Rugby
Match Ball Delivery: Meet Kotetsu from Japan
Because of his passion for the sport, Kotetsu was selected from over 500 entrants to deliver the match ball onto the field of play ahead of the upcoming South Africa vs. Japan match on Saturday.
DHL has searched the globe to bring 48 children from 42 countries to the UK for one unforgettable experience – to deliver the match ball to a RWC 2015 game. This is the story of Kotetsu from Japan. Watch the moment he learned he was the winner.
“When I found out I was going to England, my mind went completely blank. I had no thoughts. But I was really happy.”
Kotetsu’s moment
At first, the 11-year-old did what any kid his age would do. He let out of joyful cry, raised his hands and jumped around as if he’d just won the world cup.
The scene was 100 percent Japanese rugby: Round seven of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Tokyo. Katetsu was on a class trip to the much-celebrated event. Standing at the DHL booth in a sumo wrestling suit and surrounded by his classmates – who were in on the surprise – Katetsu was handed a familiar yellow express envelope. The anticipation erupted into cheers as soon as he opened it up and saw the word ‘congratulations’.
He recalls that moment: “When I found out I was going to England, my mind went completely blank,” he says. “I had no thoughts. But I was really happy.”
Is he excited? Watch the video. Excited doesn’t even begin to describe it. But he’s not only looking forward to his moment on the spotlight. “When I get there I’m just looking forward to watching the rugby!”
Future player or promoter?
Kotetsu was selected from over 500 entrants to deliver the official match ball out onto the field of play at the South Africa vs. Japan group stage match on Saturday, September 19. It was his obvious passion for the sport in Japan that set him apart.
“When I get there I’m just looking forward to watching the rugby!”
“We had lots of applications – more than 500 applications,” says Taketo Yamakawa, President and Representative Director, DHL Express Japan. “We believe that he was the most passionate about rugby. He actually attached his summer homework where he wrote about how to promote and make rugby more popular in Japan.”
That’s right, at eleven this little rugby player is already thinking about the future of the sport he loves in his beloved country.
Only time will tell where Kotetsu’s talents on the field and his ideas in the classroom will take him. But one things for sure: he’s the perfect ambassador for the sport of rugby in Japan at Rugby World Cup 2015.
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