Hanjiro Hirai: “Next time I want to be evaluated in the scrum”

On the 15th of March,Toyota Verblitz faced Urayasu D-Rocks in Round 11 of League One at Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium. They scored nine tries to win 59–19. It was their third straight victory, bringing their overall record to four wins and seven losses. It is their first three-game winning streak since League One 2022–23, three seasons ago.

There was an incident on the morning of the match. Shogo Miura, who had been scheduled to start at No.1, fell ill. Reserve Hanjiro Hirai was suddenly promoted to the starting lineup, and Ryunosuke Momoji, who had played in the Mirai Match the previous day, was added to the squad.

Rookie Hirai made his debut this season as a replacement in the Round 4 match against Black Rams Tokyo. Since then he had been included in the squad, but his playing time had been only 10–20 minutes. This was a sudden major role.

“I got a call from the staff while I was sleeping, and at first I didn’t know what it was about.”

But as time passed, the tension began to increase.

“At lunch I was sitting at the same table with Hime-san (Himeno) and Rikiya-san, and they teased me, saying, ‘Wow, your face is frozen.’”

Just before the match, Matsuda spoke to him.

“Go all out. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“I thought that was cool, and it helped me relax.”

Momoji also gave him encouragement.

“Momoji said, ‘Leave the rest to me,’ and that allowed me to go in without any anxiety.”

The first scrum came one minute after kickoff. He handled it without problems, and after that the team did not struggle in the scrum. It was more than a passing performance, and in the 55th minute of the second half he also scored his first try. After the match, his name was called as Player of the Match.

“I didn’t really do anything, so I’d just say I was lucky.”

That is because he felt some regret that he could have done more in the scrum.

“I wanted to win penalties in the scrum. If we had done that, the team would have gained even more momentum.”

Hirai had been known for his attack since his university days, but in his third year he switched from lock to the front row. He struggled with the unfamiliar scrum. Even when he joined Verblitz last spring, he was still searching in the dark. But with guidance from assistant coach Ryuta Ueno, he found a way of binding that suited him.

“Gradually it has changed from being a weakness to a feeling that I can do it. Next time I want to be evaluated in the scrum.”

It was not only Hirai. At the press conference, head coach Steve Hansen said, “May I add one thing?” He continued, “Of course Hirai, but Momoji also played minutes the day before and then suddenly came into the match. I think it gave the other members a good stimulus,” praising the dedication of the two loosehead props.

On this day, the “Most Impressive Performance, MIP” awarded by the match sponsor to the player with the most impressive performance, went to lock Lourens Erasmus. The former D-Rocks lock also ran tirelessly. D-Rocks kicked off the match. Erasmus caught it firmly and drove forward while dragging opponents with him.

Wearing the No.5 jersey and a head cap, he continued to fight in the mauls and with ball carries. In the 73rd minute he ran 60 meters from his own territory to score his second try of the match. “The referee’s whistle didn’t blow, so I just ran at full speed. I used to do that when I was younger…” he said shyly, but a starting lock scoring a breakaway try with 10 minutes remaining is proof of the effort this team is making now.

Captain Kazuki Himeno showed an image of Everest at the meeting at the beginning of the week and told his teammates, “We’re going to start climbing up here.” There were moments when it seemed the opponent might take the momentum, but they twisted them down like an arm wrestle.

“The forwards fought physically, and from good set pieces we were able to get the ball to the backs,” said Erasmus.

Himeno also mentioned the growth of the leadership group including flanker Akihito Okui and wing Mark Telea.

“As I show the direction, the other leaders have grown tremendously. Their communication and actions help me, and we are really moving in a good direction.”

The team is evolving fast.

Next is Shizuoka Blue Revs, whom they lost to 19–43 a month and a half ago. Hansen said, “Whether we win or lose, what we do does not change. We prepare well every week, and with honesty and strength we thoroughly prepare as a group.”

Right now, everyone is in a situation where they can truly feel the meaning of those words.