is a Japanese

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who won 41 caps for the Japan and represented them at the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

and

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South ...

. Endo made his debut for Japan against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in July 2004, but then had to wait until 2006 until he returned for his second cap and then established himself as the first choice right wing after

Daisuke Ohata is a former Japanese rugby union player. He usually played on the wing, and sometimes at centre, for the Japanese national team. He made his name internationally as a speedy ace in the World Rugby Sevens Series (then known as the IRB World Sev ...

late career was plagued by injuries, and remained there for most of

John Kirwan John Kirwan may refer to: * John Óge Kirwan (fl. 1530–1531), mayor of Galway * Sir John Kirwan (1650–1721), Irish entrepreneur * John Kirwan (cricketer) (1816–1899), English cricketer * John Kirwan (politician) (1869–1949), Australian p ...

's time as Japan coach between 2007 and 2011. In the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to ...

he notably finished a spectacular break out try from their own 5 metre line against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national ru ...

which was praised as one of the outstanding tries of the tournament one of Japan's best of all time. He followed that up by scoring another try against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

in the next match from a run just under 50 metres through the defence. Endo left the World Cup with an increased reputation and coach

said that "he could be one of the best wingers in the world". In 2008, Endo signed to play a season in the

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

with

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. Endo remained in the Japan side until the

where he started 3 matches. In the last match against

, Endo again scored a try like he did against the same opposition in the 2007 tournament, but also had a nightmare match in defence missing 5 tackles one of which led to a Canada try. After that match, Endo was dropped by new coach

Eddie Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to: Architecture * Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect * Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School * Edward Jones (Wel ...

who put Toshiaki Hirose as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ahead of him in his position on the wing. He was briefly recalled to a wider training squad in 2013 after some good form for his domestic side

Toyota Verblitz Toyota Verblitz is a Japanese rugby union team in the Japan Rugby League One. Verblitz is a portmanteau of ''verde'' (Spanish and Portuguese for 'green') and ''blitz'' (German for 'lightning'). The team is owned by Toyota Motor Corporation and is ...

but didn't play with younger players such as

Yoshikazu Fujita Yoshikazu Fujita (藤田慶和, born 8 September 1993 in Kyoto) is a Japanese international rugby union player. After impressing the coaches with his form playing for the Japan sevens team, Fujita was selected for the Japan national rugby uni ...

and

Kenki Fukuoka is a Japanese rugby union player. He was named in Japan's squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He was selected for Japan's 2016 Olympic sevens squad and included in the squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, held in Japan for the first time. Fuku ...

being preferred ahead of him.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endo, Kosuke Living people 1980 births Japanese rugby union players Rugby union wings Sportspeople from Hokkaido Japan international rugby union players Toyota Verblitz players 2011 Rugby World Cup players