Japan will miss Ando and Ohata

Dinesh WEERAWANSA reporting from Japan

RUGBY: Japan will miss the services of fly half Eiji Ando and world record holder Daisuke Ohata as they have been forced to make three changes due to injuries for the forthcoming 2007 World Cup Rugby Tournament in France.

Ando damaged ligaments in his right knee during the Brave Blossoms’ last warm up encounter against Portugal last Saturday.

Ohata, the world record holder for most number of Rugby Union Test tries, had only returned to the Japan side in early August after rupturing his right Achilles tendon in January, but suffered the same fate to his left Achilles in last weekend’s practice match against Portugal. Winger Tomoki Kitagawa had already been named as Ohata’s replacement.

The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) announced that Toyota Verblitz Club’s fullback Tatsuya Kusumi would fly out to join the 30-member Japan team which has been training hard. Japan’s team Manager Osamu Ota expressed confidence and said Kusumi could help the team, at the last line of defence.

“We have always been keeping an eye on him because he is a fast, aggressive player and we hear he is in very good form at summer training,” he said.

Twenty-year-old Kosei Ono is the only fly half in the squad and the promotion of Kusumi could force coach John Kirwan to move either Bryce Robbins or Shotaro Onishi to the key pivot position.

Robins, who turns out as a centre three-quarter for his local club Ricoh Black Rams, has been playing fullback for Japan’s national team of late.

Onishi has been a utility player, who could switch positions either as fly half or center both at domestic and international level.

Japan is due to open their 2007 World Cup campaign with a first round meeting against Australia at Gerland Stadium in Lyon, France on September 8.

OSAKA, Friday.