Name Michael Leitch Career start 2011 Role Rugby union player | Height 1.9 m Parents Iva Leitch, Colin Leitch Weight 103 kg | |
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Similar People Ayumu Goromaru, Fumiaki Tanaka, Shota Horie, Eddie Jones, Hitoshi Ono Profiles | ||
Japan national rugby team michael leitch fumiaki tanaka
Michael Leitch (リーチ マイケル, Rīchi Maikeru, born 7 October 1988 in Burwood, New Zealand) is a Japanese-New Zealand rugby union player who plays in the back row for the Japanese national team.
Contents
- Japan national rugby team michael leitch fumiaki tanaka
- Michael leitch performance vs tonga 2011
- Early life
- Professional career
- References
Michael leitch performance vs tonga 2011
Early life
Leitch was born in New Zealand to a New Zealand father and a Fijian mother, but moved to Japan at age 15 to study. He learnt the Japanese culture and language which he says he now speaks better than his native English and is considered well integrated to Japan. In 2008 he captained Japan at the Junior World Championship. He became a Japanese citizen in 2013.
Professional career
He made his international debut in 2008 against the USA in Nagoya aged 20 and quickly established himself as a regular member of the national side. He played in the 2011 Rugby World Cup and impressed as was praised as one of Japan's best forwards, winning man of the match in the loss against Tonga where he made a try saving tackle on Siale Piutau and scored a try.
After the World Cup he joined the Toshiba Brave Lupus in the Top League and in his first season he was named in the league's team of the season and given the award of "revelation of the season" at the end of the season awards. He followed this up by being named in the team of the season for a second season running in the 2012/2013 season as well, after which he moved back to New Zealand and was named in the Chiefs Wider Training Squad, but was denied the chance to play after suffering a broken arm. In his first match back from injury playing for Japan against Fiji in June, he suffered a broken leg.
He got a second chance with the Chiefs, however, signing a contract with the Hamilton-based side for the 2015 Super Rugby season.
He is the current captain of the Japan national rugby side and led them to "the biggest shock in Rugby World Cup history" as part of the team that defeated two-time champions South Africa in 2015.