Keiji Hirose
| Date of birth | April 16, 1973 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Weight | 163 lb (74 kg; 11.6 st) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Fly-half | ||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| Toyota Verblitz | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1994-2005 |  Japan |
40 | (422) |
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.
External links
| ||||||
| ||||||