Yasunori Watanabe ( 渡 辺 泰 憲 Watanabe Yasunori , July 2, 1974 , Tokyo - April 3, 2010, Kamakura railway station ) - a Japanese professional rugby player who played at the positions of lock (castle) and flanker [1] [ 2] .
 Yasunori Watanbe | ||
| general information | ||
| Date of Birth | July 2, 1974 | |
| Place of Birth | Tokyo Japan | |
| Citizenship |  Japan | |
| Date of death | April 3, 2010 (35 years old) | |
| Place of death | Kamakura , Japan | |
| Growth | 192 cm [1] | |
| Weight | 104 kg [1] | |
| Position | lock (lock), flanker [1] | |
| Career | ||
| Club career * | ||
| 1997-2009 | Toshiba Brave Lupus | |
| National team** | ||
| 1996-2007 | Japan | 34 (40) |
* The number of games and points for a professional club is considered for the national league, Heineken Cup and Super Rugby. ** The number of games and points for the national team in official matches. | ||
Biography
Club career
A native of Tokyo , he played rugby since early childhood. He graduated from the Japan University of Sports Sciences in Tokyo, played for the third-line Kanto League rugby team. Since 1997, he played for the Toshiba Futu club, which later became known as the Toshiba Brave Lupus . His teammates were such famous players as prop Masahiro Kunda , flankers Hiroyuki Kazihara and Takeomi Ito , center Andrew McCormick and fullback Tsutomu Matsuda [3] .
In 1998 and 1999, Watanabe won the All-Japan Championship, defeating Toyota Motor Corporation (35: 1) and Kobe Steel (24:13) in the finals respectively. In 2004, he won the All-Japan Championship for the third time, and for three consecutive years - 2005, 2006 and 2007 - he became the champion of the Japanese Top League as part of the club. He won two more All-Japan champion titles in 2006 and 2007, and also won the Microsoft Cup four times [2] .
The player ended his career at the end of the 2008/2009 season, winning the last title in his career with the “wolves”. He did not disclose his plans for the future [3] .
Team Career
He played 34 matches for the Japanese national team and scored 40 points. He played his debut game on May 11, 1996 at the Tokyo stadium " Chitibunomiya " against Hong Kong (victory 34:27), coming on as a substitute. As part of the team, he participated in three world championships, having played one match in 1999 and 2003 and two games in 2007. Already on September 15, 1998, at the same Titibunomia stadium, he made two attempts in the match against Argentina , which ended in a victory with a score of 44:26. In October, the Japanese qualified for the World Cup, tearing Taiwan 134: 6, defeating Korea 40:12 (in the game against the Koreans, Watanabe made one attempt) and defeating Hong Kong 47: 7, which led the Japanese to the World Cup and led them to victory in the championship Asian 1998 [3] .
In 1999, Watanabe played in the Pacific Ridge Championship in matches against Canada , Tonga and the United States (the Japanese won three times), and before leaving for the World Cup he played in a game against Spain in Tokyo. In the championship itself, the Japanese lost all three matches, and Watanabe himself entered the game against Samoa (9:43). On November 11, 2000, his team defeated Ireland 9:78 in a test match in Dublin [3] .
In 2003, the Japanese played not only at the World Cup, but also at the Super Powers Cup , and Watanabe was also part of the national team. Russia won the draw, beating the Japanese in a personal meeting in Tokyo with a score of 43:34, which became a sensation. Before the World Cup, the Japanese played twice against the current world champions, the Australians, and both times lost (5:63 and 15:66). At the World Cup in Australia, the Japanese held four matches of the group stage and lost all the matches: Watanabe came out only for the match against Scotland (11:32) [3] .
In 2004, Watanbe won the second Asian title as a member of the Japanese national team, when his team tied with Korea 19:19 and defeated Hong Kong 91: 3, at the same time winning a ticket to the 2007 World Cup. In 2005, he played in the Toshiba Super Cup with a team where in the finals his team lost to Canada 10:15. In the summer of 2007, the Japanese national team played in the Pacific Nations Cup , where out of four matches, they won only against Tonga, losing to Fiji, Samoa and the second composition of New Zealand [3] .
In 2007, Watanabe played in the Japanese national team at the World Cup , which out of 4 matches lost three and tied the only match in a draw against Canada (12:12). At that tournament he played two matches: September 8 against Australia in Lyon at the Stade de Gerlan (devastating defeat 3:91) and September 20 against Wales in Cardiff at Millennium (defeat 18:72) [3] .
Death
On April 3, 2010, Yasunori Watanabe fell from the railway platform of Kamakura Station in the city of the same name (south of Tokyo ) [2] and was hit by a train [3] to death. According to the police station’s testimony, the tragedy occurred at 9:30 pm [4] , and there were no strangers nearby [2] [5] .
Achievements
- Japan University of Sports Sciences [3]
- Kanto League Champion: 1995
- Toshiba Brave Lupus [3]
- Champion of the All-Japan Rugby Championship: 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007
- Top League Champion: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
- Winner of the national tournament of regional leagues: 1998
- Microsoft Cup Winner: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
- Japan national team [3]
- Asian Champion : 1998, 2004, 2006
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Profile . ESPN.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Japan rugby player Yasunori Watanabe killed after being hit by train . The Guardian (April 5, 2010). Date of treatment November 6, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Un destin tragique: Yasunori Watanabe (Fr.) . japonrugby.net. Date of treatment November 6, 2018.
- ↑ ラ グ ビ ー 元 日本 代表 が 転 落 死 鎌倉 駅 で 渡 辺 泰 憲 さ ん (Japanese) . 47news.jp (April 5, 2010). Date of appeal April 16, 2010.
- ↑ Japan Rugby World Cup veteran killed by train . Stuff.co.nz (April 6, 2010). Date of treatment November 6, 2018.