Timeline: May 4th, 2014

After a horror Tokyo Cup campaign the Tokyo Gaijin RFC arranged a 'friendly' game a against a Shuto League select we'll call the Shuto Barbarians, in an effort to get back on the winning track. They did that convincingly with a lot of help from their big Fijian flanker Joe Nawaqavanua who scored 4 tries and at times toyed with the defense making it look all too easy. He even showed some surprising pace in one 50 metre try. Many thanks to Joy Kaloumaira for taking the following game notes.

Dateline: 27th April, 2014

After a rather lackluster first round of the Tokyo Cup the Tokyo Gaijin RFC were hoping for some redemption in their battle with Kurumi RFC in their second round match at Komaba Rugby Ground.  The Gaijin had managed to scrape out a win in their last encounter with Kurumi more than a season ago, but knew that this was going to be a tougher encounter. With both Captain, Lachlan Ainley, and Vice-captain, Toshi Miyano, still out with injuries their aim was made even tougher.

At the end of the day though, they were given a lesson in controlled and disciplined rugby as Kurumi smashed the Gaijin to the tune of 69 points to zero. The Gaijin were simply outplayed in every phase of the game - both technically and in enthusiasm. The Gaijin had two players spend 10 minutes in the sinbin for yellow-card infringements and they also had a player sent off (red card) in the last 15 minutes. Playing a man down for 30 minutes of the game did not help their cause.

Dateline: April 20th, 2014

The Tokyo Gaijin kicked off the first round of the Tokyo Cup for 2014 against Waseda RFC. The Gaijin were taking the field without their captain Lachlan Ainley (dislocated shoulder - 2 months) and vice captain Toshi Miyano (neck injury - indefinte) after two unfortunate incidents at training the week before. With two of their best players out , there were big holes to fill in the side but  the team was still looking forward to putting on a good display and getting first round honours.

Dateline: March 21-24, 2014

The annual Manila 10's is a much anticipated event on the Tokyo Gaijin RFC calendar and the team had managed to get a decent squad away from their work and families for a weekend of rugby and extreme indulgence in amber liquids. The tour couldn't get off the ground without a hiccup though, despite the good work of organizers Phillip Ferreira and Tomohiro Setoguchi. It was Jesse Takahashi that made the trip out to Narita airport to be told that he couldn't fly because his passport had less than 6 months of validity. Enjoy your weekend in Tokyo Jesse. I'm sure we'll have a beer for you.