Japanese national Australian rules football team

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The Japanese national Australian rules football team represent Japan in Australian rules football.

The team represents the best Japanese born players and is selected by AFL Japan.

[edit] Identity

Since its inception, the team is nicknamed the Samurai.

The team wears the national colours of Japan, red, white and also black. For the 2005 International Cup, the side wore the colours in a vertical pattern (similar to the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League) with the official Samurais logo featuring a caricature Samurai warrior. A more recent design features a predominately black strip with white stars and red trims.

A Japanese player gets a kick away despite close attention from a Vietnamese opponent. From the Samurai's 2006 tour of Australia at Windy Hill, Essendon.

[edit] History

The Samurai formed in 1995 to compete in the Arafura Games. They have since competed in the games in 1997, 1999 and 2001.

In 2001, Troy Beard became coach of the Samurais.

Japan's Samurais competed in the inaugural Australian Football International Cup in 2002 finishing in 10th place.

In 2003, the New Zealand national team were victorious by 100 points in 2003 in a game played as a curtain raiser to an AFL match.

2004 saw a vastly improved Samurai touring Australia and Singapore, playing six matches and winning four. One of these games was again against New Zealand, but this time an Auckland club rather than the national team, which Japan lost by just two points.

In 2005, the Samurai took home the Silver medal in the Arafura Games.

Later in 2005, the team again competed in the International Cup, lifting its international ranking to 9th and included its first International Cup win, by 71 points against Spain.

In 2006, the Samurai again toured Australia with a young squad playing 4 games finishing with a win against Box Hill North Football Club, but losses to the Howlong Football Club, Box Hill North Superules and Melbourne Vietnam Australian Football Club.

In 2007, the Samurai toured Australia, finishing closer 6-9 (45) in its game against the newly formed Melbourne based Vietnamese side, the Elgar Park Dragons 13-7 (85).^[1]

[edit] Notable Players

Michito Sakaki is the current captain of the Samurai.

[edit] See also

• Australian rules football in Japan
• AFL Japan

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Samurais Website
• ABC radio interview
• Review of Japan's 2006 tour of Australia
• Samurai downed by Vietnamese at Windy Hill - finish Aus tour 1-3
• Samurais back touring Australia
• Michito goes semi-pro in Australia
• Samurai's first ever win outside Japan