Rugby Tour 2025

Shawnigan’s senior boys’ rugby program experienced a memorable tour of Japan over Spring Break to help the team prepare for a run at another BC provincial championship.

 

The boys departed early from campus on March 14 and landed in Tokyo the following evening. One of our players, Rio I., and his family were there at the Narita Airport to welcome the team and get them on their way to the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center where the team would set up home base for their four days in Tokyo.

 

The team did a quick evening stretch and then it was lights out as our first match versus Aoyama Gakuin High School was set for the following day. The wet weather eased just before the afternoon kickoff and stayed away for the majority of the highly entertaining match that followed. The fierce tackling of the Aoyama side kept the Shawnigan ball carriers in check for much of the opening 20 minutes, holding Shawnigan to two scores before Aoyama replied with a couple of their own tries either side of half. The Shawnigan boys overcame that brief lapse and showed great composure and squad depth with reserves settling the game with three tries in the remaining minutes to decide the match. Logan J. and Rio were chosen by the opposition coaches as the Men of the Match.

 

The team got a recovery day following their first match, with the Aoyama boys taking them sightseeing around Tokyo before returning to the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center for a coaches’ debrief on the team’s performance. The boys then had another day of training followed by more sightseeing around Tokyo with the day finishing with a team dinner experience of shabu-shabu, which we believe means endless meat; at least that is how it felt! No complaints were made.

 

Our last match in Tokyo was against Japanese powerhouse Waseda High School. Waseda finished fourth in Tokyo the previous season and were a very polished group, may have been the toughest team that Shawnigan will face in 2025. The Waseda boys were very skilled with ball in hand and committed in the tackle, asking questions of Shawnigan on both sides of the ball. Waseda scored first, quickly recognizing Shawnigan had over-committed to the flow side of play and left an advantage they deftly took down the blind side from 40 metres out. Shawnigan stuck to their plan of playing a territory game, favouring their big pack of forwards, which led to us responding on driving maul from a lineout, then taking a 7-5 lead on the conversion to take the lead at after 40 minutes. After that, with the introduction of some reserves into the game, Waseda closed out the final 15 minutes with four straight unanswered tries for a final score of 33-7. Coach Jeff Williams reflected afterwards that this match will be a massive learning opportunity for the team on where we need to improve but also how Shawnigan can play to its strengths.

 

After the second match in Tokyo, the team headed straight to the high-speed train to Nagoya, then took a bus to the Mie District where our last opponent awaited us. The boys were treated to a coaching session by the professional Honda Heat club, which competes in Japan’s highest senior rugby competition. The head coach of the Honda Heat is Kieran Crowley, a former head coach of the Canadian and Italian national teams, and a former Shawnigan parent. Kieran and his coaches put the boys through their paces for an hour, followed by a team run to prepare for their match the following day. After that morning session the team hopped on a bus to Osaka for an amazing experience: the sumo grand final! The program was very fortunate to have Kensuke Iwabuchi, Rio’s father and the CEO of the Japan Rugby Football Union as our tour coordinator. He not only managed to get the entire team these very coveted and hard-to-come-by tickets for sumo, but he also very generously treated all the boys to dinner at the sumo that came with specially made bowls and dishes as keepsakes, which will likely become thank-you gifts to many of the parents supporting the boys’ tour.

 

The final match day began with a joint training session with the opposition, a select side from the Mie District. It was a rare opportunity for the two programs to build bonds ahead of the match. Later that afternoon, the boys were guests of the Honda Heat, taking in a hotly contested professional match before they ran out on the same field for their own match – with much of the crowd still in attendance. The entire squad featured in the last game, with the starters setting the tone and coming out of the gate with three well-worked team tries in the opening 10 minutes. The coaches used the opportunity to give the rest of the team some much-needed game time and experience, as well as to try some combinations being considered for the spring campaign. It was a resounding squad performance, and Shawnigan ran out comfortably with a 53-19 win over the Mie District selects.

 

The final two days of tour were spent sightseeing around the ancient and beautiful city of Kyoto, enjoying one another’s company as well as the company of all the parents and families that supported the tour in person. Touring the Kyoto temples, shopping, and scooter rentals were a great way for the boys to finish up a fabulous experience in Japan before the bullet train back to Tokyo for the journey home. The entire program is so grateful to the Iwabuchi family for all their support and work into making great memories and friendships on our Japan tour, as well as to all the families that gave their support to the program to make it possible; thank you again!