Tomohiro Hiraoka of the Osaka Steel Bar, Wire Rod & Iron Powder Section competed at the 31st Club Rugby Football Championship held from January 7 to February 18. He and his team, the Kanagawa Tamariva Club, finished second.

Hiraoka was mostly riding the bench last year, and his team was sadly knocked out in just the second round. This frustrating experience drove him to change his approach. He won the team’s trust and earned a position on the starting squad for this year’s championships. In the semifinals, they defeated the team that had knocked them out the previous year and advanced to the finals.

Hiraoka has devoted himself to rugby since junior high, and currently plays for Kanagawa Tamariva as a lock*. Even after relocating to Osaka, he continues to attend practice sessions twice a month (and sometimes up to four times) in Kanagawa Prefecture on Saturdays and Sundays. The stoic Hiraoka stays at a hotel on Friday evening because even the first bullet train isn’t early enough to make it to start of practice at 7 a.m. Having been able to practice enough in the run-up to this year’s tournament, he was able to compete with confidence, allowing him to calmly perform at his usual level.

“I was naturally happy when we made it to the finals, and I was also very happy to receive a message of encouragement from my senior colleagues before the match,” Hiraoka says. “I will devote myself to practice again in the spring to win the championship next year.” We are all looking forward to seeing his further exploits on the rugby field.

*Lock: Another term for second-row forwards, one of the many positions in rugby (example: Warner Dearns of Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo). Locks often serve as the jumpers during lineouts. While flankers are specialists in fighting on the ground, locks are specialists at battling in the air.