Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Whaka help dream come true

Rotorua Daily Post
21 Apr, 2015 08:48 PMQuick Read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Japan's Junichi Inoue (third from front right) and wife Yuiko Inoue pictured with the Whakarewarewa rugby team after a pre-season game last month. Photo / Supplied

Japan's Junichi Inoue (third from front right) and wife Yuiko Inoue pictured with the Whakarewarewa rugby team after a pre-season game last month. Photo / Supplied

Japan's Junichi Inoue got more than he bargained for when he visited Rotorua in March.

The huge rugby and All Blacks supporter visited Rotorua with his family last month during a trip to New Zealand. Inoue plays club rugby in Yokkaichi, Japan, and one of his life ambitions was to play a game of rugby in New Zealand -- the home of the mighty All Blacks.

One of Rotorua's premier clubs, Whakarewarewa, got behind the idea and gave him game time during a pre-season match against Clive Rugby Club from Hawke's Bay.

Inoue and Whaka won the match 40-12.

Inoue was also presented with a jersey by club great Reverend Bob Schuster, who captained the club in the 1950s. Schuster gave Inoue one of his prized Whaka jerseys. Inoue and his wife Yuiko were both on hand to receive the jersey.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Inoue is a huge supporter of the All Blacks and has collected plenty of jerseys, rugby balls and memorabilia over the years.

His three boys Kento, 9, Eito, 7, and Raito, 5, all play rugby in Japan as well.

Discover more

Rugby: Boot brings shield to Rotoiti

19 Apr 08:48 PM

Rugby: Teams remember war sacrifice

21 Apr 08:22 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Sport

Nigella Lane outruns Dark Destroyer for 'deserved' Rotorua win

10 May 05:00 PM
Sport

Tomodachi delivers milestone win for Andrew Scott in Rotorua mud

10 May 05:48 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Downpours put Rotorua race meeting under threat

09 May 05:00 PM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Nigella Lane outruns Dark Destroyer for 'deserved' Rotorua win

Nigella Lane outruns Dark Destroyer for 'deserved' Rotorua win

10 May 05:00 PM

'I knew that she wouldn’t take a backward step if it got down to a dogfight.'

Tomodachi delivers milestone win for Andrew Scott in Rotorua mud

Tomodachi delivers milestone win for Andrew Scott in Rotorua mud

10 May 05:48 AM
Downpours put Rotorua race meeting under threat

Downpours put Rotorua race meeting under threat

09 May 05:00 PM
Punters should be on weather watch ahead of Rotorua feature

Punters should be on weather watch ahead of Rotorua feature

08 May 05:00 PM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP