ULTIMATE CRUSH: Waseda University Rugby, Leadership and Building the Strongest Winning Team in Japan [DELUXE EDITION] (Paperback)

~ Katsuyuki Kiyomiya (Author), Ian Ruxton (Translator)
Key Phrases: Kantó Gakuin, Top League, Katsuhiko Oku (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

PAPERBACK. The true story of Katsuyuki Kiyomiya's miraculous five years (2001-06) coaching Japan's top university rugby team, written by the coach himself as the bestselling Kyuukyoku no Shouri: ULTIMATE CRUSH (published Feb. 2006), translated into English by Ian Ruxton. Kiyomiya's record over five years is outstanding: Played 70, Won 62, Drawn 1, Lost 7 with wins over Toyota Verblitz, NZU, Oxford and Cambridge. Tipped as a probable future coach of Japan, in March 2006 he became the highly successful full-time head coach of Suntory Sungoliath in Japan's Top League. The tragic sub-plot is the murder in Iraq in 2003 of rugby player-diplomat Katsuhiko Oku, who invented the ULTIMATE CRUSH slogan. Mr. Kiyomiya created the Oku-Inoue Fund for the children of Iraq to honour him.

From the Author

My purpose in translating this book was to let the world know about Japanese Rugby. There is almost nothing in English on the subject, and I was disappointed as a long-term resident of Japan and rugby fan that the 2011 Rugby World Cup will not be held here. Here's hoping that Japan's bid for 2015 succeeds!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (December 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430303212
• ISBN-13: 978-1430303213
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,674,951 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars hardcover version of paperback already published, May 25, 2009

By	Ian C. Ruxton (Kitakyushu,Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was delighted to discover that the hardcover version of this book which I translated from Japanese to English has finally made it to amazon, despite not having its own ISBN. (The paperback has one.)

For further details of the book including "Search Inside..." see the paperback edition. They are exactly the same as to content anyway.

A Kindle edition may appear in due course. For now you can download the e-book for about $6 from my storefront on the Lulu website. A free downloadable preview is also available there.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great insight into a fantastic coach , January 15, 2007

By	Ian C. Ruxton (Kitakyushu,Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Note: The hardcover version of this book is here.

I was delighted when Kiyomiya-san (then 39 years old) agreed to my producing this translation of his bestselling Japanese book published in February 2006. Make no mistake, he is a brilliant rugby coach. Already in only his first season as a Top League coach (2006-7) he took Suntory Sungoliath up to second place in the league from mid-table last year. In his second season Suntory Sungoliath won the Top League final, beating close rivals Sanyo Wild Knights 14-10. (Sanyo got revenge in the All-Japan championship).

He is a superb man-manager and thinker about the game, and he also handles the media very well. (He admits that he uses the media to influence his own players and the opposing team and coach. In this way he is like his Australian mentor Eddie Jones, who has been advising Suntory for several years, and has never been averse to a bit of mental sparring with his opposite number before big games! Ask Sir Clive...;-)

Mr. Kiyomiya is a true professional, intelligently combining the most advanced scientific methods with non-scientific motivational techniques. He is meticulous in his analysis of games, and rigorous in his assessment of players. He always has the enjoyment of the fans at the forefront of what he tries to do, and the "Kiyomiya effect" has galvanised the Top League this year and made it so much more exciting. Crucially, he considers himself a fan as well as a coach, and he is determined to regain for rugby the popularity and status it once had in Japan. He is well on the way to doing this now anyway, as Japanese soccer has been stumbling after a poor World Cup 2006 in Germany.

It is interesting and significant that several of the Suntory players who did so well in the 2006-7 season were rookies: Takamichi Sasaki (No. 8) was at Waseda, and Go Aruga was at Kanto Gakuin University. The latter had already been selected for Japan at full back and was a major part of Japan's 2007 World Cup campaign. Such outstanding young players really want to be in Kiyomiya's team!

Kiyomiya-san thrives on friendly but keen rivalry with other coaches: when he was Waseda's coach 2001-6, as described in this book, his great rival was Haruguchi-san, the coach of Kanto Gakuin. In the first year of the Top League it seemed to be Kunda-san, the coach of Toshiba Brave Lupus; in the second it was Miyamoto-san of Sanyo. Katsuyuki Kiyomiya is definitely a name which will become better known beyond Japan in the near future, and deservedly so. (In fact I think he should be John Kirwan's successor as coach of Japan!)

This book is a detailed account of the five years during which Kiyomiya served his apprenticeship as a professional rugby coach at Waseda University and graduated with honours. Read it. You will not be able to put it down.

(For my other books click on my name under the title at the top of this page.)