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Attention, Students!

Star player represents Waseda at Rugby World Cup

Yoshikazu Fujita
Fourth year student at School of Sports Sciences

aflo_MRVA089228Japan went wild with excitement following its unexpected victory against South Africa at the Rugby World Cup 2015 in England.

Looking back at the team’s success and its all-time record of three World Cup wins, Fujita says, “I am so happy I was able to fulfill my dream of impressing fans. I think the team received a lot of worldwide attention.”

Fujita helped his team become victorious by scoring a try in his team’s first match against the United States. He says he can still hear the roar of spectators when he scored. At the World Cup stadium Fujita flashed the Waseda “V” sign above his head to express gratitude to the Waseda Rugby Club. “My university teammates surprised me with a video message to cheer me on. This video helped me get over my disappointment of not being able to play until the game against the United States.”

Rugby Union - 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool B - Japan v United States of America - Sunday 11th October 2015 - Kingsholm, GloucesterStar player Fujita has always competed on the front line but has also experienced his fair share of disappointments after not being able to participate in some matches. He has learned to always give 100% and never give up. He says he came back to Japan as a better person. “I missed many training sessions with the Waseda team because I had to practice with the national team. I felt as if I was letting my university teammates down. I want to win the National University Rugby Championship and celebrate this ultimate victory with my teammates.”


Born in Kyoto, Fujita graduated from Higashi Fukuoka High School. He began playing rugby on a team coached by his father when he was in elementary school. His high school rugby team never lost a game and competed in the National High School Rugby Tournament during all three years he was on the team. He is the youngest player to compete as a member of the Japan National Union Team for both rugby sevens and fifteen-person Rugby. In 2015, he was selected by the Barbarians Football Club based in Britain and home to some of the best players in the world. He was selected to play on the Japan National Rugby Sevens Union Team ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics. He plays FB and WTB and does not like tomatoes.

Original article from Waseda Weekly

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