RUGBY JERSEY~Japan Rugby Charity Match 2022~Emerging Blossoms vs Tonga Samurai Fifteen

(Author: Azul, June 5, 2022)

Starting June 11, 2022, Japan’s national team will play five consecutive weeks of matches until July 9, 2022. The schedule of the matches are as follows

* 6/11  Japan Selected Team vs. Tonga Selected Team

(Venue: Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground, Tokyo)

*6/18  Japan vs Uruguay

(Venue: Chichibunomiya Rugby Ground, Tokyo)

* 6/25 Japan vs Uruguay

(Venue: Mikuni World Stadium, Kitakyushu-city, Fukuoka)

＊7/2  Japan vs France

(Venue: Toyota Stadium, Toyota City, Aichi Pref.)

＊7/9  Japan vs France

 (Venue: National Stadium, Tokyo)

On June 11, 2022, the first match was held at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Minato-ku, Tokyo. The Kanto area is currently in the rainy season, but fortunately the weather on this day was cloudy.

Today’s match was not an official test match, so the Japan Selected Players will not be given a national cap. However, today’s match is actually the start of the selection process for the RWC 2023 in France, so it is an important match for the players who are aiming for the national team.

The attendance on the day of the match was 8,055, which was not bad.

Another purpose of today’s match is to support the reconstruction of the Kingdom of Tonga, which was damaged by the eruption of an undersea volcano early in 2022. As you can see from the current lineup of Japan’s national team, players from Tonga now form the core of the national team’s strength.

The Japan Rugby League One teams are now made up of players from many different nationalities, but the largest number of players are from Tonga. Tongan students are now playing an active role in Japanese high schools and universities.

Prior to today’s game, the Tongan Ambassador to Japan gave a speech.

The national anthems of both countries were then sung.

The atmosphere at the venue today was appropriate for a representative match.

Personally, I was curious what uniforms both teams would be wearing today.

The Japan Selected Team wore gray and white team uniforms.

The photo above is WTB Takeyama of the Japan Selected Team. The company that produced the uniforms was CANTERBURY.

And the uniform of the Tonga Selected Team

The uniform is composed of two colors, red and white. The production company is MIZUNO, a Japanese company. The photo above is SH Hitora, the only Japanese player called up to the Tongan team. He was called up because there was only one SH in the Tongan selection team. We hope he will take this as an opportunity to do his best.

Before the start of the match, Ikale Tahi, Tonga’s War Cry, was performed.

It lifted the mood before the match started.

Now, let me introduce both teams.

First, let me introduce the home team, the Japan Selected Team, also known as the Emerging Blossoms.

The current Japan team has two levels: the first level players are currently in Miyazaki Prefecture for a training camp. The players who participated in the match today are the so-called second team players. The Rugby Association of Japan calls these players the National Development Scod. They are the reserves, so to speak. Some of them will be given a chance to be promoted based on the results of the matches on June 11 and 18.

The starting lineup is as follows.

Emerging Blossoms
No.	Name	height	weight	age
1	Shogo Miura	180cm	113kg	26	TOYOTA Verblitz
2	Kosuke Horikoshi	175cm	100kg	27	SUNTORY Sungoliath
3	Shunsuke Asaoka	185cm	121kg	25	TOYOTA Verblitz
4	Wimpie Vanderwalt	188cm	112kg	33	Red Hurricanes
5	Takayasu Tsuji	190cm	113kg	26	SUNTORY Sungoliath
6	Sione Lavemai	189cm	120kg	27	Brave Lupas
7	Naoto Shimada	181cm	99kg	31	Yokohama Eagles
8	Tevita Tatafu	183m	124kg	26	SUNTORY Sungoliath
9	Kaino Shigeno	170cm	75kg	31	TOYOTA Verblitz
10	Yu Tamura	181cm	92kg	33	Yokohama Eagles
11	Koga Nezuka	173cm	82kg	23	KUBOTA Spears
12	Harumichi Tatekawa	180cm	93kg	32	KUBOTA Spears
13	Timothy Lafaele	186cm	96kg	30	Kobe Steelers
14	Koki Takeyama	175cm	84kg	25	Panasonic Wild Knights
15	Seiya Ozaki	175cm	85kg	26	SUNTORY Sungoliath

＊＊　Players to watch　＊＊

Nezuka Koga 173 cm, 82 kg, 23 years old. Position = WTB. He belongs to KUBOTA Spears. He won the Rookie of the Year Award and the Best Line-Braker Award in League One this season. He is a graduate of Hosei University, but at that time, he played mostly at CTB and FB. I hope that he will continue to play an active role and be selected for the Japan national team.

Next, I would like to introduce the Tongan Selected Team, the Visitor. The members of this team were selected earlier than the Japanese team, and they have been preparing for this day’s game through training camps.

The members of Tonga Samurai 15 have been the mainstay of each team in League One until just a few days ago. Their potential is not to be underestimated. The Japanese team is expected to have a hard time in this match, especially in terms of their ability to break through. Here is an introduction of the starting lineup for the day.

Tonga
No.	Name	height	weight	age
1	Ishileli Nakajima	186cm	120kg	32	Kobe Steelers
2	Nesta Mahina	167cm	110kg	21	Hanazono Liners
3	Sila Puafisi	185cm	135kg	34	Hanazono Liners
4	Talau Fakatava	194cm	118kg	27	Black Rams
5	Esei Haangana	198cm	120kg	22	Panasonic Wild Knights
6	Viliami Afu Kaipouli	189cm	115kg	24	HONDA Heats
7	Sione Vatuvei	190cm	105kg	38	KUBOTA Spears
8	Lui Naeata	193m	119kg	27	Red Hurricanes
9	Shinnosuke Oka Tafokitau	173m	81kg	28	Scrum Human Power
10	Lomano Lava Lemeki	178cm	96kg	32	NEC Green Rockets
11	Michael Toloke	183cm	101kg	31	Munakata Sanix Blues
12	Mifiposeti Paea	180cm	109kg	34	Red Hurricanes
13	Silivenusi Taumoepeau	181cm	89kg	36	Shuttles Aichi
14	Kruger Latu	186cm	97kg	26	Sagamihara Dynaboars
15	Larry Sulunga	183cm	102kg	23	Red Hurricanes

＊＊　Players to watch　＊＊

Silivenusi Taumoepeau. 181cm, 89kg, 36 years old. He has played for many Japanese teams, including TOYOTA Verblitz, KINTETSU Liners and Aichi Shuttles. He has 1cap of Tonga national team and was selected for the Top League All-Star team. We hope he will continue to play an active role as a bridge between Japan and Tonga. His soft smile is impressive, but he is a hard contact player.

Let the game begin.

Eight minutes into the first half.

Tonga Samuri 15 had a strong defense in front of their own in-goal, and Emerging Blossoms’ BK made few mistakes in signing plays. The score came when the Japanese team dropped the ball in front of the enemy goal line, which was picked up by Emerging Blossoms’ lock Vanderwalt and advanced. The SO Tamura of the Emerging Blossoms ran in the opposite direction. Vanderwalt then deftly passed the ball to Tamura, who received the ball and dodged two enemy defenders, and scored an in-goal try right in the middle of the in-goal. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the Emerging Blossoms took a 7-0 lead.

23 minutes into the first half:

Looking back at the most recent test match between Japan and Tonga, it was a complete victory by a surprisingly large margin. Tonga Samurai 15 was a team with few turn overs, but they were almost evenly matched except for the scrums at set pieces and in close quarters battles.

Tonga’s first scoring opportunity came from a series of attacks in enemy territory, with a short pass from the prop Nakajima to the lock Haangana, who got behind the enemy defense and scored a try in the center of the in-goal. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the score was tied 7-7.

26 minutes into the first half:

The Emerging Blossoms attacked the goal line in front of the enemy goal. Tonga Samurai 15 straddled the goal line and formed a ruck. Emerging Blossoms’ SH Shigeno, who had been watching the situation closely, skillfully held the ball as it went into the in-goal. This allowed the Emerging Blossoms to score a try. The conversion goal after the try was missed. The score was now 12-7, a 5-point lead for Emerging Blossoms. SH Shigeno’s calm assessment of the situation was excellent.

36 minutes into the first half:

The Emerging Blossoms were pushed to their own 22m line, but the ball spilled out of their hands of Tonga Samurai 15 and Blossoms counter-attacked. The CTB Lafaele of the Blossoms made a big gain, and then six players connected to bring the ball almost to the goal line of the enemy territory.

However, the Tonga Samurai 15 did a great job of getting back deep into their own territory and preventing the attack.

But after that, The Tonga Samurai 15 then committed an offsides foul, and from a lineout the Emerging Blossoms were able to maul the Tonga Samurai 15.　The hooker Horikoshi of the Blossoms scored a try in the middle of the left field. The conversion goal after the try failed. The score was 17-7, the Emerging　Blossoms had a 10-point lead.

The first half ended with this score. This match was better than expected. Above all, Tonga　Samurai 15’s concentration on this match was excellent.

We were lucky to be able to watch the game in pleasant weather. After halftime, we expected to have good game in the second half.

Let the second half begin.

Three minutes into the second half:

Right at the start, the Emerging Blossoms started the second half by using the ground as wide as possible to avoid contact without making contact. However, on this day, Tonga　Samurai 15 defended very well. Even when the Emerging Blossoms got behind their own defensive net, they were not allowed to score easily. Emerging Blossoms could not easily score even if they got behind the enemy defensive net. Finally, the Emerging　Blossoms swung wide left and right. The WTB Takeyama of the Blossoms scored a try in the right corner. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the Emerging　Blossoms went up by 17 points, 24-7.

However, from this point on, both teams changed a lot of players, and perhaps this had an effect on the score.

25 minutes into the second half:

The Emerging　Blossoms scored through a spread attack, while Tonga Samurai 15 repeated side attacks in front of the enemy goal. Once they scored a try in the left center, but it was cancelled out by the TMO. Shortly after, however, Tonga Samurai 15 drew an infringement in enemy territory and opted for a lineout from a penalty kick, which the Prop Harasiri of Tonga Samurai 15 caught and scored a try in the right-center. Harasiri was able to outflank more than six Emerging Blossoms players to score an amazing try. The conversion goal after the try was missed. The score was 24-12 and Tonga Samurai 15 was up by 12 points.

34 minutes into the second half

The No.8 Tatafu, a member of the Emerging Blossoms, was in the starting lineup for this match and showed no signs of fatigue in the final minutes of the match. He made a series of gains at the crucial point of contact, and when he crossed the enemy 22-meter line, he fended off more than five strong Tongan players and scored a try right in the middle of the field with individual skill. The conversion goal after the try was also successful, and the Emerging　Blossoms made the score 31-12. The score was 31-12.

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Stop the war.

Peace to Ukraine

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