Kensuke "Kenny" Iwabuchi (岩渕健輔いわぶちけんすけ; born December 30, 1975, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

) is a Japanese rugby player and coach. He plays at stand off, and has 20 caps for the

Japan national rugby union team The Japan national rugby union team, also known as the Cherry Blossoms, the Brave Blossoms (), or simply Sakura, represents Japan in men's international rugby union. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed ...

. He also captained the Japan sevens team in the third sevens World Cup and was the first Japanese player to play professional rugby in England.

Player

Very quick and good at initiating backline moves, Iwabuchi's Achilles heel at the top level was his kicking ability, which he himself acknowledged was inferior to that of his excellent contemporary Keiji Hirose, who was a very reliable kicker, both of conversions and in open play. (He was the backup to Hirose in the Rugby World Cup 1999.) Iwabuchi was also very unlucky with persistent serious injuries.

Career

Player

In 1998 he graduated from

Aoyama Gakuin University is a private Christian university in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1874 by missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was reconfigured in its current form in 1949 as tertiary component of the Aoyama Gakuin. The u ...

in Tokyo, entered

Kobe Steel Kobe Steel, Ltd. (株式会社神戸製鋼所, ''Kabushiki gaisha Kōbe Seikō-sho'') is a major Japanese steel manufacturer headquartered in Chūō-ku, Kobe. Kobelco is the unified brand name of the Kobe Steel Group. Kobe Steel has the low ...

and joined

Kobelco Steelers The Kobelco Kobe Steelers are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kobe Steel, and based in Kobe. They were the first ever Top League champions when the League started in the 2003-2004 season. The team rebranded as Kobelco Kobe Steelers ahead of ...

. In October he proceeded to study overseas at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he won a Blue and much praise for his efforts in

The Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic ...

. In July 2000 he graduated from Cambridge and left Kobe Steel at the same time. In August he became the first Japanese player to join an English Premiership team when he signed up with

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

in the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

. In 2002 he suffered a severe knee injury playing sevens rugby at the Pusan Asian tournament.

Coach

In 2004 he was strategy controller at

Fukuoka Sanix Blues , formerly ''Fukuoka Sanix Blues'' and ''Fukuoka Sanix Bombs'', was a Japanese rugby union team based in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Founded in April 1994 (Heisei 6), the team rose rapidly through the Kyūshū leagues and was in the Top ...

, on secondment from Saracens. In 2005 he was registered at Sanix as a player-coach. The following year he moved to

US Colomiers Union Sportive Colomiers Rugby or Rugby Colomiers is a French rugby union club currently competing in Pro D2, the second level of the French rugby pyramid. They had been relegated from Pro D2 after finishing last in the 2006–07 season, but ...

in France. In 2007 he was registered as player-coach of

Secom Rugguts Secom Rugguts is a Japanese rugby union team founded in 1985 by SECOM. Its name is a portmanteau of "Rugger" and "Guts". The club was in the Top League for the first season of the league but was demoted at the end of the season. As the top team ...

. He also works part-time as a guest commentator for J Sports and did so for the

Rugby World Cup 2007 The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by Fr ...

. On February 28, 2008, he was announced as coach of the Japan national sevens team, working with

Wataru Murata (born 25 January 1968 in Jōnan-ku, Fukuoka, Jōnan) is a former Japanese rugby player and coach. He played as scrum-half. He currently coaches Senshu University Rugby Football Club. Career Murata started rugby at elementary school. In the four ...

as head coach.

References

External links

Japan's Iwabuchi signs for Saracens
(''Independent'', August 10, 2000) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iwabuchi, Kensuke 1975 births Living people Japanese rugby union coaches Japanese rugby union players Kobelco Kobe Steelers players Aoyama Gakuin University alumni Japan international rugby union players Japanese expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Japanese expatriate sportspeople in England Asian Games medalists in rugby union Rugby union players at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Japan international rugby sevens players Saracens F.C. players 1999 Rugby World Cup players Rugby union fly-halves Japanese rugby sevens players Rugby union players from Tokyo Alumni of St Edmund's College, Cambridge 21st-century Japanese sportsmen Secom Rugguts players