Kaito Tamura: “I strongly want to play as the No.9”

Verblitz opened the season with a 44–33 win over Mie Honda Heat. Lively in the second half wearing jersey No.21 was scrum-half Kaito Tamura.

Tamura joined the club in the 2022 season after graduating from Doshisha University. His League One debut came in Round 16 last season against Tokyo Sungoliath. He featured in two matches in total—also the final round against Kubota Spears—logging 101 minutes of playing time. This season, however, he was named in the opening matchday squad alongside Aaron Smith. Coming on for Aaron in the 52nd minute, immediately after Verblitz were turned over to trail 23–26, Tamura played without hesitation in a difficult phase of the game. With quick ball delivery and strong involvement at the breakdown, he contributed to the comeback victory.

“In the past I was focused on not making mistakes and playing cautiously, and that led to tension. This year, starting from Rising, I decided to commit and enjoy myself. My role has fitted into the tactics, and that’s given me confidence.”

In the 59th minute he also showed his physicality, winning a penalty by getting involved in a tight contest alongside the forwards. While he relinquished the long-held top spot in the Bronco test to new signing fly-half Aidan Morgan, he has clearly added physical strength to his game.

“In terms of conditioning, I’ve increased my weight-training sessions and raised the loads in areas I see as challenges for myself. But if the weights get too heavy, it affects my movement, so I’ve increased my running volume rather than focusing only on weights.”

Last season, his debut came amid a run of losses and a spate of injuries, making it something of a scramble situation. This year, however, he earned his selection by breaking through a deep scrum-half roster.

“Being able to play in the opening match gave me confidence that my efforts so far have been recognized. I don’t want to stop growing here—I want to keep improving. I strongly want to play as the No.9.”

Following on from Round 1, Tamura has again been named in the squad for Round 2 against Tokyo Sungoliath. The opponents are also the team he made his League One debut against, and their reserve scrum-half is Kenta Fukuda—a senior teammate with whom Tamura spent two seasons at Verblitz.

When Tamura first joined the team, it was Fukuda who wore the green No.9 jersey. Tamura watched his senior’s play from the stands and learned from it.

“I realized there are scrum-halves who play with that kind of confidence. Kenta-san aggressively creates chances himself. He helped me discover a new style of scrum-half. I’m happy to be able to play against him, but I don’t want to be too conscious of it—I want to focus on what’s right in front of me.”

Fukuda was also named among the reserves in last season’s meeting, but their minutes didn’t overlap, so they never faced each other directly. Whether the two will go head-to-head in Saturday’s match remains to be seen, but one can hope for a touch of divine timing.