November 13, 2012

Gaijin thrash Tentou Mushi

Dateline: 11th November, 2012

The Tokyo Gaijin RFC has finished their Shuto League commitments for 2012 with a comprehensive flogging of Tento Mushi to the tune of 63 v 0. The platform for the big win was set by the powerful Gaijin scrum which had their opposition pack going backwards all day, and excellent defense. Unfortunately the two bonus points was not enough to overtake Olivers RFC who went through the competition undefeated and gained enough bonus points to stay ahead of the Gaijin on the points table. This means the Gaijin will be giving up their title as Shuto League Champions, a title they have held for 4 years in a row, after coming a narrow second on the table.

October 29, 2012

Astroturf not good for Dandelions

Dateline: Sunday, 28th October, 2012

The Tokyo Gaijin RFC played their fourth round match of the 2012 Shuto League on an artificial turf pitch in Hodogaya, down Yokohama way. Their opposition was Dandelions RFC. Yes, that's right. Yet another strange name in that long list of strange names that is Japanese rugby. After their third round defeat to Olivers the TGRFC knew that they needed to win and win handsomely, if they wanted to have any chance of keeping their Shuto League title. In fact, a shutout and at least 4 tries were in order to gain two bonus points to make up the lost points from two weeks ago.

October 15, 2012

Spiteful loss puts title hopes in nosedive

Dateline: Sunday, 14th October, 2012

The Tokyo Gaijin RFC saw their hopes of a third straight Shuto League title in a row all but disappear when they went down to Olivers RFC 24 v 20 in a torrid and spiteful clash. With the scores locked at 14 v 14 at halftime the match disintegrated into a series of fights and dirty play as the referee lost all control. The Gaijin were on the end of a heavy penalty count against them and received two yellow cards to Takayuki Kitajima and Mosese Rarasea as the Olivers players seemed to be able to use dirty tactics with impunity. The referee had a poor game with many inconsistent rulings and explained away his shortcomings with 'I didn't see it' which made it very hard for the Gaijin to compete equally with their counterparts.

September 24, 2012

Mission Accomplished: Yamanashi Tour Victory

Dateline: 22nd September, 2012

Your mission Ikuo Fukuda, if you choose to accept, is to get at least 30 players to go on a bus tour to Yamansahi Prefecture to play a double-header against two local clubs. Well Ikuo accepted but this part of the mission seemed an impossibilty with many team members seemingly busy with other things on this particular weekend. In fact the day started with miserable weather and heavy rain which caused 5 drop-outs on the morninig of the tour, something that must have given Ikuo grey hairs as that meant the team was now down to 16 players. What's more Natsu Kunitomo had just woken up and it was past  departure time. At least he didn't let the team down and got on a train and got himself out to Yamanashi on time. So that part of the Ikuo's mission was not accomplished.