Canada Tour to Japan 2009
First Test: Japan 46 d Canada 8, Sunday, 15 November 2009, kick-off at 2:00 PM, Yurtec Stadium, Sendai.
Second Test: Japan 27 d Canada 6, Saturday, 21 November 2009, kick-off at 2:00 PM, Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.
Japan 27 d Canada 6
Japan 27 – Tries: Go Aruga, Kensuke Hatakeyama, Michael Leitch, Ayumu Goromaru; Conversions: Ryan Nicholas, Shaun Webb, ; Penalty: Webb d.
Canada 6 – Penalties: James Pritchard, Ander Monro.
Date: Saturday, 21 November 2009.
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground, Tokyo.
Japan Test Number: 251.
Kick-off: 2:00 PM (local Japan time).
Referee: Vinnie Munro (NZ).
Conditions: Fine, Still, 15∞C. Firm, fast ground.
Attendance: 10, 175.
Halftime: Japan 12 – Canada 3.
Previous Encounters
Japan and Canada or British Columbia have met on 25 previous occasions with Japan winning 12, Canada/British Columbia 10 and there have been three draws.
Japan 46 d Canada 8, 15 November 2009, Sendai, (Test No.250)
Japan 12 drew with Canada 12, Tuesday, 25 September 2007, Bordeaux, 6th RWC. (Test No.230)
Canada 15 d Japan 10, 29 May 2005, Chichibu, Tokyo, Super Cup final. (Test No.205)
Japan 34 d Canada 21, 30 May 2004, Chichibu, Tokyo, Super Powers Cup final. (Test No.195)
Japan 39 d Canada 7, 8 July 2001, Chichibu, Tokyo, 6th PRC, play-off for 3rd. (Test No.174)
Canada 62 d Japan 18, 15 July 2000, Toronto, 5th PRC. (Test No.167)
Japan 23 d Canada 21, 1 May 1999, Chichibu, Tokyo, 4th PRC. (Test No.153)
Canada 34 d Japan 25, 20 June 1998, Vancouver, 3rd PRC. (Test No.147)
Canada 30 d Japan 22, 3 May 1998, Chichibu, Tokyo, 3rd PRC. (Test No.142)
Canada 42 d Japan 18, 14 June 1997, Vancouver, 2nd PRC. (Test No.140)
Japan 32 d Canada 31, 18 May 1997, Chichibu, Tokyo, 2nd PRC. (Test No.137)
Canada 51 d Japan 30, 13 July 1996, Vancouver, 1st PRC. (Test No.134)
Canada 45 d Japan 18, 9 June 1996, Chichibu, Tokyo, 1st Pacific Rim Championship (PRC). (Test No.131)
Canada 49 d Japan 26, 11 May 1991, Vancouver. (Test No.110)
Japan 26 d Canada 21, 7 June 1986, Vancouver. (Test No.89)
Japan 16 d Canada 6, 18 April 1982, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.72)
Japan 24 d Canada 18, 11 April 1982, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.71)
British Columbia 38 d Japan 7, 12 May 1976, Vancouver. (Test No.51)
Japan 32 d British Columbia 3, 22 March 1970, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.31)
Japan 33 d British Columbia 6, 13 April 1963, Vancouver. (Test No.22)
Japan 11 drew with Canada (British Columbia) 11, 22 March 1959, Chichibu, Tokyo. (Test No.19)
Canada (British Columbia) 21 d Japan 17, 15 March 1959, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.18)
Japan 38 d Canada 5, 11 February 1932, Meiji Jingu, Tokyo. (Test No.3)
Japan 9 d Canada 8, 31 January 1932, Hanazono, Osaka. (Test No.2)
Japan 3 drew with British Columbia 3, 24 September 1930, Vancouver. (Test No.1)
Japan (IRB rank 13, at 16 November 2009)
| Pos. | Name | Club | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
| 1 | Naoki KAWAMATA | Sanyo | 24 | 184/118 | 5 |
| 2 | Shota HORIE | Sanyo | 23 | 180/104 | 2 |
| 3 | Kensuke HATAKEYAMA | Suntory | 24 | 178/122 | 10 |
| 4 | Hitoshi ONO | Toshiba | 31 | 192/105 | 37 |
| 5 | Toshizumi KITAGAWA | Toyota | 28 | 195/105 | 25 |
| 6 | Michael LEITCH | Tokai Univ. | 21 | 189/99 | 9 |
| 7 | Phil OíREILLY | Yokogawa | 29 | 190/105 | 11 |
| 8 | Takashi KIKUTANI (c) | Toyota | 29 | 187/100 | 28 |
| 9 | Tomoki YOSHIDA | Toshiba | 27 | 171/78 | 20 |
| 10 | Shaun WEBB | Coca-Cola | 27 | 180/90 | 16 |
| 11 | Hirotoki ONOZAWA | Suntory | 31 | 180/87 | 54 |
| 12 | Ryan NICHOLAS | Suntory | 30 | 192/100 | 17 |
| 13 | Alisi TUPUAILEI | Honda | 29 | 187/116 | 2 |
| 14 | Kosuke ENDO | Toyota | 28 | 186/90 | 25 |
| 15 | Go ARUGA | Suntory | 25 | 175/84 | 14 |
| | | | | | |
| 16 | Takeshi KIZU | Tokai Univ. | 21 | 183/110 | 1 |
| 17 | Hisateru HIRASHIMA | Kobe | 26 | 180/115 | 10 |
| 18 | Shinya MAKABE | Suntory | 22 | 192/110 | 1 |
| 19 | Toetuíu TAUFA | Kintetsu | 28 | 183/105 | 9 |
| 20 | Yuki YATOMI | Yamaha | 24 | 176/83 | 13 |
| 21 | James ARLIDGE | Newport (Wales) | 30 | 187/93 | 16 |
| 22 | Ayumu GOROMARU | Yamaha | 23 | 185/98 | 10 |
Head Coach - John Kirwan. (33rd test as coach, for 17 wins, a draw and 15 losses.)
Subs
16 subbed 2, 34 min 2H.
17 subbed 1, 34 min 2H.
18 subbed 5, 25 min 2H.
19 subbed 7, 11 min 2H.
20 not used.
21 subbed 15, 0 min 2H.
22 subbed 14, 29 min 1H.
Canada (IRB rank 14, at 16 November 2009)
| | Name | Club | Age | Hgt/Wgt | Caps |
| 1 | Kevin Tkachuk | Glasgow Warriors (Sco) | 33 | 180/115 | 52 |
| 2 | Pat Riordan (c) | University of Victoria | 30 | 185/106 | 26 |
| 3 | Doug Woolridge | Cowichan | 23 | 184/99 | 4 |
| 4 | Jebb Sinclair | Castaway Wanderers | 23 | 182/108 | 11 |
| 5 | Tyler Hotson | Plymouth Albion (Eng) | 24 | 196/112 | 12 |
| 6 | Nanyak Dala | Castaway Wanderers | 25 | 178/94 | 9 |
| 7 | Adam Kleeberger | Rotherham Titans (Eng) | 25 | 195/95 | 23 |
| 8 | Aaron Carpenter | Coventry (Eng) | 26 | 183/104 | 30 |
| 9 | Sean White | JBAA | 21 | 180/83 | 2 |
| 10 | Ander Monro | Castaway Wanderers | 28 | 178/88 | 19 |
| 11 | Justin Mensah-Coker | Moseley (Eng) | 25 | 196/107 | 20 |
| 12 | Nick Blevins | Velox Valhallians | 20 | 188/98 | 2 |
| 13 | Matt Evans | Hartpury College (Eng) | 21 | 183/89 | 8 |
| 14 | Ciaran Hearn | Castaway Wanderers | 23 | 190/100 | 10 |
| 15 | James Pritchard | Bedford Blues (Eng) | 30 | 175/85 | 31 |
| | | | | | |
| 16 | Mike Pletch | Velox Valhallians | 26 | 180/111 | 23 |
| 17 | Dan Pletch | Oakville Crusaders | 26 | 180/108 | 24 |
| 18 | Chauncey OíToole | Castaway Wanderers | 23 | 184/80 | 4 |
| 19 | Mark MacSween | Balmy Beach | 23 | 190/97 | - |
| 20 | Phil Mack | University of Victoria | 24 | 170/77 | 6 |
| 21 | Nathan Hirayama | University of Victoria | 21 | 183/88 | 4 |
| 22 | Sean Duke | University of Victoria | 21 | 189/89 | 5 |
Head Coach: Kieran Crowley (48).
Subs
16 not used.
17 subbed 3, 22 min 2H.
18 subbed 8, 22 min 2H.
19 not used.
20 subbed 9, 17 min 2H.
21 subbed 15, 13 min 2H.
22 subbed 14, 28 min 1H.
Wrap-up
Japan kicked off the second test against Canada from the northern scoreboard end of the Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground in Tokyo in perfect conditions for rugby. Both sides took time to initially settle into their games but it was the Japanese that showed their intent early to run the ball in the manner that brought them a record 46-8 win in the first test in Sendai last Sunday.
In the ninth minute of play, Samoan born outside centre Alisi Tupuailei used his size and strength inside the Canadian 22 to brush off the defence and put fullback Go Aruga into a hole. Aruga then ran in unopposed to score the first try of the test. Inside centre Ryan Nicholas was handed the goal kicking duties for this game after five-eighth Shaun Webb did the job in Sendai, however, on this occasion he failed to raise the flags from out wide.
Japan were next to score in the twentieth minute when tight head prop Kensuke Hatakeyama squeezed through an opening in a ruck on the Canadian line to plant the ball across the line for his fourth test try. In the absence of a TMO, referee Vinnie Munro consulted assistant referee Taizo Hirabayashi before awarding the try. This time the kick was easier for Nicholas and he made no mistakes to stretch the lead to 12-0.
A few minutes later, Canada got on the scoreboard when fullback James Pritchard kicked a penalty goal to narrow the difference to 12-3, the eventual halftime score.
Late in the half, Japan lost right wing Kosuke Endo to injury after he seemed to injure his right knee in a tackle. His place was taken by Ayumu Goromaru.
At halftime, Japan replaced fullback Aruga with James Arlidge for the second half after the try scorer was injured just before the break when he landed heavily after taking a high ball.
Japan maintained the pressure in the early stages of the second half and in the eighth minute No8 and captain Takashi Kikutani found space down the short side of a ruck to then draw the defence and put blindside flanker Michael Leitch in for the third Japanese try. Webb was in charge of the kicking in the second half and he landed the conversion from close to the right hand touchline to open up a 19-3 lead.
Canada also had a change of kicker for the second stanza with five-eighth Ander Monro taking over from Pritchard. Monro kicked a second penalty for the visitors in the eighteenth minute, but Webb replied in kind a few minutes later to preserve the sixteen point gap at 22-6.
Over the final 20 minutes of the test Canada enjoyed a glut of possession and territory but the Canucks just could not convert the pressure into much needed points. The Japanese defensive line remained solid before Webb latched onto a wayward pass in the thirtieth minute to scoot 80 metres downfield before being pulled down by the cover defence. The Japanese kept their cool in attack and after the ball was quickly recycled and moved right, quick hands in the backs put replacement right wing Goromaru over in the right hand corner for the fourth team try. While Webb was receiving treatment from the medical staff Nicholas took the shot at goal from the right hand touchline but he was unsuccessful with the kick.
To the very end the Canadians pressed the Japanese try line but were unable to break through and the game ended with the hosts winning 27-6 after scoring four tries to none.
