Rugby vs the World Challenge: Rugby vs Sumo

To help celebrate the Webb Ellis Cup’s visit to Japan and the origin of Japanese Rugby at Keio University, DHL kicked off the first ‘Rugby vs the World’ challenge pitting the sport of Rugby against the sport of Sumo.

The Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour is in Japan – the first stop on a one-year, 15-country ‘celebration of Rugby.’ After touring the countryside and snapping iconic shots near Japan’s stunning Mount Fuji, the Webb Ellis Cup visited Keio University, where Japanese Rugby was born. The most coveted prize in Rugby formed the centerpiece of an event held on the pitch built on the very site where Rugby was first played in Japan after it was introduced by Edward Bramwell Clarke in 1899.

The real winners on the day were Rugby and Sumo. The first Tour stop in Japan allowed us to shine a spotlight on the great sport of Rugby in the lead up to the Rugby World Cup 2015 in England and tip our hat to Japan’s centuries old sport.

The climax of the event saw Official Logistics Partner DHL host its first ‘Rugby vs the World’ challenge. Click here to watch the video! Former Wales national Rugby player, Shane Williams, took on two-time World Sumo Champion G. “Nara” Naranbat in a three-part, fun-filled duel that included a rugby challenge, a sumo challenge and a neutral challenge.

Rugby challenge
In the first challenge, the competitors had five attempts to kick a drop goal through Rugby posts. Nara was allowed to kick from the 22 m line, while Shane – the third highest try scorer of all time – kicked from the 10 m line. Nara, who was nearly voted Athlete of the Year 2013, took full advantage, kicking four out of five to Shane’s two out of five. The 2008 IRB Player of the Year was a bit embarrassed by his performance, but took the defeat in stride.

Sumo challenge
The second challenge brought the two competitors into the sumo wrestling ring, where they battled it out over six rounds to push each other out of the ring. Clearly out of his weight class, Williams lost this challenge as well, 5-1. “Bit of a mismatch here,” Shane tweeted (@shanewilliams11).

“Bit of a mismatch here” (@shanewilliams11)

Final challenge
The final challenge saw Shane and Nara go face-to-face in a tug-of-war, with support from players from the Keio Rugby team. Here, Shane and his team out-pulled their opponents to win 2-1.

The victory allowed Shane to walk away with some Rugby bragging rights and left the overall result as Rugby 1 – The World 2.

It was all in the name of fun – and fun was had by all. The real winners on the day were Rugby and Sumo. The first Tour stop in Japan allowed us to shine a spotlight on the great sport of Rugby in the lead up to the Rugby World Cup 2015 in England and tip our hat to Japan’s centuries old sport.

Tour heads down under
The next stop on Rugby World Cup World Tour is Sydney, Australia on June 19 and 20. There Rugby will take on the sport of boomerang, in the land down under.

The Trophy Tour runs until June 2015 and touch every Rugby playing continent. From Australia, the Webb Ellis Cup will make its way to Fiji, Madagascar, South Africa, Kenya, Argentina, Uruguay, Hong Kong, China, United Arab Emirates, United States, Italy, Germany, Romania and France before returning to England for the beginning of the Domestic Trophy Tour.

Keep up with the Tour on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DHLRugby, Twitter at @DHL_Rugby and on the Sports Stream at DHL InMotion.