugby team won an unprecedented nine consecutive university championships from 2009 to 2017, and last season, the team was crowned the best university in Japan for the first time in four seasons. The current team is reminiscent of its heyday, with nine members of the high school national team. It will be interesting to see which team will be able to stop this strongest champion.
Today’s starting members are as follows
Teikyo University | |||||
No. | Name | height | weight | age | |
1 | Shota TAKAI | 171cm | 112kg | 22 | |
2 | Hayate ERA | 171cm | 100kg | 21 | |
3 | Taro UESUGI | 176cm | 113kg | 20 | |
4 | Issa YAMAKAWA | 190cm | 104kg | 22 | |
5 | Masahiro ERIGUCHI | 186cm | 108kg | 22 | |
6 | Keito AOKI | 187cm | 110kg | 20 | |
7 | Akito OKUI | 177cm | 103kg | 21 | |
8 | Shuto NOBEHARA | 182cm | 100kg | 20 | |
9 | Kumusu LEE | 174cm | 80kg | 20 | |
10 | Mikiya TAKAMOTO | 172cm | 82kg | 21 | |
11 | Tomu TAKAMOTO | 182cm | 88kg | 21 | |
12 | Gen GOTO | 174cm | 85kg | 19 | |
13 | Kanji FUTAMURA | 180cm | 88kg | 21 | |
14 | Shinya KOMURA | 180cm | 92kg | 20 | |
15 | Kippei TANINAKA | 178cm | 78kg | 22 |
** Player to watch **
Tom TAKAMOTO. 182 cm, 88 kg, 21 years old. Position = WTB. from Higashi Fukuoka High School in Fukuoka, Japan. 2019 High School Japan Representative. He is a utility player who can also play SO, CTB, and FB in addition to WTB.
Now, the game is about to begin.
It was raining on that day. I went to Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground early and secured a covered seat behind the goal.
In addition to the rain, the high temperature was 12 degrees Celsius, which was as cold as December. I caught a cold later in the day because I was halfway through my warm-up gear.
Kickoff was at 14:00.
2 minnutes into the first half:
Meiji kicked off to start the game. Teikyo tried to get the ball out of a tight pack, but the Meiji FW jacked the ball and was penalized for not releasing the ball. Meiji chose to go for the PG, as the spot of the infringement was near the goalposts. Meiji’s CTB Hirose scored to make the score 0-3.
4 minutes into the first half:
Both teams kicked each other, and Teikyo FB Taninaka’s kick from his own line went out beyond the enemy 22m line. 50-22 rule applied, and Teikyo had their own lineout deep in Meiji territory. Teikyo secured the ball and then played it to the right. Finally, SO Takamoto threw a pass to WTB Komura who was on the right edge of the line and scored a try in the right corner of the enemy’s in-goal. The conversion goal after the try was also a success. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 7-3.
22 minutes into thefirst half:
Meiji had hoped to win the FW battle evenly and use their combined strength with the BK to win the game, but Teikyo’s scrums were no match for them. Every time they scrummed, they were fouled, and the subsequent penalty kick pushed them deep into their own territory.
As Meiji was being pushed mentally into a corner, Teikyo’s SO Tamamoto, when the opposing defenders thought it was going to be another scrum, took them by surprise and ran in for a try in the middle of the left field. The conversion goal after the try failed. Teikyo made the score 12-3.
41 minutes in the first half:
Meiji had never won a scrum until this time, but near the end of the game, Teikyo was fouled for breaking up a scrum. This scrum was apparently won by Teikyo, as Meiji concentrated the center of gravity of the scrum on the left prop’s side. Meiji then opted to go for the PG, which CTB Hirose converted to make the score 12-6 in Meiji’s favor.
The first half ended here.
Teikyo University had an overwhelming advantage in the match, but Meiji had an overwhelming advantage in the cheering. About 80% of the crowd were Meiji fans, and when Meiji scored a goal, the crowd erupted in cheers.
As the second half got underway, the focus of the match was to see how Meiji would correct the situation in the second half, as being so far behind in the scrum battle was not something that could be easily corrected in a short period of time. On the score, Meiji can be said to be fighting well compared to other universities, including Waseda, since they were six points behind in the first half.
Let’s start the second half.
3 minutes into the second half:
From the start of the second half, Meiji avoided scrumming as much as possible and started to play a development game. Meiji attacked deep into the enemy territory, but Teikyo’s WTB Komura intercepted the pass and ran 80 meters to score a try in the right center of the field. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 19-6.
11 minutes into the second half.
Teikyo was penalized for an infringement by Meiji in the middle of the enemy area, and the penalty kick led to a lineout inside the 22m line on the right side of the enemy area. Teikyo got possession of the ball, and from a maul, the ball was spread out to the left side, where FL Okui ran in and scored a try in the middle of the right side of the in-goal. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 26-6.
17 minutes into the second half
This was the time of a new scrum for both teams. First, Meiji broke down the Teikyo scrum with their technique of gathering the center of gravity at the left prop of the scrum, causing a foul on Teikyo. However, in the scrum immediately after, Teikyo now broke up the Meiji scrum by shifting the center of gravity.
Teikyo then played the ball to the left, where it was intercepted by Meiji’s CTB Hirose. He intercepted the ball as it was being moved to the left by Teikyo BK, and ran about 50 meters solo to score a try in the middle of the enemy’s in-goal on the left side. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, making the score 26-13 in favor of Meiji.
40 minutes into the second half
In the closing minutes of the match, Teikyo launched a series of attacks deep in enemy territory. This time, Meiji committed an infringement in front of the goal post, so Teikyo opted for the PG. This was scored by SO Takamoto made the score 29-13.
The game was now over, and Teikyo University had one game remaining to win Group A of this season’s Kanto University Rugby Rivalry group.
The schedule for the National University Championship was also set, and December 25 was the first game for Teikyo University. Teikyo University will start from the quarterfinals.
In the National University Championship, two Kansai universities (Kyoto Sangyo University and Tenri University) with powerful FWs await. In last season’s matches, Kyoto Sangyo University was the only team that was able to catch Teikyo University. According to the previous reputation, the Kansai team is more competitive than last year’s team, so we are now looking forward to the matchup.
** Jersey Collection 69 **
FIFA World Cup 1998 France Official Windbreaker. 199 8, adidas product. Size: L.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar is currently on TV. Qatar tournament is being broadcasted every day. I was looking for a good jersey on Yahoo! Auctions, and I found this windbreaker. The winning bid was 3,000 yen.
I liked the fact that all the marks on the back and chest area were made of embroidery.
Although it was used more than 20 years ago, it was not in bad condition, so I added it to my collection.
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Stop the war.
Peace to Ukraine
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