How Leitch was moulded into a leader at Yamanote High
Sep 25, 2019Japan’s captain joined the school in Hokkaido at 15 and his success inspired others to follow him there from New Zealand.
Stumbling blind through suburbs of Sapporo, following a sketchy set of directions from a stranger who took pity on me, I find a 6ft x 10ft picture of Japan’s captain, Michael Leitch, scoring a try in that famous game against the Springboks in 2015. It is posted above a set of double doors set in what looks like another office block. This must be the place. And around the side of the building, in a muddy yard surrounded by a chain fence, 15 kids are running passing drills and, in the far corner, 15 more working a scrum machine. This is Yamanote High, the best rugby school in all Hokkaido, one of the most famous in all Japan.
