About a 20-minute train trip east of the transit station of Namba in Osaka, we find the rugby town of Hanazono. The Hanazono Rugby Stadium 🏟️ was established in 1929, the first stadium in Japan specifically designed for rugby. I got off the Kintetsu-Nara Line at Higashi Hanazono. I made my way to the stadium, about a 15-minute walk away, past shops and restaurants supporting the local team known as the Kintetsu Liners (est. 1929); even the manhole covers displayed rugby images from when Japan hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2019, and this boutique stadium, which holds about 27,000 spectators, was one of the venues for some of the international matches. In fact, there will be another international match there this year, when the Japanese Brave Blossoms host the Wallabies on August 8th.

A pleasant 24 degrees Celsius on Saturday and largely blue skies, after a few rainy days during the week, saw the locals turn out in force for this Japanese Div. 2 match between 1 and 3 on the table. What was supposed to be a walk in the park for the local Kintetsu Liners certainly looked that way when they ran in the first try. With Springbok legend, five-eight Manie Libbok, at the helm, the Liners looked every bit why they were the Top of Div. 2 and regained their status in Japan League One. However, the Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks were not going to give up without a fight. Their half of the East Stand in blue (see photo below) became vocal as they started scoring points. Rugby in Japan is serious business.

At halftime, the beer queue under the stadium was long but efficient, and I had some yaki-soba washed down with a Nikka Black Highball. The smoking area was set up like a rugby field.

In the second half, the men from Koto-ku in Tokyo kept their foot on the pedal, snuffing out any chance the local team had of winning. Kintetsu are one of the oldest rugby clubs in Japan, founded in 1929. They have won three All-Japan National titles: 1966, 1967 & 1974 and eight Company Championships: 1953, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1966, 1969, & 1074 (Wikipedia). It’s been a while since they’ve won any titles, so they need to get back into the Japan League One. An Australian coach, John Mulvihill, from Souths Rugby Club in Brisbane, was the last person to get them back into that top league, and he coached them for several years. Currently, two former players and Brisbanerugby favourite sons, Will Genia and Quade Cooper, are the present head-coaches. Genia told me he was quietly confident his team would pull through the play-offs at the end of May to regain their position in League One. However, the Shimizu Koto Blue Sharks were not going to make their job any easier by running away with the 29-19 victory this afternoon.