Keiji Hirose Rugby player
Keiji Hirose (廣瀬 佳司, born April 16, 1973 in Osaka) is a former Japanese rugby union player. He played as a fly-half. His club team was Toyota Verblitz.Hirose was awarded 40 caps for Japan; he made his debut in a 26-11 1995 Rugby World Cup qualifier win over South Korea, October 29, 1994 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In his career, Hirose scored 5 tries, 77 conversions, 79 penalties and 2 drop goals, reaching a national record of 422 points in aggregate. He was the primary goalkicker for Japan during his international career. He played in just a single game at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the infamous 145-17 defeat to New Zealand. Hirose scored 2 conversions and 1 penalty in the game.In the 44-17 win over Tonga, at 8 May 1999, in Tokyo, during the Pacific Rim Championship, he kicked a then record of 9 penalties from 9 attempts.He played in all three of Japan's games at the 1999 Rugby World Cup. His 5 penalties and 4 conversions (a total of 23 points) led his country in scoring. Hirose again played only once at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, in a 32-11 defeat to Scotland, at 12 October 2003, scoring 2 penalties.His last international game came was on 5 November 2005, a 44-29 win over Spain, in Tokyo. Hirose had a memorable farewell, scoring 19 points through 5 conversions, 2 penalties and 1 drop goal. He was 32 years old.
Personal facts
| Birth date | April 16, 1973 |
|---|---|
| Height (meters) | 1.7018 |
| Weight (Kilograms) | 73.9368 |