• Members of Katsushika Rugby School huddle at the end of a one-day skills camp in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
    Members of Katsushika Rugby School huddle at the end of a one-day skills camp in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
  • Two-year old Miyabi Goto plays with a rugby ball during a skills camp in Tokyo this month. Yuya Shino / Reuters
    Two-year old Miyabi Goto plays with a rugby ball during a skills camp in Tokyo this month. Yuya Shino / Reuters
  • Kids play with a rugby ball during a class held by Katsushika Rugby School this month in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
    Kids play with a rugby ball during a class held by Katsushika Rugby School this month in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
  • A member of Katsushika Rugby School runs with a ball during a class this month in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
    A member of Katsushika Rugby School runs with a ball during a class this month in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
  • A boy wearing a Japanese national fotball team jersey runs toward a coach with a rugby ball during a class in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
    A boy wearing a Japanese national fotball team jersey runs toward a coach with a rugby ball during a class in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
  • A member of Katsushika Rugby School kicks a ball during a skills session in Tokyo this month. Yuya Shino / Reuters
    A member of Katsushika Rugby School kicks a ball during a skills session in Tokyo this month. Yuya Shino / Reuters
  • A member of Katsushika Rugby school runs towards a coach with a ball during one-day class this month in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters
    A member of Katsushika Rugby school runs towards a coach with a ball during one-day class this month in Tokyo. Yuya Shino / Reuters

Sport

Japanese children take up rugby as the next generation to grow the sport – in pictures

Jake Badger

October 28, 2015

  • English
  • Arabic

Images of Japanese schoolchildren playing rugby, as the sport grows in prominence ahead of the East Asian nation's hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 2019. As Japan prepares to host the next World Cup, the first time it will be held outside traditional powerhouse nations, organisers hope the infectious success of the national team this year in England turns into a lasting passion for the sport. Late in September, 52 Japanese children turned up for an introductory event at Tokyo's Katsushika Rugby School, about five times the intake of the year before. Click the arrows below to scroll through the photos.

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