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Richard Freeman
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 5, 2005
Seiji Hirao: Mr. Rugby
At the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong in March, a group of eminent rugby journalists were talking about Japan's bid to host Rugby World Cup 2011.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 11, 2004
'Experimental novelist' kicks the regular rulebook into touch
During a recent tour to Guam, members of the Tsunami Teetotallers (a Japan-based ad hoc rugby team) were left speechless when, during prematch introductions, their scrumhalf Richard Beard declared himself to be an English "experimental novelist."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 9, 2003
Down Under at its fun-filled best
Australia has never really needed any ploys to lure travelers to this vast country. The natural beauty of the rain forests in the north, deserts in the dry interior and mountains in the south, all surrounded by some of the greatest beaches in the world, are more than enough reasons to take a trip Down...
COMMUNITY
Sep 21, 2003
Howzat? This is what's what
Listening to a group of cricketers talking could, for the uninitiated, be like listening to a group of aliens discussing life on their planet. Therefore The Japan Times is proud to present an unofficial cricketing dictionary.
COMMUNITY
Sep 21, 2003
Did you say gentleman's sport?
"Sledging," or "mental disintegration" as it is referred to by the Australians, is the use of abusive or offensive words against an opponent. Sledge is taken from the Australian saying "as subtle as a sledgehammer" and the Aussies have gained a reputation as masters of the art. Here are a few classic...
COMMUNITY
Sep 21, 2003
Build a wicket and they will come
In 1996, a young bowler playing against the Bangladesh national cricket side dismissed two batsmen with consecutive balls -- the first delivered with his right arm, the second with his left.
COMMUNITY
Sep 21, 2003
I don't like cricket, oh no . . . I love it
It is often said that the future of a nation lies with its youth. If that is also true of sport, then Gunma could soon end up being the Barbados of Asia, producing cricketers on a par with the great Caribbean production line.
COMMUNITY
Feb 9, 2003
Academy aims to bring out the best
Golfer Shigeki Murayama is just one of many Japanese sportsmen and sportswomen to have flown the coop and set up base overseas in recent years. Like his counterparts in baseball, soccer and rugby, the "Smiling Assassin" realized he could only do so much on the professional golf circuit in Japan, and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 9, 2003
Caddie rises to big game
Caddies are part of playing golf in Japan. So it is often with relief that Japanese golfers find they are allowed to negotiate a course without strangers in their midst when they play abroad.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 9, 2003
Golf: a sport that mirrors the nation
Forget indicators such as unemployment levels and interest rates; there's no simpler way to chart Japan's economic well-being than by tracing the ebb and flow of the popularity of golf.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 4, 2002
Suntory downs Steelers 28-17 to clinch Japan rugby crown
Suntory was crowned national rugby champion of Japan after winning the Japan Championship at Chichibunomiya on Sunday. In a pulsating game that had the sold-out of 25,000 on their feet, the Suntory Sungoliath defeated Kobe Steel 28-17 in a game that was truly worthy of a final.
COMMUNITY
Dec 2, 2001
Your click-and-go guide to the snow
Although 75 percent of Japan is mountainous, and there are 600 ski resorts nationwide, the process of arranging a ski holiday can often be full of trials and tribulations.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 10, 2001
Fiji captures Pacific Rim rugby title
Fiji's rugby team showed that any internal problems were behind it, when it beat Samoa 28-17, in the final of the Pacific Rim Championship on Sunday at Tokyo's Chichibunomiya Stadium.

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